Sonoma Tuesday Night Farmers Market gets a doubleheader show

Gunhild Carling, is over the moon excited to travel from her home in Cupertino to Sonoma to play at the Tuesday night Farmers Market doubleheader at Grinstead Amphitheater on June 13.

“I am having the time of my life,” said Carling, who recently relocated to California from her native Sweden.

The other performer schedule to appear at that same time, but out of earshot, is Don Trotta and his trio. They will set up their gear in the usual live music location, on the grass in the “horseshoe” in front of City Hall. Trotta, like Carling, is excited to be playing to the appreciative Tuesday night audience.

Trotta’s band will have Dann Walters playing bass guitar and Mingo Lewis Jr. playing the drums. Trotta handles the guitar duties and all the vocals, with Walters helping out with some backup vocals.

This particular trio has been working for about three years. Trotta explained that this band has made a couple of albums together, and will play five or six songs from them.

“And I like singing the Bob Marley stuff,” he said.

He’s been rocking the guitar since he was 15 years old, starting in Pittsburgh. He moved to Hawaii and played the tourist bars for almost a decade.

“We did TV, we did radio, we were on the radio every weekend,” Trotta said.

Now, firmly rooted in Boyes Hot Springs, Trotta plays in the trio, performs in a duo with Walters, performs solo gigs and plays in the excellent local band Magic.

Trotta plays for the love of the songs, saying, “It’s not about me, it’s about the music.”

The Beatles, Neil Young, and Sting are some of his favorite artists. Look for a great selection of very familiar good stuff from Trotta’s first class trio.

Carling comes to us through the sponsorship of the Sonoma Valley Jazz Society. This fine outfit will present four evenings of superb jazz this season, and this show is the first.

Carling is a musical marvel. She was born into a family of performers in Gothenburg, Sweden. Circus, acting, dance, vaudeville styles … the Carling family did it all.

“My father and my brother build instruments, too,” Carling said.

As a child in that music rich environment, she learned to play an astonishing array of instruments, including trombone, bagpipes, trumpet, recorder, banjo, ukulele and harp, often showcasing a few while performing a song. If memory serves, she can play two horns simultaneously.

That faulty memory stems from seeing Carling as a featured performer in Post Modern Jukebox’s show at Napa’s Uptown Theater in 2019. She was the troupe’s showstopper. A flashy blonde, she owned both the stage and the audience. She sang, danced, and played those instruments with skill and style.

“I do some songs from New Orleans, some songs from the great American songbook and I do my own material,” she said excitedly on the phone from her home.

Carling said she will play the bagpipes and tap dance, at the same time.

“I also will have parts of my family, my children, by my side,” she said. “My daughter plays trombone, saxophone and trumpet, and sings and dances. My son plays guitar and drums.”

For the show in Sonoma, she will have a jazz band … piano, bass, drums, saxophone, banjo, trumpet and trombone.

“We will be seven, plus me. I can’t wait!” Carling said.

This is one talented, high-energy performer. With two excellent music choices, the Tuesday Night Farmers Market crowd is in for a fantastic treat.

As usual, the music will start at 6 p.m., with the vendors opening their crates at 5:30 p.m.