Down on Main Street in Newhall, you’ll find El Trocadero, a Mexican kitchen and grill, but every other Friday night, it becomes something a little special.
They host their dueling pianos show, where pianists can come and perform songs at the audience’s request; the bigger the tip, the sooner your song gets played.
You can even get the pianist to stop at any moment by tipping more than the person who tipped for the song to be played.
The song genres were varied, ranging from classic rock to hip hop and even Disney song covers.
But these events couldn’t have happened without Katie Louise, a singer and songwriter local to Santa Clarita. Louise moved her from New York, only to find no dueling piano bars close to SCV.
She then emailed as many places as she could, until finally, El Trocadero gave her the mic and allowed her and other dueling pianists to perform.
“We’re the only dueling piano bar within a 40-mile radius of here,” said Louise.
“People, even from Palmdale, Lancaster, Simi Valley, or those neighboring areas, can have a place to come and enjoy the show, and they don’t have to drive three hours to a show,” said Louise.
Their most recent event saw her perform with Laura, a fellow dueling pianist. The show is interactive, as the performers encourage the crowd to sing along, and even come up and dance, showing how Santa Clarita residents show up for their local artists.
“It’s really cool to see this community really support it,” said Louise.“We wouldn’t still be going on and doing the show if people weren’t showing up, singing along, and having a good time every night.”
“It’s really fun to just come and see 50 people singing, I love it,” said Louise.
Katie Louise hits all the right notes with pianos to keep Santa Clarita singing
