March 10, 2016
By Heather Young
To celebrate Salon Roux’s fifth anniversary, owner Jacque Leonard decided that instead of the usual party she throws, she would put on a benefit concert. The concert will feature A.J. Croce with special guests, The Janks, and will benefit Studios on the Park’s Kids Art Smart program.
The concert wil take place on Saturday, August 23 at 6:30 p.m. at Castoro Cellars, 1315 N Bethel Road off Highway 46 West.
“It came from, basically, I just wanted to do something to celebrate our fifth anniversary,” Leonard said. “I thought we could do something different, but I didn’t know what it was until I saw a class at Studios on the Park,” Leonard said. “I was really inspired by that.”
Being artistically inclined herself, Leonard knew she wanted to support the kids art program at Studios on the Park and turned her fifth anniversary party into a benefit concert.
“In 2012, I went to see Jon Anderson at Castoro Cellars,” she said. “A.J. Croce opened for Jon. When I saw him play, I was blown away.”
It wasn’t easy for Leonard to book Croce. She asked her friend Todd to introducer her to Michael Jensen of Jensen Communications, Inc. so she could ask him a few questions about finding and booking bands. It didn’t take long before he offered to help and he got Croce and The Janks to play.
“Michael Jensen of Jensen Communications, Inc. – media management and public relations – was a most important factor in this whole process,” Leonard said. “Michael is a very good friend of a friend of mine and he, being in the music industry, booked A.J. Croce and The Janks for me. He is giving me total direction and Salon Roux is producing this event. If it were not for Michael, this concert wouldn’t be happening. So, I owe a lot of gratitude to him.”
Leonard said that it feels really good to do something like this for the community she lives in.
The concert will be limited to a total of 200 people due to the size of the venue with both orchestra and table seating. Tickets are $50 each for orchestra seating. VIP tables are $250 for two people and include wine and dinner. Tickets are available at Salon Roux by calling 239-9499 or emailing info@salonroux.com. Additionally, tickets are available for a special catered dinner by Thomas Hill Organics Bistro for $15. Castoro Cellars’ wine will also be available for purchase.
The concert is sponsored by Tim Montgomery, First Solar, Mystic Hills Vineyard, Gayle Force Design and Parker Sanpei.
A.J. Croce
Croce, son of legendary singer-songwriter Jim Croce, began his career at age 18 opening for B.B. King, and has since spanned genres from jazz to Americana to blues to pop. Croce’s eight studio album, “Twelve Tales,” was released by Compass Records. The album includes a song Croce wrote with legendary songwriter and musician, Leon Russell.
Kids Art Smart
Kids Art Smart brings local elementary students to Studios on the Park, where they are able to directly utilize the artist studio setting for a unique art education studying and creating works of art in mediums such as marbleizing, watercolor, collage, ceramics and printmaking. More than 4,000 public elementary students have visited the studio for hands-on art classes completely free of charge and during school hours since 2011.
Salon Roux
Salon Roux, 821 Pine St., Ste. C in Paso Robles, offers a full menu of hair and spa services featuring a boutique of high-end beauty. The salon opened in March 2009 after Leonard closed L’Image Salon and Spa in Atascadero. She owned L’Image from 2001 to 2009, thought it had been open in Atascadero for 20 years.
“I just needed to reinvent myself because I purchased a salon from someone else – it wasn’t me,” Leonard said.
Roux quickly made its mark being voted as the “Top Salon in North County” in Battle of the Salons, and was later honored by Salon Today Magazine as one of the Top 200 Salons in America.
