Press Articles on Soulful Sundown
From The Hook:
MUSIC
REVIEW- Holy rollin': Taking the masters to church
From C-Ville Weekly:
Let the sunshine sing
The spirit might move you at Unitarian Church's Soulful Sundowns concerts
By Nell Boeschenstein
nell@c-ville.com
Richelle Claiborne opens her mouth wide and sings the opening lines of "A
Change is Gonna Come."
"I was born by the river…" she sings
a cappella. Her voice fills the expansive Unitarian Church from rafter to rafter.
The 30-odd people seated in the pews are perfectly silent and the late Sunday
afternoon sun streams through the large windows. Claiborne then switches seamlessly
from Sam Cooke's classic into her own poetry.
"Even though I wasn't born by a river, I want my
change to come," she pauses her singsong rhythm for effect. "I expect
my change to come."
For the next hour and a half Claiborne sings snippets of other people's songs,
reads from her own poems, performs and chats, joined midway through by guitarist
Tucker Rogers. Outside, the sun starts to set and the softening light outside
softens the interior of the church. In a word, the whole experience is soothing.
Undeniably so.
Claiborne is the featured musician for April's Soulful
Sundown, a monthly event held at the Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Universalist
Church on Rugby Road. The event resembles a church service and yet there's no
mention of God. Instead, it's structured around secular song, music, poetry
and stories, as opposed to prayer and sermons. Each performer chooses a theme
around which the music and the readings are structured. Claiborne's chosen theme
is "Journey and Change."
"It's not a place of obligation or rigid systems,"
explains Louisa Wimberger, one of the event's organizers. It's intended to attract
20- and 30somethings, for whom regular old Sunday morning church might not appeal.
Soulful Sundowns is a time to reflect and relax-nothing more, nothing less.
Moreover, Soulful Sundowns aren't just a Charlottesville
event. They're a nationwide program through the Unitarian Universalist Church,
intended as a means of getting new people involved with the church. However,
says Wimberger, if people prefer not to join the church, that's fine.
"If nothing else, they'll just keep coming to Soulful
Sundowns," she says.
Claiborne's Soulful Sundown is a new experience for
the organizers, since most of the performers have been more of the singer-songwriter
ilk. Danny Schmidt filled the house at the very first Sundown in September 2003.
Paul Curreri, Devon Sproule and Proutt and McCormick are among the other local
acts that have tried their hand at the nonservices.
Coming up Sunday, May 8, at 7pm is another first for
the Wimberger and her fellow Soulful Sundowners: John D'earth, trumpet in hand,
will be the first jazzman to take the Sundown stage and Wimberger, for one,
is excited. He's a busy man and she's been trying to book him for a year.
Pullquote:
Soulful Sundowns is intended to attract 20- and 30 somethings, for whom regular
old Sunday morning church might not appeal.
Caption:
Paul Curreri and Richelle Claiborne have played previous Soulful Sundowns at
the Unitarian Universalist Church. John D'earth picks up his trumpet for the
stage Sunday, May 8.
Copyright C-VILLE Weekly. Reprinted with permission of the publisher.
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