For multi-instrumentalist, producer, hip-hop artist and NPR Tiny Desk Contest winner The Philharmonik, it was simple to say yes to an invitation to perform at San Francisco charity Glide’s annual holiday fundraiser this year.
“This is awesome,” he thought, upon receiving an email from Glide. “It was as easy as that. I didn’t know much about the deep culture of the city and its problems because I mostly came to San Francisco to champion my work. Looking at their website—feeding the homeless and giving back to the community—it’s important,” says the musician, aka Christian Gates.
This year’s Holiday Jam, “The Love Agenda: A Tenderloin Legacy” on Nov. 13 at the Masonic in San Francisco, also features the Glide Ensemble and Change Band led by Zoe Ellis; Tower of Power vocalist Lenny Williams; singer-songwriters Vernon Bush and Michael Marshall and KQED’s Priya David Clemens as master of ceremonies.
Gates, who was born in Cleveland and lives in Sacramento, had not previously been aware of Glide’s community work in San Francisco. (The nonprofit social justice center serving the most vulnerable individuals and families was established nearly 60 years ago by the late Rev. Cecil Williams and Janice Mirikitani, whose legacy continues under the leadership of CEO Gina Fromer.)
For Gates, events like Glide’s benefit are reminders that no one should be left behind. He says, “Not to get Biblical with it, but the stories about the prophets are really about what we go through: allegories of setbacks, life’s highs and lows. I’ve been cheated on, lied to, had drug addiction and been sober. I’ve experienced abuse of all kinds, and I’ve overcome a lot, with more things to come. Going from point A to point B isn’t linear and in my music, I talk about that. I want people to hear, ‘You’re not alone, but also, you don’t have to stay where you are.’”
In 2023, a depressed Gates was about to end his career as a musician and give up on his dreams for the future. Having totaled his car in an accident and disliking a deadening job he’d been forced to take, he entered the NPR music competition.
He says, “… There was a defining moment. I don’t like to say desperation and despair, but that’s how bad it was. I thought, ‘If I don’t win this, I don’t want to live anymore. I don’t have a choice; I have to win this.’ There’s no other option. I had nothing more to lose.”
He rose from among nearly 7,000 submissions and musicians in 50 states to win, with the tune “What’s It All Mean?” from his third album, “Kironic.”
Knowing that many contestants might be better songwriters or musicians, he says, “I had to find something others wouldn’t touch, something that goes beyond music. I looked at my art as a cohesive whole: visually, audibly, conceptually. Everything in the video had to be precise, concise.”
Doing more than simply pulling on heartstrings, Gates says, “I wanted to add to the emotional layers. Just like when you reread a book or see a video seven or eight times, people have to be entranced. When they keep coming back, they see the intention, notice the landscape has changed, pick up the deep thinking behind it.”
Gates, who trained to be a classical pianist, established a strong fan base with his 2018 self-produced, self-titled album. With influences ranging from Bach to Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Prince, Kanye West, Queen, Alicia Keys and others, his music has vestiges of classical, pop, country, hip-hop and R&B. His stage name “The Philharmonik” refers to national philharmonic orchestras—he calls himself a “one-man orchestra”—and to Webster’s definition of the term “devoted to music.”
For the benefit, Gates will perform his winning song, among others, and will work with Glide musicians instead of his band. Curious and open, Gates is learning to relinquish control. Riding the highs and surviving the lows with support from other people, he suggests, is common ground he’ll share with the Glide community and audience. He says, “I’m OK with that. Just moving forward is everything. And no one can be left behind.”
“Glide Annual Holiday Jam’s “The Love Agenda: A Tenderloin Legacy” is at 7 p.m. Nov. 13 (with a 5:30 p.m. reception) at The Masonic, 1111 California St., San Francisco. Tickets are $75-350 at glide.org.
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