AAMC Reporter: December 2008

Small Concerts Strike a Big Chord

You hand your ticket to the usher and take your seat. Soon, the performers take center stage and begin to belt out their songs. The audience is instinctively moving to the beat and singing along with the musicians. Before you know it, you are singing and swaying, too. Nothing beats concerts. Sure, your iPod may suffice while you're running on the treadmill, but a live performance can inspire like no recorded music can.

While the Grammy winners can always find a place to perform, lesser known artists have a harder time getting a gig. That's where David Bernard, M.D., comes in. The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine associate pediatric emergency medicine professor cofounded a group that finds places for the more unfamiliar acoustic musicians to play their folksy tunes. These venues are often in the form of a cozy café or someone's home.

"We're tapping into music that otherwise wouldn't be heard. We're trying to find all the unknown Bob Dylans out there," Bernard says.

He and a few friends formed the group Small Stages last year after realizing that some of the artists they loved could not find places to play. The group of friends started organizing concerts of musicians they knew, and before long they were getting three or four requests a week. Small Stages puts on one performance each month; about 40 or 50 people attend each show.

Bernard, who says he "only plays the guitar in his basement when no one's listening," has always been drawn to folk musicians' powerful lyrics. The intimate coffee shop or home environment, he says, is perfect for listening to these singers' stories.

"You can hear how they work out their issues, like moving around or their interpersonal relationships," he says.

For a busy physician, or perhaps anyone not so inclined for the bar scene, these concerts have a few extra benefits, Bernard says.

"They're smoke-free, not crowded, and everyone's out by 9:30 p.m."

—By Elissa Fuchs