BRATTLEBORO — Three area a cappella groups will perform a benefit concert, “Gimme Shelter,” for Groundworks Collaborative on Saturday, April 16, at 7:30 p.m., at the Hooker-Dunham Theatre, 139 Main St.
Groundworks is the recent merger of Brattleboro Area Drop In Center and Morningside Shelter. It offers the second largest food shelf in Vermont and a 30-bed shelter, as well as a seasonal shelter from November through April, a day shelter, and a youth shelter in Bellows Falls.
The three vocal groups, whose musical styles vary, are House Blend, Big Woods Voices, and Singcrony Trio.
House Blend, formed in 2006, is an assembly of 20 veteran singers from Vermont and New Hampshire devoted to the collective exploration of the many styles of a cappella songs from around the world as well as throughout musical history.
Their first CD appeared in 2008 followed by a tour in the Loire Valley region of France with Chorale Cantoria. Their second CD, “Percolatin',” came out in 2011.
Big Woods Voices is the union of four experienced singers - Amanda Witman, Becky Graber, Will Danforth, and Alan Blood - celebrating their common passion for a cappella harmony.
Their music comprises Danforth's lyrical settings of poetry by David Whyte, Mary Oliver, W.B. Yeats; Danforth's arrangements of American roots music; and his original compositions; and also includes pieces by musicians such as Pete Sutherland, The Finest Kind, and Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross.
Singcrony Trio (Singcrony Quartet, minus one temporarily) is an a cappella ensemble of three women singers - Beth Kiendl, Andrea Matthews, and Carrie Walker - whose favorite musical styles are swing jazz, jazz standards, and classic pop from the era of the 1920s through the 1960s. Quirky tunes by talented local arranger Anna Patton are always in their repertoire along with music in the style of the Andrews Sisters, the Boswell Sisters, and other close-harmony groups.
Singcrony Quartet produced the first Gimme Shelter concert last year, which benefited the Baptist Church's efforts with the Overflow Shelter. That concert was unfortunately on the day of an ice storm. According to a news release, “the hope is that April behaves itself this time around.”