‘Music of Laurel Canyon’ recalls hits of the 1960s in FST cabaret

In the mid 1960s, the Hollywood neighborhood of Laurel Canyon became an unexpected birthing place of a distinctive sound developed by a diverse array of singers and groups who created an enduring range of hit songs.

Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Joni Mitchell, The Eagles, the Mamas and the Papas, Jackson Browne and more were writing and recording songs with personal lyrics about everything from relationships to the war in Vietnam.

Songs by those artists are at the heart of the new cabaret show “The Music of Laurel Canyon,” which begins June 18 at Florida Studio Theatre’s Court Cabaret. It is the second production in the theater’s three-show summer cabaret series.

It features the band Buffalo Rome, which has been performing music of its own and covers of some of those folk, pop and rock hits for nearly 20 years.

The group’s founder, singer-songwriter Michael Visconti, said he was contacted by a friend at the Fort Worth, Texas, theater Casa Manana about creating cabaret shows, and together they came up with the Laurel Canyon idea. The show opened in 2022 and will return to Casa Manana next May.

Visconti shares the stage with Mark Schaffel, a long time member of the band, and Kevin Douglas, who performed with the group in Fort Worth. (Douglas will join the Sarasota production about halfway through the run. In the first few weeks, Broadway veteran Miles Aubrey will fill in.)

Shifting focus for long-running band

Buffalo Rome, which is based in Nashville, became known for its tight, three-part harmonies, which Visconti said fit well with the sound of the Laurel Canyon music.

“Our nickname became Crosby, Stills and Nashville,” said Visconti. “As a singer/songwriter, you always want to do your own original stuff and it felt like a step backwards to be doing covers, but this cabaret format gives us a chance to tell stories, the backstory of the songs, the context behind them. It’s almost like a VH-1 ‘Behind the Music.’ And people seem to respond to it.”

The group performs such songs as “Turn, Turn, Turn,” “California Dreamin’,” “Monday, Monday,” “Take it Easy,” “Heart of Gold,” “Desperado,” “Take it to the Limit” and “Love the One You're With.”

These were songs that emerged in an era of socially conscious young people. “It was a time of protests of the Vietnam War, youth rebellion, counter culture,” said Schaffel.

Though times change, the songs retain their relevance and power.

“The first song we do, ‘Turn, Turn, Turn’ has a line that ‘there’s a time for peace, I swear it’s not too late.’ That resonates as much today as it did then,” said Aubry. “Even though we think of it as retro, it’s still very timely. Relationships don’t change. We’re still dealing with war and peace.”

And it’s not too far a stretch to compare any one of Taylor Swift’s breakup songs with “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes,” Stephen Stills’ song about his break up with singer Judy Collins.

So why did Laurel Canyon become this epicenter?

“It was in L.A. above Sunset Strip, where the Troubadour was, where a lot of these bands were hanging out,” Visconti said. “There were cottages up there where you could live really cheap and people just sort of came together. It’s like the West Bank of Paris, a kind of Renaissance."

Choosing the song list was a challenge because there were dozens of possibilities, the performers said.

“We chose songs that would be at least be recognizable by the audience,” Schaffel said. “If you got too deep into the album cuts, especially with a cabaret show, you might lose people. But these songs are not only a blast to play it’s also like a courtesy for the audience. The audiences love it.”

‘The Music of Laurel Canyon’

Performed by Buffalo Rome. June 18-Aug. 25, Florida Studio Theatre Court Cabaret, 1265 First St., Sarasota. Tickets are $18-$42. 941-366-9000; floridastudiotheatre.org

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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: FST revisits ‘Music of Laurel Canyon’ era with Buffalo Rome band