BY MELISSA RUGGIERI
James Casto has been a musician his entire life.
He started playing drums as a kid and, thanks to a frugal dad who wouldn’t turn on the air conditioning in their Georgia home, started dabbling in songwriting on the piano as a teen because the instrument was kept in the basement – the coolest spot in the house.
After ditching a corporate job shortly after 9/11 and realizing he wanted to pursue a career in music more vigorously, Casto started traveling to Nashville and frequenting the famed Bluebird Café.
One night, he listened as Vince Gill sang “Go Rest High on That Mountain,” a song the country superstar has performed thousands of times. On this night, though, Gill’s voice broke with emotion and an idea sparked in Casto – to bring a meaningful singer-songwriter event to the Atlanta area and host it on a regular basis.
Since 2007, Casto has helmed Home By Dark, a changing collection of songwriters and musicians who regularly play at Chukkar Farms in Alpharetta.
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
On Saturday, Casto and musicians Jim Hettinger (piano, accordion, B3 organ), Michael Shetler (bass), Matt Blanchard (bass), Carole Ford and Vanessa Conner (backup vocals) and guests James David Carter of “The Voice” and Nashville songwriter JP Williams, will perform at the Gwinnett Performing Arts Center, one of three times this year that the collective will take over the bigger area.
“We looked around Atlanta for the right space,” Casto said about choosing the Gwinnett venue. “I thought there was value in what we’re doing and wanted to make it scalable on a regional and national level. The reason we’re in there building a series is to continue to improve what we do and duplicate it around the country.”
While the Chukker Farms performances have the built-in backdrop of horses and scenery, the Gwinnett shows will offer their own form of sensory stimulation. Casto says they’ve brought in everything from bales of hay to 20-foot maple trees to recreate a relaxing environment, and will also utilize a video screen to display pastoral settings.
The turnout for Home By Dark has expanded greatly since 2007, when Casto walked into Scottsdale Farms Nursery in Alpharetta and said, “I want to have a music series in your front yard and I want to do it for six weeks.”
No one came the first week – well, except those who wandered in looking for a plant.
By the sixth week, 200 people were gathering to enjoy the music.
The move to Chukkar Farms provided greater space and by 2011, Home By Dark was regularly selling out.
A portion of proceeds from each performance benefit a charity. Change 4 Georgia is the beneficiary for Saturday’s event.
Casto describes the venture as "profitable, but not lucrative by any means," and he spends plenty of time hustling as a musician. He plays drums for former Celtic Woman Lisa Kelly , has written music for commercials and hits the Bluebird a few times a year, now as a performer rather than a spectator.
But, he said, he started Home By Dark “because I wanted to play music with my friends…I think there is something inherently different in what we’re doing.”
Home By Dark
Featuring James David Carter and JP Williams. 8 p.m. June 13. $20-$50. Gwinnett Performing Arts Center, 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth. 770-626-2464, www.gwinnettcenter.com.
Other upcoming Home By Dark dates (tickets start at $19.07 for Chukkar Farms shows and can be purchased here ):
8 p.m. July 3-4 with Jesse Terry and Beth Wood, Chukkar Farms, 1140 Liberty Grove Road, Alpharetta.
8 p.m. July 31-Aug. 1 with Tim Buppert and Michael Logan, Chukkar Farms.
8 p.m. Sept. 4-5 with Danny Mitchell and Kim Parent, Chukkar Farms.
8 p.m. Sept. 12 with Emily Shackelton and Marcia Ramirez. $20-$50. Gwinnett Performing Arts Center.
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