For the next couple Thursdays, you could head to lunch at the Hutch Metro Cafe and get your ears fed along with your stomach.
The Bronx Council on the Arts kicked off its Lunchtime Concert Series on Thursday, August 29 with Jacqueline Flowers, a gospel and R&B vocalist.
The series presents three completely free concert days, each on a Thursday, each at the Hutch Metro Cafe, which is located at 1200 Waters Place, between Eastchester Road and Westchester Avenue.
Each Thursday there are two performances, one at 12:15 p.m. and the other at 1:15.
The artists in the series are brought in through Bx Indie, a music program sponsored by BCA.
Following a rousing first Thursday with the singing of Flowers, music lovers are excited for the next two rounds. “Our first concert went surprisingly well,” said Phil Cardone of the BCA. “I had known [Flowers] for years, but I never knew she could sing like that. There was really a good sound in the room, good acoustics. People were dancing, toe-tapping.” Cardone added that he and others were especially impressed by her rendition of the Rolling Stones’ ‘Satisfaction.’ “She really pulled it off,” he said.
Americo Casiano, Jr., who also works for the BCA,mentioned that originally, there was some talk to move these concerts outside, but the summer heat put a swift end to that idea.
There are two concerts remaining. First, on August 5, jazz and pop pianist Robert Silverman will appear. Silverman also plays the trumpet and has been active in the city’s jazz world for two decades.
Thursday, August 12, brings in a duo for the last concert in the series: Willie Rodriguez and Andy Gonzalez. Rodriguez, a Latin jazz pianist, brings a lifetime of experience that includes playing on a Grammy-winning album in 1982 with Machito and His Salsa Big Band.
Gonzalez, meanwhile, will accompany him on the bass, and has played with Dizzy Gillespie and a score of other famous jazz kings.
As if the music weren’t enough of an attraction, BCA is also allowing local artisans to hold a trunk show and sale at each concert.
Local artists who will sell their work during the lunchtime concert series include Karen Ahn, who makes Korean knot-tying art, metal jewelry creator Elizabeth Ortiz, the painter Diane Davis, and Lisa Curran, who creates textile artwork.
