A Ghost Ship symphony sets sail - 48 hills

"It's been nine years since Oakland's Ghost Ship tragedy draped the Bay Area nightlife scene in panic and grief, pushing a small underground community into the national spotlight-and closer together. For many who lost friends and family in the fire, the trauma is still fresh, compounded by what came after: the right-wing attacks, the gentrification of arts and nightlife spaces, the withering of political support, lingering physical effects on survivors,"

"Yet the Bay Area is still making great art, and the underground nightlife scene is surviving, even thriving in some aspects, despite the lingering pain. One of the lasting inspirational elements to emerge in the wake of the horror was the Vital Arts Foundation, started by Edwin Bernbaum, whose son Jonathan died in the fire, as an arts-forward, community-supporting counterpoint to the punitive legal and carceral focus that was overtaking the tragedy, as lawsuits and investigations unfolded."

""I lost 13 friends that night," said Vital Arts Executive Director Sharmi Basu, who also records as Beast Nest. "I was supposed to go to the party there later, but I got a message from [survivor] Russell E.L. Butler saying, 'don't come, there's a fire.' Aja [Alexandrea] and I lived together at that time, and she and one of our now-board members Nihar Bhatt had left the Ghost Ship party earlier and were at home when I got there. We"

Nine years after the Ghost Ship fire, Bay Area nightlife still bears trauma while underground communities have grown closer. Survivors and families contend with grief compounded by right-wing attacks, gentrification of arts and nightlife spaces, diminishing political support, lingering physical effects, and the precarity of living as artists and musicians in the Bay Area. The scene continues producing notable art and parts are thriving despite pain. Edwin Bernbaum founded the Vital Arts Foundation after losing his son Jonathan to offer arts-focused community support as an alternative to punitive legal approaches. Vital Arts commissioned Alexandrea Archuleta's Symphony No. 1 for the tenth anniversary, with a preview set at Bandaloop Studios.

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