All Pawtucket All The Time

Holly Near will be performing in concert with pianist John Bucchino at Stone Soup Coffeehouse on Sunday, October 11, 2009. Stone Soup is located at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 50 Park Place, Pawtucket, RI.  This concert starts at 5:00 PM; tickets are $20.00 in advance, available through PayPal on our website, and $22.00 at the door on October 11.  (Stone Soup is wheelchair-accessible.)

 Holly Near is a unique combination of entertainer, teacher and activist. An immense vocal talent, Near’s career as a singer has been profoundly defined by an unwillingness to separate her passion for music from her passion for human dignity. She is a skilled performer and an outspoken ambassador for peace who brings to the stage an integration of world consciousness, spiritual discovery, and theatricality.

A peace activist and advocate for human and civil rights, Holly has linked the multitude of issues that are our lives, refusing the idea of separate “causes.”  Amidst all her work for peace and human rights, Holly is a consummate singer and entertainer. When she sings show tunes or songs from the 30s, her audience knows that Ms. Near could have chosen to be a Broadway musical star or a cabaret artist. And yet, these great songs come through Holly’s unique world experience and we hear them as if for the first time. Out of this gentle, vibrant woman comes a huge voice, a unique sense of humor, an unexpected theatricality and a startling power. The moment she feels trapped in a genre, she breaks into a song that challenges the boxes and stereotypes.

 n her new CD (2009), “We Came To Sing,” Holly Near and emma’s revolution (Pat Humphries and Sandy O.) put their unique stamp on songs from Holly’s repertoire. Introducing this CD, Holly has said, “… Artists often accept the consequences of a broken heart so that we might heal a wounded soul. Some paint, some dance, some write. We came to sing.”  Pat and Sandy describe the collaboration with, “… On this recording, the three of us have delved into these songs, each venturing back into her musical beginnings, passions and influences to create arrangements that sometimes even surprised us!  We hope you enjoy the ride.”

Near will be joined by John Bucchino, a singer, songwriter, and composer, with whom she has worked for 25 years Among the numerous awards honoring his music include his musical “It’s Only Life” winning the Los Angeles Ovation Award, and his work for the Dreamworks animated film “Joseph, King of Dreams” with the DVD Premiere Award. He wrote the music for the Broadway musical “A Catered Affair,” with Harvey Fierstein writing the book (winner of the Drama League Award for Best Musical). His song “Grateful” was used in an award winning children’s book, a part of the Julie Andrews Collection.

Using Holly Near’s words from Listen To The Voices, come to Stone Soup on Sunday, October 11, to “Listen to the voices …?Calling out the messages?…Telling us what we need to know?….”

Holly Near’s website is http://www.hollynear.com/.