Press

Blues singer is fulfilling
her dream!
• Pleasant Hill lady sings the blues in downtown Concord
By Janice De Jesus
STAFF WRITER
CONCORD — When she's on stage, Tari LaCourt not only belts out a tune, she's pouring out her soul.
Vocal expression.has been a part of her life since she was a girl performing in front of family and friends, and then at concerts as an adult.
"I immersed myself in soul music from the very beginning," said LaCourt, a Pleasant Hill resident who was born and raised in Oakland. She would find opportunities to sing in front of an audience, remembering the times as a teen she would sneak into Oak¬land nightclubs to get the attention of band members. Inspired by the vocal talent of Lydia Pense and Etta James, LaCourt soon embraced a blues and soul signature sound of her own.
"I would go in and beg to sit in with the bands and they'd take me under their wing," recalled LaCourt, who had no for¬mal vocal training.
Guitarist Paul Cotruvo, LaCourt's long¬time friend and fellow Pleasant Hill resident, said he remembers the time he first
met LaCourt in 1984 when he was playing guitar for a cover band at a Walnut Creek club and she was a cocktail waitress. "We would beg her to come up and sing a few songs with the band," Cotruvo said. "When Tari 'takes the stage, some¬thing comes over her. She digs down deep in her soul and gives it everything she has and what comes out is really something magical,"
She has performed with popu¬lar performers such as Lydia Pense and Friends (formerly Cold Blood), John Lee Hooker, Bill Withers and the Tommy Castro Band.
While LaCourt started her professional singing career in her teens and sang with local bands through the years, she had yet to fulfill her lifelong dream — to record her own album.
The singer will finally get that, opportunity this month and to celebrate, LaCourt will perform with Bay Area musicians in concert on Jan. 19 at CUE Productions in Concord.
Word of LaCourt's concert has already spread among fans of soul music of the 1970s, the era LaCourt is most associated with. The singer's 8 p.m. concert on" Jan. 19 is already sold out, Cotruvo said. Tickets are still available for the 10 p.m. show to be held the same evening. "For me, music is my identity — it's what defines me," said La-Court, who said she's eager to resuscitate the popularity of the kind of soul and blues music she grew up performing.
"At 53, I'm finally getting to do this," said LaCourt, whose al¬bum titled "Better Late Than Never," encapsulates her new philosophy.
"Music knows no age. I forget how old.I am when I'm performing."