Sanctuary Concerts Give Away!

Win Tickets to See Holly Near at Sanctuary

Sanctuary Concerts present the singer and activist with full band Saturday.

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 nearly five decades as a performer and thirty albums, Sheldon said, "Holy Near has used her gentle wit, big loving spirit, and powerful songwriting to be …

• Photos (1)

Sanctuary Concerts Give Away!

Marcia Ball Comes to Sanctuary Concerts

The "Queen of Bayou Piano" appears Saturday in Chatham.

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, and ballads." USA Today had similar high praise for Ball's talents, calling her “a sensational saucy singer and superb pianist; where Texas stomp-rock …

• Photos (1)

Sanctuary Concerts Give Away!

Celebrate Valentine's Day with Laura Nyro Tribute Concert

Sanctuary Concerts presents 'One Child Born,' a Laura Nyro tribute, Saturday evening with a chocolate festival at intermission.

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, performing Laura's songs and telling the stories of the people whose lives were changed by Laura's music," Sheldon said. The Valentine's Day concert will…

• Photos (2)

Sanctuary Concerts Give Away!

Eilen Jewell, Band to Play at Sanctuary Concerts

The 'Queen of the Minor Key' comes to Chatham Saturday.

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 recorded her first album, and since them six more albums have furthered her music career and endeared her to fans across the country. "Eilen's own haunting…

• Photos (1)

Folk Singer Josh Ritter's Chatham Concert Sells Out

The Sanctuary Concerts host the popular singer Saturday.

Sanctuary Concert Head Scott Sheldon confirmed Saturday's concert with folk singer and songwriter Josh Ritter has sold out. Ritter is described by Sheldon as a "wildly popular and dynamic" artist and performer. Paste Magazine named him one of the World's 100 Best Living Songwriters in 2006. The Moscow, Idaho native was also acclaimed by The New York Times, which said of Ritter, "[H]e sets out to carry a world of ideas on a few basic chords….there is no limit to the depth and ambition of his songs.” Writing for Esquire, Mary-Louise Parker said, “If you love music and have a device on which to play it, you should listen to Josh Ritter.” Ritter was prepared to study neuroscientists, like both his parents, when in high school he discovered …

• Photos (1)

Sanctuary Concerts Give Away!

Win Tickets to See The Kennedys

The Sanctuary Concerts kick off their 2012-13 concert season with this folk/pop duo.

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 a further 11 with other performers, either as a couple or individual collaborators. Entertainment Weekly described their musical creations as "…

• Photos (1)

Sanctuary Concerts Give Away!

Win Tickets to David Wilcox and Susan Werner

The two singers and songwriters perform Saturday in a rare duo concert in Chatham.

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 closer to Chatham in a benefit concert in Westfield for Coffee With Conscience in spring 2008. The Los Angeles Times raved about Wilcox's "comforting, …

• Photos (2)

Sanctuary Concerts Give Away!

Win Tickets to Michael Smith

The South Orange native appears in the Sanctuary Concert in Chatham Saturday.

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 called Weavermania, which performs covers of The Weavers, and has performed with them since 1999. He also formed the folk group Fourtold with Anne …

• Photos (1)