Songwriters on The Plaza - Bob Patetta, Ray Cerbone, & Chakulla

Songwriters on the Plaza                

The Lee County Library has partnered with the ACMA (Americana Community Music Association) to offer FREE concerts featuring all original music by local artists. These concerts will be held in the Amphitheater on South Cornog Plaza. Attendees are encouraged to bring a chair or blanket, and in case of bad weather, shows will be moved to the nearby meeting rooms.

The ACMA, a Fort Myers-based nonprofit, promotes local artists who perform original songs. At these events, expect to hear singer-songwriters sharing a lifetime of experiences and the stories behind their songs. Prepare for an evening of professional-quality acoustic Americana music, which blends blues, roots, folk, bluegrass, and country. There’s plenty of space, so bring a friend and enjoy the music!

Bob Patetta is a singer-songwriter specializing in blues, rock and folk, and has been performing and recording on guitar, harmonica and vocals for over 50 years. Born and raised in New Jersey where he started out singing and playing in rock bands, he has also worked extensively along the Gulf Coast of Florida, playing harmonica and washboard with Rosie O’Grady’s Dixieland Band in Pensacola, guitar and blues harp in the greater Tampa area and Lee County, and in Ohio since 1990. He is currently performing with the Hot Potatoes band in Ohio, and with Wildlife Drive in Florida, as well as making many solo appearances. He is also known for making a joyful noise on Sunday mornings at many Unity and UCC churches.

Ray Cerbone Is one of the founding members of the ACMA. Ray began playing guitar during the late 60’s folk scene. With the support and inspiration of fellow local and touring musicians, he began writing and playing in earnest in 2010. Traveling a long road in a short time, his music encompasses many genres, including Americana, Folk, Blues, Ballads, and a little bit of Country. His storyteller style takes the listener to another place in time, his music and lyrics bringing evocative insights into the many sides of life. Ray is also a singer-songwriter’s song-singer. That is, he does interpretive covers of great originals by other very talented singer/songwriters using his own creative touch. His inventive fingerstyle guitar is uniquely diverse and easy-on-the-ears. Ray’s recently released CD, “How Much Time”, has received glowing reviews stateside and overseas.

Chakulla  is an individual, expressing his music with an organic grove of worldly rhythm’s, unique guitar cords, catchy and memorable melodies. He sings out with an acoustic guitar using a loop pedal enabling leads, harmonica, marimba, conga’s, percussion, and vocal percussion lines to manifest on the spot and live .

He is best described as the Folk/World/Jazz/Americana artist, and in his 4 decades of writing and playing music Chakulla has shared his music at concert venues seating 60,000 people, and in Clubs, at House concerts, Festivals, TV and radio appearances, and singing out in the streets.