The Church of The Lost Souls: Billy McLaughlin & SimpleGifts’ Celtic Sunday featuring Laura MacKenzie
Sunday, March 14, 2021
3:45 pm Doors/4:30 pm Show
$29 Advance/$39 At The Door
All Ages
*Limited In-Person Tickets on sale Friday, Feb. 19 beginning at 8 am CST*
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 including a mid-concert set by acclaimed Celtic instrumentalist Laura MacKenzie. Performing a mix of originals and classic covers, and concluding with a Q&A with Billy and Laura.
"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.
With St. Paddy’s Day just around the corner, featured guest artist Laura MacKenzie will present a special mid-concert Celtic celebration.
Laura MacKenzie as learned from many tradition bearers on both sides of the Atlantic, and has herself been recognized as a Master Folk Artist (Minnesota State Arts Board). She has been lauded as a “Celtic music wizard” by the Minneapolis Star Tribune and a “High priestess of Celtic music” by Minnesota Public Radio.
In 2014, the City of St Paul declared “Laura MacKenzie Day” by official proclamation for Laura’s contributions to traditional music in Minnesota. Among other notables, Laura has performed in extended productions with Frank McCourt (Pulitzer prize winning author of Angela’s Ashes), T.R. Knight (of Grey’s Anatomy on stage at the Guthrie Theater) and Katie McMahon (of Riverdance). She also performs and records with Dáithí Sproule (of Altan), and with Billy McLaughlin.
As a player and producer, MacKenzie is often engaged for live shows and studio projects, and can be heard on numerous recordings and several documentaries. One of her studio productions sold over 580,000 copies. Laura both produced and performed in the popular and festive Charladies Christmas and Gaelfest! shows. In performance, Laura currently appears as a solo artist, in duos with Dáithí Sproule, Gary Rue, Ross Sutter, in Willow Brae with harpist Andrea Stern, in the ensembles Laura MacKenzie and the Lads, The Frothy Band, Brass Lassie, and in SimpleGifts with Billy McLaughlin. Laura’s powerful array of wind instruments includes wooden flutes, many whistles, concertina, Scottish smallpipes, Border pipes, French Cornemuse, Spanish Gaita, Medieval English Greatpipes, Leicester smallpipes, gemshorn and voice.