BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Americana Community Music Association - ECPv5.1.6//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-WR-CALNAME:Americana Community Music Association X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://www.americanacma.org X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Americana Community Music Association BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20240310T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20241103T060000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241123T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241123T213000 DTSTAMP:20240516T051720 CREATED:20240306T181928Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240306T181928Z UID:3352-1732388400-1732397400@www.americanacma.org SUMMARY:Blue Cactus in Concert! Pete Bensen Opens DESCRIPTION:With an Americana/classic country vibe alongside rockin’ guitar work\, welcome these two to our ACMA stage for their debut. You are in for something special! \nBlue Cactus\, the North Carolina duo of Steph Stewart and Mario Arnez\, make Dream Country: a blend of grit\, glitz\, groove\, and twang that evokes a celestial soundscape of mid-century heartbreak and harkens comparisons eclectic and iconic as Bobbie Gentry\, Fleetwood Mac\, and David Bowie. \nTheir sophomore album\, Stranger Again\, released in 2021 on Sleepy Cat Records\, nabbed enthusiastic attention from tastemakers including No Depression\, American Songwriter\, FLOOD Magazine\, Talkhouse\, and INDY Week among others. Following their critically-acclaimed 2017 debut and a string of singles in 2020\, Stranger Again saw the band taking their sound to an ambitious new plane\, where country-rock and light psychedelia mingle\, vocals soaring over twangy slide guitars and propulsive basslines. \nThe North Carolina duo have performed at several beloved festivals including Nelsonville\, Red Wing Roots\, Muddy Roots and Hopscotch and shared the stage as support for an array of artists from The War & Treaty\, Sarah Shook & the Disarmers\, and Lilly Hiatt to Town Mountain and Junior Brown among others. \nBetween the comfort of classic country and the glamour of 70s rock\, Blue Cactus resuscitates a fleeting style of honest-to-goodness country music considered valueless to a “new” country music where songwriting is officiated by financial analysts and teams of marketing plutocrats instead of woebegone troubadours. With a high lonesome twang\, an Emmylou-like southern drawl\, and blistering guitar techniques\, Blue Cactus exercises the honky-tonk muscles to firmly bear the flag for a new generation of country music. \n“If country music is often about familiarity and comfort\, this is more like having the rug artfully pulled out from under you without even noticing it.”\n—–CREATIVE LOAFING \nTake a look at this:\nbluecactusmusic.com \nACMA member and singer/songwriter\, Pete Bensen opens the show. An old hand at garage bands and rehearsal studios\, born in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island\, New York. Pete now makes his home\, and home music studio\, in Estero\, Florida. He is a multi-instrumentalist\, playing acoustic and electric guitars\, bass and electric and acoustic percussion. \nTickets available at the door.\nDoor donations:\n$12 – Members\n$18 – General Public \nDoors open at 6:30 pm and show starts at 7:00 pm. URL:https://www.americanacma.org/event/blue-cactus-in-concert-pete-bensen-opens/ LOCATION:ACMA. at All Faiths Unitarian\, 2756 McGregor Blvd.\, Fort Myers\, FL\, 33901 ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://www.americanacma.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-06-at-1.15.54 PM.png GEO:26.6265633;-81.884597 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=ACMA. at All Faiths Unitarian 2756 McGregor Blvd. Fort Myers FL 33901;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=2756 McGregor Blvd.:geo:-81.884597,26.6265633 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR