There was something for everyone at the Shelter My Soul concert Saturday night. New songs from the Chad Hollister Band and some old favorites from the Deb Larkin and Jeff Stout Jazz Quintet.
A sparse but enthusiastic audience was on hand in the Performing Arts Center at Veterans Middle School. The concert benefited the Lynn Shelter Association which is raising money to rehabilitate a new space for the region’s homeless in neighboring Lynn.
“This concert provides great purpose in a dark time,” declared The Rev. Clyde Elledge, rector of St. Andrew’s (Episcopal) Church and cochair of the event.
As each act was introduced the audience was given new statistics about the homeless crisis in our region.
Elledge reminded the audience Marblehead has no homeless shelter, so it is imperative that local residents support shelters in nearby cities. The show is a joint project of the Marblehead Ministerial Association and Marblehead schools, and local sponsors include the National Grand Bank, Marblehead Bank and Marblehead Rotary Club.
Soneta Srey, of Lynn, opened the concert with several rousing rap songs. She was followed by Mary Alexander-Onstad who slowed things down to sing a series of show tunes.
Deb Larkin and Jeff Stout Jazz Quintet played and sang a medley of old favorites.
Hollister opened his segment with two other guitar players and a drummer. But the performance rocked when he introduced his horn section – two saxophones, a trombone, and a trumpet. They played new songs from their upcoming album due for release this fall.
