HISTORY

Linnaea's Cafe was founded in 1984 by Linnaea Phillips. Marianne Orme bought the Cafe in January of 2007. It began as a classic '50s-style coffeehouse with Beatniks, espresso and folk performers such as Jean Ritchie, Rosalie Sorrells and Utah Phillips. The early customers (and some performers) have gone on to bigger mortgages and better Chardonny and the current clientele consists (along with the last few liberals left in SLO) chiefly of college students with the music now reflecting the tastes of the current customers (& staff).

LOCATION/DESCRIPTION

San Luis Obispo (SLO) is the county seat and home of California Polytechnic University (Cal Poly) with a population of 60,000, about 1/3 of whom are college students. It is almost exactly (about a 4 hour drive) between Los Angeles & San Francisco, a few miles from the coast, where Hiways 1 and 101 meet. It is quiet and beautiful; please don't tell your friends. The Cafe performance area holds about 50 max and has extraordinary acoustics so WE HAVE NO SOUND SYSTEM. Again, the customers are mostly college students who live 4 to an apartment and come to the cafe to study & talk; they can sometimes be thoughtless & rude - even to excellent performers.

BOOKING/PAYMENT

Music is booked every Friday and Saturday, with some special events, weekly jam sessions and poetry on Sundays and weeknights. Most performers at Linnaea's are not paid, except for the tips they collect, and sales of their CDs, T-shirts, etc. Three performers per month are paid $75. Once or twice a month, there may be ticketed concerts on Sundays.

Each performer is entitled to a free beverage and dessert. Special housing rates have been arranged with Hostel Obispo -- call (805) 544-4678 for reservations.

We book 3-4 months in advance. If you're interested, contact steve@stevekey.com.

Thanks, Steve

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