Solid Air

Solid Air revolves around the nucleus of Sam Page and Allegra Broughton, musicians who first joined forces as a duo in 1983. Page contributes vocals and plays acoustic and electric bass, while Broughton also sings in addition to playing the guitar. The duo allowed their collaboration to evolve into a four-man band in 1990 with the addition of drummer Rick Cutler and Steve Barbieri, who sings and plays harmonica and guitar. Two years later, the band earned a nomination for San Francisco Weekly's Alternative Music Awards, also known as Wammies. Broughton, who pens many of Solid Air's songs, first stepped onto a stage in 1976, singing her own material. Page has collaborated with a variety of different artists, among them Steve Baughman, a Celtic musician; Platero, a band out of Paraguay; and Sarah Elizabeth Campbell, a singer/songwriter who hails from the Lone Star state. With their fellow Solid Air members, Page and Broughton have shared a stage with such artists as Maria Muldaur, Leon Russell, Arlo Guthrie, Louden Wainwright III, Taj Mahal, John Sebastian, the Sundogs, and Donovan. The band has performed at the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle, and the Napa Valley Music Festival, the Strawberry Music Festival, and the Sausalito Art Festival, all in California, among other events. On the stage of the Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse in Berkeley, the band opened for Peter Rowan, as they did for John Stewart and Karla Bonoff at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. ~ Linda Seida, All Music Guide