Singer Songwriter Series

Singer Songwriter Series 

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 February 8th, 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm 

This February 8th, in our newly heated building #2, resident singer-songwriter and poet Jonathan Byrd will be joined by two other very talented artists.

Singer/songwriter Laurelyn Dossett lives and writes in Stokes County, NC.  Her songs have appeared in film and television (Hell on Wheels, Ain't In it for My Health) and have been recorded by many artists including Grammy-winning Levon Helm (Anna Lee) and Rhiannon Giddens of the Carolina Chocolate Drops (Leaving Eden).

She has written the songs for seven plays, staged at Triad Stage and Playmaker's Repertory.  Her song cycle, The Gathering: A Winter's Tale in Six Songs was commissioned by the North Carolina Symphony and premiered in Raleigh in 2011. She last performed it in 2019 with the Winston-Salem Symphony.

Laurelyn has written songs for various protest movements in North Carolina including My Beloved Enemy and Vote Against Amendment One. She remains a voice for social justice and environmental activism in North Carolina and beyond.  The River’s Lament is her testament to the devastation of the Dan River coal ash spill. She founded and continues to host the annual “Songs of Hope and Justice” at the North Carolina Folk Festival.

Laurelyn has taught songwriting and singing at the Augusta Heritage Center, as well as at many universities, workshops and festivals. She is the recipient of the Betty Cone Medal of Arts, the North Carolina Arts Council Fellowship for songwriting, the Chris Austin songwriting contest at Merlefest, and has been a fellow at the Virginia Center for Creative Arts.

Eric Bannan brings stories to life with moving personal narratives, a sly sense of humor and a soulful singing voice. Eric is a husband, father, songwriter, storyteller, US Coast Guard rescue flight crew veteran,  back country adventure racer and cancer survivor with a masters in computer science.

He has been called to share his art to inspire, motivate for positive change and build community. His music is rooted in folk, driven by foot-tapping funk and seasoned with the blues. With over 40 years of performing experience, Eric’s presentations are an energetic celebration of life, love and loss. Based in Pittsboro, NC Eric travels the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states bringing the power of storytelling and improvisation to faith communities, festivals and front porches.

Eric’s new 2021 CD Sacred Spaces is a musical distillation of his journey through and out the other side of cancer. It’s a bold artistic statement with one foot in the singer/songwriter world and the other in vocal improvisation.

Tickets: click here