Joshua Davis to Perform Benefit Concert for St. Cecilia Music Center, 10/4

Joshua Davis, one of the finalists from "The Voice", will perform a solo concert at a benefit for St. Cecilia Music Center on Sunday, October 4th. The benefit concert will help raise funds to support St. Cecilia as the official ArtPrize music hub. Opening acts for the benefit concert include local folk rock veterans Troll for Trout and bluegrass favorites Fauxgrass Quartet.

Joshua Davis was raised in the folk tradition: the music, the social movements, the land. He writes songs that blend the roots of American music with gritty rock n' roll and vintage soul. Performing Songwriter Magazine calls his music, "Some of the liveliest and most rocking roots music around." Joshua Davis was most recently featured on the popular NBC Entertainment hit "The Voice" where he placed third in the nationally televised 2015 competition, bringing major attention to his talents and to Michigan's thriving music scene.

The concert will begin at 6pm with a cash bar from 5:30-8:00 during the opening acts. Headliner Joshua Davis will take the stage at 8pm. A post-concert meet-the-artist reception will be open to all ticket holders. Reserved tickets are $30 for an A section seat and $25 for a B section seat. Tickets are available at www.scmc-online.org, by calling St. Cecilia Music Center at 616-459-2224 or visiting the box office at 24 Ransom Ave. NE in Downtown Grand Rapids.

For over 15 years Joshua Davis has made his living sharing his songs, stories and knowledge across the US and Canada at festivals, concert halls, coffeehouses and dives - as a solo act, front man for roots ensemble "Steppin' In It", classic swing band "Shout Sister Shout", songwriter showcase band "The Starlight Six" and frequently as a workshop facilitator, presenter or instructor. Dubbed, "the Michigan version of the Great American Songscape" (Chris Reitz, Elderly Instruments), Davis' catalog is a seamless snapshot of American past and present. Joshua has shared stages with a diverse list of luminaries, such as Greg Brown, The Indigo Girls, The Dixie Hummingbirds, Corey Harris, John Gorka, Jeff Daniels, Ellis Paul, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Jimmy LaFave, Ray Bonneville, Arlo Guthrie, Abigail Washburn, Larry McCray, Sunny Wilkinson, Catie Curtis, Peter "Madcat" Ruth, Bernie Leadon, Pete Seeger and Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

Davis has released three critically acclaimed solo albums, five albums with Steppin' In It, a record of jazz standards with Shout Sister Shout, and has appeared on too many albums to count. His most recent album, "A Miracle of Birds" is inspired by his travels in the Palestinian West Bank with non-profit organization On the Ground. His music receives regular airplay across the US and has been heard in at least 180 countries. His records have consistently appeared on major independent and free-format radio charts. Among other honors, "Fool Rooster" earned the album of the year slot from Progressive Torch and Twang, a cult favorite Americana show on WDBM, "Magnolia Belles" won Americana album of the year from WYCE, "Simple Tunes for Troubled Times" was one of Folk Alley's best albums of 2009 and Shout Sister Shout's "Hit That Jive" reached #1 on the Roots Music Report jazz chart and was the longest charting jazz album of that year. Davis has gained recognition as an enthusiastic and successful songwriting and guitar instructor and folk historian. He has studied under greats such as Guy Clark, Steve Earle, John Hartford, Greg Brown, Tim O'Brien, Lyle Lovett, Michael Smith, and Tom Paxton and Dr. Bruce Conforth as well as Bela Fleck, Casey Driessen, and Roy Book Binder. Joshua Davis is a respected producer and has built a small but excellent home studio, pointing to his work with Grammy and Oscar winning producers and audio engineers Glenn Brown, Sally Van Meter and David Glasser.

Davis is especially interested in the ways in which music brings individuals and communities together, to foster peace and understanding. He's noticed that songs can re-soundtrack people's lives and peoples' lives too. In February of 2012, he travelled to Palestine and Israel with non-profit org On the Ground to participate as "cultural emissary" in the Run Across Palestine, a fund raising ultra-marathon in support of fair trade farming communities in the West Bank. Davis has just released "A Miracle of Birds", an album inspired by his experience in the Holy Land. Half of the proceeds will mean olive trees and educational scholarships for the farmers and families he encountered during his travels. The songs are deeply personal and deal with his struggle between his Jewish identity and the oppression and confusion he found in the Middle East. He brings a unique program to schools and communities that combines his music and stories about the trip as well as club dates with a world-class six-piece band. His greatest honor as a writer came recently when the Michigan Historical Museum recognized his work in "Put It On Paper", an exhibit examining the creative process alongside legendary creative minds such as Ernest Hemingway and Laura Ingalls-Wilder. Davis and his lovely and brilliant wife live in Traverse City, Michigan with their daughter and son.

IF YOU GO:

ArtPrize MUSIC - A Benefit for St. Cecilia Music Center
Featuring Joshua Davis from "The Voice"
with special guests Troll for Trout and Fauxgrass Quartet
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Concert begins at 6 pm
Joshua Davis begins at 8 pm

A section $30 - reserved seating
B section $25 - reserved seating

Cash bar from 5:30-8:00
Complimentary post-concert "Meet-the-artist" reception

All tickets can be purchased by calling St. Cecilia Music Center at 616-459-2224 or visiting the box office at 24 Ransom Ave. NE. Purchase tickets online at www.scmc-online.org.

St. Cecilia Music Center's mission is to promote the study, appreciation and performance of music in order to enrich the lives of West Michigan residents. The Center fulfills this mission by presenting visiting world-class artists in concert, providing music education for all ages through our School of Music and preserving a historic building for musical activities and community events.

Since 1917, the West Michigan Tourist Association (WMTA) has worked to market the very best of West Michigan to travelers. Covering the entire west side of Michigan from the Indiana border to Mackinac Island, WMTA presents information on the best attractions, lodging, events, and activities in West Michigan. For more information on this non-profit organization, visit WMTA.org.

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