Benefit Concert for Greater Falls Warming Shelter

This benefit concert is for the Greater Falls Warming Shelter. Featured performers include Jesse Peters, Derrik Jordan, Vermont Timbre (Mike Mrowicki & Amelia Struthers) and Julie Waters.

It will take place at Emmanuel Episcopal Church (Stone Church) at 20 Church Street in Bellows Falls, VT. It starts at 8. Admission is by donation.

To me, music is transformative, and concerts like this illustrate that better than anything else I can think of; as musicians, we play, hopefully for money, but often just to be out there and share our craft. There's something about shows like this which push us to think about our music not just in terms of what we can get from it, but what we can give with it as well.

Music is a creative process, but not everyone follows their muse without getting scathed in some form. Some of our most talented musicians have, at some point in their lives, ended up destitute, homeless or otherwise separated from the rest of society. This concert is one small way some of us can honor those among us whose who have fallen from their expected path and who too often fall through the cracks, discarded by the world around them.

Derrik Jordan has released many CDs of his original music as a singer-songwriter and also under the name SuperString Theory. He was recently commissioned to write a piece for the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, "Odzihozo And The Lake," which tells the ancient Abenaki creation story of Lake Champlain in music. It was performed in ten venues around the state in the fall of 2009.

Julie Waters is a folk artist in the truest tradition, weaving stories, motion and rhythm, creating lyrical poetry through the strings of her guitar. This is more than simply a creative approach to music. This is performance which turns on a dime, first evoking ancient modal melodies, and then suddenly sliding into a rock and roll beat which takes you straight into the 21st century.

Vermont Timbre -- the singer-songwriting duo of Amelia Struthers and Mike Mrowicki , will be offering local musical produce as part of the concert to support the Bellows Falls Winter Homeless shelter. The two local performers began singing together in 2004 while working on the album, Love in Kindness. When Amelia was invited to combine her bright and clear voice to harmonize with Mike’s tender vocals, they instantly recognized a spark of musical alchemy.

Jesse Peters blends all his formative experiences into a musical approach that includes many different styles. He is flexible enough to play instrumental dinner music one day and jazz-rock with his trio the next. His writing style is similarly broad, with modern groove numbers interspersed with more traditional fingerpicked tunes, and a few rockers thrown in for good measure. Mixing it up like this keeps it interesting for both him and his audience.

Cosponsors of the shelter include United Church of Bellows Falls, Our Place Drop-in Center, Parks Place, Unitarian Church of Walpole, SEVCA (Southeastern Vt. Community Action), Rockingham Area Community Land Trust (RACLT), Chroma Technology, Youth Services.

If you would like to help advertise this event, please put up posters. The poster can be downloaded here. There is also an open facebook page that people can use to give themselves a reminder of the show or to invite others to attend.