The Stardusters
The acclaimed Starduster Orchestra, a Marin mainstay since its founding in 1996, has performed at venues across Marin, including the Throckmorton Theatre, the Community Center and many more. But it’s safe to say that their Oct. 17th performance will garner plenty of eyes and ears.
The group, a traditional big band specializing in swing and other dance music from the 30s, 40s and 50s, is set to play a free set from 4:30-6:30pm on the Downtown Plaza at 87 Throckmorton Ave, adding a new sonic slice to the array of live music in downtown Mill Valley throughout much of 2021.
The performance comes on the heels of the September 2020 passing of Sausalito resident and saxophonist Joe Agro, who co-founded Starduster Orchestra with other Marin musicians 21 years ago. He was 78.
In the Starduster Orchestra’s own words, “Audiences get to enjoy the sound of the Big Band Era the way it was played. The excitement of our music compels audiences from eighteen to eighty to get up and dance.”
“Most of the dancers are, like myself, over the age of 50 and have relied upon dance as a means of staying in shape as well as in touch with the larger dance community,” writes Paula Pohan Davies, a regular attendee of the Stardusters dances at Mill Valley Community Center. “You see, we have a special bond. If you dance, I don’t need to explain it; if you don’t dance, I would be spinning in circles to try and explain the experience; suffice to say it is unique and very, very precious. Along with the universal feelings of isolation from family and friends, covid 19 has totally blown apart this special connection. I myself have been in agony worrying about the people who have enriched my life beyond measure. I want as many of them as possible to know that I am still here, tapping my foot and waiting for the music to begin again!”.