Felton native Alli Battaglia will make a return to her roots with a concert at Don Quixote’s International Music Hall at 8 p.m. July 24.
The singer-songwriter will tell her story through a performance shaped by a near-death experience.
Battaglia’s roots in the San Lorenzo Valley are deep. Her father, Dennis Battaglia, worked at Star Lodge Hospital in Scotts Valley, and the family attended St. John’s Catholic Church in Felton. She attended SLV schools and worked at Safeway in Felton after graduating.
Battaglia sang with her parents at church, but it wasn’t until after a life-changing car accident that she started writing music.
On Christmas Eve 2000, Battaglia fell asleep at the wheel with her sister, Mary, in the car while the two were driving to see their parents in Chico.
The van she was driving hit a concrete wall and flew over it, and the sisters were trapped upside-down in a ravine.
Both yelled for help, but no one heard, and then they began to pray.
In a few seconds, they said, they heard a low, booming voice say, “Come this way.” Battaglia looked but saw no one.
She started crawling toward the voice, and when she reached the spot where it was coming from, she saw bags of cement that formed a stairway over the wall.
She reached the road and was able to flag someone down to help.
Battaglia and her sister spent the next two weeks in the hospital recovering from serious injuries.
They moved to Chico with their parents and spent the next eight months in rehabilitation. Battaglia eventually moved to Paradise to live closer to her parents. While she was there, she started playing the guitar and writing music — and her career was launched.
She credits the San Lorenzo Valley as her inspiration.
“Though I didn’t really begin writing music until I was already living in Paradise, everything about my music is from the San Lorenzo Valley,” Battaglia said. “The spirit, the essence — it created who I am, and so because of this, it is almost woven throughout everything I write.”
Battaglia has teamed up with producer Polo Jones, who has worked with Whitney Houston and Eric Clapton, to produce a new CD.
In the past year, she has donated more than $80,000 to charitable causes, including community-supported agriculture, alternative energy, art in public schools, metaphysical healing and education.
At a glance
WHAT: Alli Battaglia live
WHEN: 8 p.m. July 24
WHERE: Don Quixote’s International Music Hall, 6275 Highway 9, in Felton
TICKETS: $15
INFO: www.donquixotesmusic.info or www.allibattaglia.com
