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After a two-year hiatus from the in-person performances, Juggerknot Theatre Company — producers of the critically acclaimed Miami Motel Stories — are back!
This time, Juggerknot will surprise audiences with an intimate, immersive, and captivating one-man-show: The Blues Opera, the autobiographical story of South Florida Blues legend, Eric Garcia (aka) “Uncle Scotchy” written by the musician himself. The powerful series is conceptualized and directed by long-time Juggerknot collaborator, Ana Margineanu.
Performances are Apr. 28-May 29; Thursdays, 7:30 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m., and Sundays, 4 p.m., at an undisclosed location in Little Havana. (Location unlocked with the purchase of your tickets.)
Tickets on sale at www.thebluesopera.com.
Each night, The Blues Opera will welcome 10 guests to a secret duplex location in Little Havana revealed only once tickets are purchased. Each audience member will be greeted by Garcia himself, as if a lifelong friend invited into his own home. Then, he or she will be whisked away into a whirlwind of live music, games, drinks and true stories about love, family, loss and redemption.
Locals familiar with the quintessential bluesman’s music will soon realize that The Blues Opera isn’t your usual concert or performance, but an immersive experience connecting audiences through music, comical truth-bombs, drinking games, laughter, and the stories that form us as adults.
Eric Garcia is known to many in the South Florida industry as one of the region’s most skilled multi-instrumentalists as well as a well-rounded curator in the music scene. The brainchild behind The Blues Opera, he has put all of his creative passions and life’s inspirations — music and otherwise — together into a one-of-a-kind experience.
“Storytelling has always been my first love. It has saved my life many times and it did once again during the pandemic.” Garcia said. “Putting my experiences into words and watching them come to life in such a theatrical way is a special moment for me. I hope that this play inspires everyone to share their stories with each other in more meaningful ways.”
Though his musical prowess has led him to soaring heights around the country, his local roots have always defined his special sound. The Blues Opera is Miami’s chance to get to see the performer more raw and real than ever before in a theatrical immersive show.
From life as a musician to caring for an ailing loved one, audience members will find themselves relating to every aspect of the mesmerizing experience, with Garcia’s story hypnotizing them along the way. Expect to leave changed and inspired to embrace your own Blues!
Exclusive tickets for The Blues Opera are limited to only 10 guests per show. Juggerknot encourages audience members to gather a group of friends to experience the night together. Tickets currently are on sale and include a drink by Kentucky Owl Bourbon and live music.
Eric Garcia, a modern day Bluesman, fell in love with the sound of a harmonica back in college and never looked back. He learned the instrument from the Miami/Texas legend, Fleet Starbuck; began playing professionally and writing his own lyrics in 1995, and then formed Juke in 2009. A year later, Garcia took the stage as the beloved “Uncle Scotchy,” an original one-man-band where he simultaneously plays guitar, vocals, harmonica, and drums with his feet.
He has been the frontman of the Blues/Fusion Miami-based powerhouse band, Juke, for 13 years. He has opened for many national acts and played with the likes of G. Love & Special Sauce and Gary Clark Jr. most recently in 2019, selling out the Filmore Miami. He has toured California, played many high-profile festivals such as the acclaimed Wanee Festival since 2009, and Suwannee Hulaween Festival twice, as well as countless other venues throughout the country.
Garcia is grateful to be able to command an audience, connect and generate excitement with local and national crowds as he does with his dynamic performances. As an only son, he began the journey as primary caregiver to his mother who was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease in 2002. The trek he now embarked on and experienced with his parents influenced his music and writing tremendously.
His music and writing became not only a professional tool but a personal means to processing tragic events he experienced, eventually utilizing his music and writing to heal from the death of both of his parents. In 2020, Eric conceptualized, produced and performed “Uncle Scotchy’s Storytelling Extravaganza,” a weekly event at Bar Nancy on Calle Ocho where people in the community are invited to story-tell their true, personal stories. He began recording his own stories, and created a podcast of the story telling nights accessible on Spotify as well as other platforms. It was during this time Garcia began playwriting for an autobiographical one-man-show he conceptualized: The Blues Opera.
