When producer Don Law converted room 414 at San Antonio’s Gunter Hotel into an ad hoc recording studio, he was attempting to capture the regional sounds that were blossoming during the Great Depression. Recording that flurry of musical styles — country, gospel, Tejano, and Delta blues — he made Robert Johnson immortal.
90 years after that November 1936 session, the downtown landmark is throwing the blues icon a belated birthday party. The Gunter will host a celebration of Johnson’s 115th birthday and his eternal imprint on American music, beginning May 7.
The centerpiece of the weekend is a concert showcase on May 8 starring Austin prodigies The Peterson Brothers, acclaimed blues guitarist Sue Foley, and genre-blending San Antonian Nicky Diamonds. For the latter, the show marks a sort of homecoming. As a child, he was so obsessed with Johnson that he unsuccessfully tried to sneak into room 414. Surely, the hotel will now offer him a private tour.
The show is just one note in a day filled with musical programming. At 4 pm, KRTU’s Bria Woods will chat with Diamonds, Alex Peterson, and Glenn Peterson Jr. about Johnson’s indelible impact on blues. After the panel, the lobby bar will open for a free birthday party at 5 pm featuring cake, coffee, a vinyl set of Johnson’s recordings, and an original poem from San Antonio Poet Laureate Andrea "Vocab" Sanderson.
The birthday party will take place in the lobby.Photo courtesy of the Gunter Hotel
Photo courtesy of Gunter Hotel
The Peterson Brothers headline the Robert Johnson tribute.
After the Petersons, Foley, and Diamonds bring the house down, 21-plus guests can keep the party going at Bar 414, the Gunter’s speakeasy-style bar. The Chris Cuevas Project will lead a jam session for anyone who feels the spirit. The weekend extends the celebration with Jacob Kyle performing on Thursday, May 7, and the Eve Monsees Trio on Saturday, May 9, both at Bar 414 at 9 pm.
The birthday weekend previews the next chapter of the hotel’s $57 million renovation. In the summer, the Gunter will unveil a new state-of-the-art recording studio designed by producer Michael Ramos and acoustician Steve Durr. The property plans to make the space available to students and nonprofits, advised by a heavy-hitter musical council including Will and Noel Bridges of Austin’s Antone's Nightclub, Adrian Quesada of the Grammy-winning Black Pumas, and Diamonds.
Travelers and staycationers can make a weekend of the event with the Stay Legendary Package, which includes two general admission concert tickets with a meet-and-greet, a Robert Johnson vinyl record, a limited-edition commemorative poster signed by the artists, a Gunter Studio t-shirt, and discounted valet parking. Individual tickets to the concert range from $40-75. Both the panel discussion and birthday party are free, but require an advance RSVP.“
This place has had music in its walls for over a century, and from day one of this renovation, we felt the weight of that," says Jiwon Choi, Owner and Managing Director at Axle Capital, in a release. "Celebrating the man who helped make this hotel legendary is just one of the ways we're honoring that legacy and continuing to build on it."
