PLAY ME A TUNE
A group of pianists 'jams' in Five Points Park to mark the opening evening of Street Keys. Photo by
Norman Schimmel
SARASOTA KEYS DRAWS A CROWD WITH ITS LAUNCH DOWNTOWN,
AND INTEREST CONTINUES TO BUILD
By Rachel Brown Hackney
Editor
The temperature may have been brisk,
but Jim Shirley, executive director of the
Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County,
was delighted with the crowd that gathered
for the kickoff of the Alliance's Sarasota Keys
program, held in downtown Sarasota on the
evening of Friday, Jan. 17.
"We did have a great turnout," Shirley told
The Sarasota News Leader on Jan. 22. "If the
music is hot enough, you don't worry about
the weather."
wanting to find out what was happening. That
was exactly what he was hoping for, he added.
Among the musicians participating in that
concert were Rich Ridenour, Lee Dougherty
Ross and Jesse Martins, according to the
Sarasota Keys Facebook page.
With the approval of the City Commission, the
Alliance has placed six spinet pianos along the
sidewalks of Main Street, Pineapple Avenue
and Palm Avenue for daytime use. The piaAs a jam session began in Five Points Park, nos "are open for the public to play, explore,
Shirley said, he watched more and more learn, practice and most importantly, enjoy,"
people walk up, intrigued by the music and an Alliance news release says.
