Rock My Soul will perform on March 1 as part of this year's "York Reads! One Book, One Community."
Courtesy photo
YORK VILLAGE - "York Reads! One Book, One Community" will present a special concert of gospel music by Rock My Soul on March 1.
The concert will begin at 7 p.m. at the First Parish Congregational Church.
"York Reads! One Book, One Community" is an event where the entire community - friends, family, neighbors and co-workers alike - are invited to read the same book. This shared experience encourages the readers to consider what it means to be a community and is augmented by community events like the Rock My Soul concert.
This year's book, "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt, is a family tale based on true events in Maine's Black History.
In 1912, Malaga Island, a small island off the coast of Phippsburg, was home to an inter-racial community that was forcibly removed by the state to make way for the tourism industry. Homes were razed and the whole community was relocated; some of the inhabitants committed to an insane asylum. The tourism project was never completed and the island sits vacant today.
Rock My Soul's performance adds to the York Reads lineup because, organizers explained, it shares some of the nation's Black history through song.
Rock My Soul has performed its rousing, "raise-the-rafters" gospel music to packed houses throughout New England. The interfaith, nondenominational group, which is comprised of 20 voices and a full four-piece band, is known for bringing its audiences to their feet.
The group also shares the stories behind the songs, which include spirituals of the 1700s, civil rights-era songs, traditional Southern gospel and blues-based gospel.
"This event is so exciting to us, because the purpose of York Reads is so aligned with that of the Gospel Music Project's purpose," noted Deborah Erickson-Irons, a local member of Rock My Soul, in an announcement of the upcoming event. "Rock My Soul is part of The Gospel Music Project, a nonprofit arts organization whose purpose is to bring diverse communities together through this music. The York Reads project has a similar purpose, from a literary perspective - to bring community together by sharing the same reading experience."
Advanced tickets are encouraged and are on sale now at the York Public Library, York Hospital Volunteer Office, York Adult and Community Education, the Greater York Region Chamber of Commerce and online at www.gospelmusicproject.org. Tickets for adults are $10 each; students ages 6 to 17 are $3 each, and tickets for those under 5 are free of charge.
For more information about this special concert event, call York Adult and Community Education at 363-7922.
Copies of "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" may be purchased for $5 at the York Public Library, York Hospital Volunteer Office, York Adult and Community Education, and the York Chamber of Commerce. It is suitable reading for those in grade 5 through adulthood. For more about "York Reads! One Book, One Community," visit www.york.lib.me.us.
