Squeeze Fest hoping to put accordion on L.A.'s musical map
Sunday’s Squeeze Fest L.A. at the Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood is organizer Pat Talamantez’s idea of preaching the gospel of the instrument Mark Twain not so affectionately referred to as “the stomach Steinway.”
“A lot of people think there’s only one type of accordion and one type of accordion music,” said Talamantez, “and this is a way to show them about some of the different genres, and different types of accordions used in them.”
In fact, nearly every country and culture has adapted some form of accordion into its indigenous music, but in the U.S. it is still widely associated with the champagne music of Lawrence Welk.
Sunday’s bill will present a hint of the range of music that features squeezeboxes of different stripes, starting with L.A.-based Conjunto Los Pochos, playing traditional norteno and Tex-Mex music, to the eclectic Vagabond Opera from Portland, Ore., to the Cajun band Feufollet from Louisiana.
“After Vagabond Opera played the Accordion Festival last year, people definitely wanted to see more of them,” she said. “They were just amazed at the wide range of music they play. They do operatic kind of things, they do jazz, Celtic,” as well as cabaret, klezmer and Gypsy music.
Squeeze Fest is something of a sampler designed to keep accordion enthusiasts happy until the second annual Los Angeles Accordion Festival returns in August. Dates and a venue haven’t been set, but Tex-Mex accordion great Flaco Jimenez has been confirmed as the headliner.
“We’re hoping the accordion has a home at the Ford and this will become a regular little sister or little brother to the Accordion Festival,” said Talamantez, who started the larger event -- which ran three days last summer in Eagle Rock -- after discovering she had to trek to Northern California to the Cotati Accordion Festival if she wanted to immerse herself in the varied sounds and styles of accordion music.
About 400 people turned up per day at that inaugural L.A. event, and she’s hoping for double that on Sunday at the larger Ford Amphitheatre, where the music gets under way at 5:30 p.m.
“Part of the objective of the L.A. Accordion Festival is to bring an awareness of the diversity of the accordion,” she said. “L.A. has a very wide and diverse population, and a community festival like this brings people together. It’s wonderful to see them dance, enjoy the music together and learn about each other’s cultures.”
-- Randy Lewis
