Listen to Great Music in Churches

REGIONAL – The churches will be alive with music this winter.
Dervish, one of the most celebrated Irish bands, will be back at Belleville Congregational Church for the Belleville Roots concert on March 16, and the Bluebird Performance Venue will hold its next concert Feb. 10 at the First Congregational Church in Rowley.
Hurry to buy your tickets for the Dervish concert. Organizers announced there will be fewer tickets this year because the concert is being moved – for reasons beyond the organizers’ control – to the church’s smaller Stage Room next door.
In Rowley, the Gloucester Student Band of 17 middle and high school students will perform for Bluebird at the First Congregational Church. “These talented young musicians travel far and perform for many non-profits and community events,” the organizers wrote.
Also performing at Bluebird will be storyteller Tony Toledo and poet Peter Fulton, along with the very talented duo of Richard “Shepp” Sheppard on guitar and keyboardist Jaymes Leavitt.
The Bluebird concert will be in the Parish Hall at 175 Main St. in Rowley from 7 to 9 p.m. with doors opening at 6:30 p.m.
For its third performance at Belleville and its only one north of Connecticut this year, Dervish will perform at 8 p.m.
Dervish was formed in 1989 when four of the founding members met while playing informal sessions in the pubs of Sligo – Shane Mitchell on accordion, Liam Kelly on flute/whistle, Brian McDonagh playing mandola/mandolin and Michael Holmes on the bouzouki. They were soon joined by Roscommon, a born singer and bodhran (drum) player Cathy Jordan, and later by all Ireland Fiddle Champion Tom Morrow in 1998.
It’s a remarkable and at times electric combination that the Irish Voice called capable of playing with note-perfect accuracy and perfect control at nearly supersonic levels.”
For more information, visit The Bluebird Performance Venue on Facebook. You can also find more information on the performers’ websites: www.richardsheppard.com. Peter Fulton’s poetry can be found on soundcloud.com/silicon-in-sand.
Bluebird is supported in part by grants from the Cultural Councils of the towns of Rowley, Georgetown and Newbury.
On Saturday, Feb. 10, Bluebird will host a Free Pop Up concert at the Newbury Town Library, showcasing different guitar styles by Brad Macomber and Scott Ouellette.