The Church of The Lost Souls: Billy McLaughlin & SimpleGifts w. special guest, Jeff Arundel
Sunday, March 21, 2021
3:45 pm Doors/4:30 pm Show CDT
$29 Advance/$39 At The Door
All Ages
Exclusive in-person seating will follow state pandemic guidelines; patrons must be masked and practice social distancing. This performance will also be made available as a "pay what you wish" livestream here and also at BillyMcLaughlin.com.
Ticket purchases are final and non-refundable.
It’s not really a church. And you don’t have to be lost or found to attend or tune in.
But this new weekly concert series hopes to raise spirits and share the love of live music.
Performed by award-winning composer & guitarist Billy McLaughlin and his band SimpleGifts, and featuring a mid-concert set by acclaimed Minnesota singer/songwriter, Jeff Arundel. Performing a mix of originals and classic covers, and concluding with a Q&A with Billy and Jeff.
"As a kid, my first chance to play guitar was Sundays at my church. Problem was,
the music director kept telling us [that] the songs we really wanted to play were not allowed,” says award-winning composer & guitarist, Billy McLaughlin. “After all these years I thought it would be fun to share whatever feels right [and] that could send people into Mondays with a good feeling!"
The ‘message’ of The Church of The Lost Souls is the music, which will range from McLaughlin's new guitar and vocal compositions to favorite older work from his expansive catalog, to more universal fare that may include everything from classic artists like Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Bob Marley, The Beatles, Sly and the Family Stone — along with current favorites in contemporary music.
Billy McLaughlin has been changing people’s idea of what an acoustic guitar can sound like since the 1980’s. He is recognized as an innovative performer and composer who embraces the advantages of acoustic guitar amplification, unorthodox techniques and altered tunings while celebrating a gift for melody. His enormous yet fluid acoustic guitar tone has carried him around the world, to Billboard’s Top-Ten Chart and most recently through a devastating medical disorder called focal dystonia. McLaughlin has had to re-learn the guitar left-handed and is in the early stages of what might be described as ‘one of the great musical-comeback stories of all time.” His story is the subject of an award-winning documentary film called Changing Keys – Billy McLaughlin and the Mysteries of Dystonia.
“…you may swear Billy McLaughlin is two of the greatest acoustic guitarists you’ve ever heard.” — Pittsburgh Post Gazette
“… it’s amazing that such an extensive sound comes from one instrument.”
— Chicago Sun Times
Joining McLaughlin will be his signature band, SimpleGifts, featuring versatile singers Kathleen Johnson, Karen Paurus, Amy Courts, and Celtic multi-instrumentalist Laura MacKenzie.
Jeff Arundel has mounted stages both tiny and large for forty years, singing wistful songs of romance, and funky stuff that belies his true wish to be Bill Withers. He has released seven records of (largely) original music, and in 2019 will release an eighth, called Now We Go. Jeff has won awards, been featured on various compilations, opened for Big Artists, and has traveled the world as a singer-songwriter, as a producer, and as a music director. He also founded the ground-breaking Lifestyle music label “Lifescapes” and was a co-founder of Compass Entertainment, at one time the Midwest’s largest independent concert promoter. Jeff performs with his band “The Hammsmen”, sometimes called “the most sensitive band in North America.” He regularly plays the Midwest, often with his lifetime musical brother Billy McLaughlin. Nostalgic, emotional, wistful, funny, edgier than you’d think, and maybe Better Than Ever. Now We Go!