Residents can win tickets to see the Sanctuary Concert Series present three award-winning songwriters in concert Saturday to sing their biggest hits — and tell the stories behind them. This special performance, titled Songwriters-in-the-Round, features the writers of all-time favorites such as "Wild Thing," "We Belong" and "I Don't Want Anything to Change" performing in the same concert Saturday. Sanctuary Concerts head Scott Sheldon said, "These three performers have dozens of hit songs and lifetimes of stories to tell," and they are sure to tell them this weekend. Chip Taylor has 50 years …

The Sanctuary Concert Series present folksinger and activist Holly Near in a rare full-band appearance Saturday. Near is touring to promote her new double album "Peace Becomes You," which includes twelve original songs plus covers of songs by artists such as Cee Lo Green, Keb Mo' and Irving Berlin. To celebrate this new album, Near is touring with a full band for the first time in years, according to Sanctuary Concerts Head Scott Sheldon. The band includes Jan Martinelli on bas, David Rokeach on drums, John Bucchino on keyboard and Andre dos Santos Morgan doing back-up vocals. Throughout …

The Sanctuary Concerts presents Marcia Ball, the "Queen of the Bayou Piano," this weekend at the Presbyterian Church of Chatham Township. Ball started playing music at the age of 5, but she turned professional while a student at Louisiana State University where she played in a band called Gum. In 1970 she started an original country band called Freda and the Firedogs at the age of 21, and four years later she started her solo career. Sanctuary Concerts Chair Scott Sheldon said, "Marcia mixes her infectious brand of New Orleans piano boogie with Texas roadhouse, R&B, honky-tonk, swamp music, …

Sanctuary Concerts present "One Child Born," a theatrical tribute to the music of Laura Nyro, this Saturday at the Presbyterian Church of Chatham Township. Concert head Scott Sheldon called Nyro "the folk world's most soulful and passionate songwriter." Her classic hits include "Stoned Soul Picnic," "Wedding Bell Blues," "Sweet Blindness," "And When I Die" and "Eli's Coming," all of which combined gospel, soul, jazz and rhythm-and-blues in a way utterly artistic and original. In this presentation, actress and singer Kate Ferber will present "a magical evening of passion, whimsy and humor, …

Sanctuary Concerts presents Eilen Jewell and Little Toby Walker in concert Saturday evening at the Presbyterian Church of Chatham Township. Known as the "Queen of the Minor Key," Jewell specializes in "dark, moody Americana and rhythm and blues," in the words of Sanctuary Concerts Head Scott Sheldon. Her singing and songwriting is influenced by everything from classic country to early rhythm and blues music. Jewell's music career began when she started singing on the streets of Santa Fe while attending college. She followed her music first to Los Angeles and then to Boston. In 2005 she …

The Sanctuary Concert Series hosts the Canadian singing duo Dala at the Presbyterian Church of Chatham Township at 8 p.m. Saturday. Amanda Walther and Sheila Carabine met in a high school music class in 2002 and formed a band name taken from the last two letters of their first names. In the last 11 years they have had what Sanctuary Concerts Head Scott Sheldon described as "a meteoric rise," from music festival appearances to a feature on PBS called "Girls from the North Country." DALA's fifth album, "Everyone is Someone," was called the Album of the Year in 2010 by The Irish Post. The album …

The Sanctuary Concerts present famed folk-rock singer and songwriter Al Stewart in concert Saturday. Over the past 40-plus years, singer-songwriter-guitarist Al Stewart has created and continues to make sonic art that's not afraid to venture outside of the pop-music beaten path. The Scottish legend—who grew up in England and now lives in California—will bring his singular talents and historically themed classics to Chatham Oct. 27 when he performs as part of The Sanctuary Concerts music series. Stewart said of the venue, "It doesn't feel much like a church; it feels like a concert hall. I am …

The Sanctuary Concert Series presents Felix Cavaliere of the Young Rascals, with special guest Danny Kalb of the Blues Project. From 1965 through 1969, the Rascals were one of the best selling groups on the Pop charts featuring Felix-sung hits such as "Good Lovin'," "Groovin'," "A Girl Like You," "A Beautiful Morning," and "People Got to Be Free." The Rascals' biggest hit, "People Got to Be Free," was co-written by Cavaliere and bandmate Eddie Brigati as an impassioned response to the assassinations of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. It topped the charts for five …

Get ready for a blast from the past! Karla Bonoff, who won a Grammy for writing the 1990 Linda Ronstadt/Aaron Neville duet "All My Life,"will appear Saturday at the Sanctuary Concert Series. Scott Sheldon, the head of the Sanctuary Concerts, said Bonoff's songs "have defined a generation." She wrote hits that were recorded by Columbia Records for years, including the songs "If He's Ever Near", "I Can't Hold On," "Lose Again," "Home," "Isn't It Always Love," "Baby Don't Go," "Someone to Lay Down Beside Me," Personally," "Like a Falling Star," and "All My Life." As a recording artist, Bonoff …

The Sanctuary Concert Series is back for another season, and they will open this year with The Kennedys. This folk/pop duo, consisting of married couple Pete and Maura will take a break from their tour with Nanci Griffith to perform at the Sanctuary Concert Series Saturday. The couple met in 1992 when they were both members of Griffith's band. Since striking out on their own in 1994, Sanctuary Concert head Scott Sheldon said they "have been remarkable in their virtuosity and their prolific creative output." In the 18 years the couple have performed, they have released 11 albums as a pair and …

