The much beloved Gathering of Singer/Songwriters will return to the Dietrich on Wednesday, August 23 at 7:30 p.m. For the twentieth year Lorne Clarke will bring to the Dietrich stage four of the best Singer/Songwriters in northeastern Pennsylvania. The star studded lineup this year includes four talented musicians, Lorne Clarke, Tom Flannery, Josh Pratt and John Canjar. The concert is sponsored by the Wyoming County Commissioners and is free with donations accepted.
Lorne Clarke has for many years been the region’s foremost supporter and promoter of acoustic folk music. Margie Young discovered Lorne when cultural programming began at the Dietrich Theater in 2002, initiating the first Gathering of Singer/Songwriters that summer. Lorne’s Old Lynn Church concerts brought to the area folk singers from around the world in free concerts, enabling all to enjoy the best in folk music. A prolific singer/songwriter himself, Lorne has recorded three albums. His latest, From My Window, is a collection of 14 original songs, recorded and produced by singer, songwriter, producer Michael Jerling, who says, “These fourteen well-crafted songs reflect Lorne’s colorful biography and his unwillingness to simply accept cruelty and injustice in the world. Although difficult subjects are addressed, there is no despairing. Hope shines through.”
Tom Flannery is famed not only as a singer/songwriter, but also as a playwright, bringing several of his plays to the Dietrich Theater including The Last Thoughts of Gino Merli and God and the Ghost of Woody Guthrie. Tom also is unwilling to accept injustice in the world and he writes and sings about it, as Lorne does, not always seeing hope shining through, however, a good contrast to Lorne. Tom is the most prolific of songwriters, writing hundreds of songs – sometimes completing two in a day. Tom and Lorne are longtime friends and colleagues and the friendly banter between them is always one of the attractions of the evening.
Josh Pratt is a highly respected and admired singer/songwriter, returning to the Dietrich stage. A Wyoming County resident, he has been a featured performer on WVIA’s Homegrown Music and at the Dietrich’s Singer-Songwriter series and Dietrich Open Mic. Josh released two albums of original acoustic material.
John Canjar has had a passionate interest in songwriting since the age of 14 when he fell in love with the music of The Beatles and Nirvana. John has performed throughout NEPA and beyond since age 17. At 22, he joined a local band, Nowhere Slow, and has performed with them for the past 18 years. In 2008, John released his first solo album Chamber Music. Nowhere Slow released an original album entitled Listen/Love in 2010.
In 2016, he released a follow up solo album called Northeasy. As well as a love for The Beatles and Nirvana, the musical influences that may be detected in John’s original work include Tom Petty, Dave Matthews Band, Ben Folds, Sublime, Guster, and Dispatch.
Come join in on the fun of the Gathering of Singer/Songwriters at the Dietrich Theater on Wednesday, August 23 at 7:30 p.m. Free tickets will be available at the door or can be reserved by calling 570-836-1022 x3.
