‘Japanese Jimmie Rodgers’ going on hiatus
January 15, 2015
Toshio Hirano, the charming country crooner who plays regular gigs in the Mission at Amnesia and the Rite Spot Cafe, appears to be hanging up his guitar or at least taking a long break from music.
Hirano made the announcement last week on his Facebook page but did not explain why he’s going to stop playing. He did not respond to an email from Capp Street Crap. This is what he wrote on his page:
Hello, everyone. I have an announcement. I am going to take a long break from singing Jimmie Rodgers so I won’t be preforming at any places including Amnesia and Rite Spot for a while. Thank you so much for having supported me all these years. I hope I can see you again someday.
According to his Facebook page, Hirano’s last show singing songs by Jimmie Rodgers, which made up the majority of his setlist, will be Tuesday, Jan. 27 at 8:30 p.m. at the Rite Spot.
[The above video is a trailer from the 2009 documentary about Hirano called Waiting for a Train: The Toshio Hirano Story.]