The Sanctuary Concerts present David Wilcox and Susan Werner together in concert at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Presbyterian Church of Chatham Township. Wilcox has been a working musician for over 20 years, releasing 16 albums between 1987 and 2011. His music, according to Sanctuary Concerts head Scott Sheldon, "is soulful, poetic and engagingly philosophical." His signature, Sheldon said, is his "harp-like open-tuned guitar." Wilcox has performed at Carnegie Hall and done worldwide tours to great critical acclaim in his years as a singer, songwriter and performer. He has also performed much …

Ramblin' Jack Elliott performs at the Sanctuary Concert Series in Chatham Township Saturday. Elliott's career spans over 50 years. At the age of 14, Elliott ran away from home to join the rodeo. A rodeo cowboy taught him to play the guitar. He was mentored by Woodie Guthrie, who joked, "Jack sounds more like me than I do," according to Sanctuary Concerts chair Scott SheldonThe mother of folk legend Odetta gave him his nickname." While in Greenwich Village in 1961, Elliott met a young musician named Bob Dylan. He began mentoring Dylan and studied blues music with musicians Lead Belly, …

The Sanctuary Concerts present Grammy-winning singer Suzy Bogguss Saturday at the Presbyterian Church of Chatham Township. Bogguss began her singing career at the age of 5 in the choir at the College Avenue Presbyterian Church in Aledo, Ill. The former homecoming queen sang and played guitar and drums in coffee shops near Illinois State University while in college, then released an independent album, "Suzy," in 1980. In 1985, Bogguss moved to Nashville, Tenn., where her career took off. She became the first featured female singer at Dollywood, and signed a deal with the Liberty/Capitol record…

The Sanctuary Concerts present Ruthie Foster, a celebrated blues and gospel singer, Saturday at 8 p.m. for a stop on her "Soul Salvation tour, with Paul Thorn opening. Foster was nominated for a Grammy in 2009 for her album "The Truth According to Ruthie Foster." Her new album, "Let It Burn," was recorded at Piety Studios in New Orleans. Scott Sheldon, the head of the Sanctuary Concerts, described "Let It Burn" as "a dark, smoky mix of sparsely-crafted originals" and "haunting interpretations of an unexpected collection of covers." Foster was twice named Female Artist of the Year in 2010 by …

The Sanctuary Concerts present Michael Smith in concert at the Presbyterian Church of Chatham Township Saturday at 8 p.m. Smith was born in South Orange and grew up in Little Falls. He attended Catholic schools at Our Lady of the Valley and Our Lady of Sorrows, and many of his songs are based on his years there. A song writer and composer for over 40 years, Smith has been called "the greatest songwriter in the English language" by Rolling Stone Magazine. His music style is "in the Harry Chapin tradition," in the words of Sanctuary Concerts head Scott Sheldon. Smith formed a four-person band …

The Sanctuary Concerts presents John Waite, with his band, Saturday night at the Presbyterian Church of Chatham Township in support of his latest album "Rough and Tumble." Waite began his career as the lead singer and bassist for The Babys in 1980. After he launched his solo career in 1982, his first single "Change" became one of MTV's most popular music videos during the channel's first year.  Waite's second album, "No Brakes," brought international success with the hit single "(I Ain't) Missing You", which reached the No. 1 spot on the US Billboards. The song, rerecorded with Grammy Award …

The Sanctuary Concert Series presents John McEuen, the founding member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, at the Presbyterian Church of Chatham Township Saturday at 8 p.m. McEuen formed the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with a friend who worked with him in a magic store in California. Forty-five years later, McEuen continues to add to his performing experience, with over 8,500 live concerts and 300 television shows both with the band and as a solo performer. This Grammy nominee has recorded over 40 albums, including six solo albums, and has earned four platinum awards, five gold recognition awards, CMA …

This week the Sanctuary Concert Series presents Loudon Wainwright III, the legendary singer and songwriter, at the Presbyterian Church of Chatham Township. Loudon started his singing career in folk clubs in Boston and New York in the 1960s. Since that time, he has recorded 21 albums and been nominated for two Grammy awards in 1985 and 1986. In 2010 he won the Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album for his record "High Wide & Handsome." He has performed in 13 television shows and films, including M*A*S*H* and The 40-Year-Old Virgin.  Opening for Loudon will be his sister Sloan Wainwright, …

The Sanctuary Concert Series presents Dar Williams and Hugh Blumenfeld in concert Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Presbyterian Church of Chatham Township. Williams is, in the words of Sanctuary Concert head Scott Sheldon, a "passionate, intensely personal" folk singer who has collected a devoted "legion of enthusiastic fans," thanks to her wry and insightful songs. Her material covers matters of religion, gender roles and middle-class life. A native of upstate New York, Williams learned to play the guitar at 9 and wrote her first song at 11. She majored in theater and religion at Wesleyan …

Dan Bern, a singer and songwriter in the vein of Woody Guthrie, performs in Chatham Saturday at 8 p.m. Bern is a musician, lyricist, painter, storyteller, novelist, poet, satirist and artist. He has released 17 albums and composed over 500 songs. Reviewers have compared him to Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Costello, but is, in the words of Sanctuary Concerts Head Scott Sheldon, "much funnier." His talents also translate into soundtrack composition. Bern had 14 songs on the soundtrack to the 2007 spoof film "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story," and several tracks on the …