Singer/songwriter comes to Liberty Oct. 25

Editor

jevans@pickenssentinel.com

LIBERTY - Her voice has been called "wild" and "primal."

Her songs have been called "bone-shaking" and "thoroughly sophisticated."

Area residents can decide for themselves as award-winning singer/songwriter Hope Nunnery comes to Liberty for a special concert 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25.

The concert will be held at the Rosewood Center in Liberty, 429 E. Main Street.

The concert is one of several stops in the Upstate for Nunnery organized by local arts advocacy group The Birchwood Center.

"Hope Nunnery is a very talented singer/songwriter," said Tom Johnson, a Birchwood Center board member.

Nunnery's music is combines "country, blues, folk with touches of gospel, honky-tonk and bluegrass," Johnson said.

"She's really hard to categorize," Johnson said. "She's got this really down-to-earth voice."

Nunnery will be accompanied by Steve Tarshis. The two New York-based musicians have been performing together for a number of years, Johnson said.

Nunnery, a Sumter native, writes music based on her roots.

"She writes her songs out of her experiences growing up in West Sumter county," Johnson said. "She takes her music very seriously. She gets up at 5 a.m. to write her songs, then she goes to work in New York."

The concert will benefit the Birchwood Center.

"We're a non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve and promote the arts, folk life, history and conservation of the Blue Ridge area," Johnson said.

The Birchwood Center offers a wide variety of programming throughout the year, he said.

"We've done book festivals, art fairs, writers' workshops," he said. "We're very much interesting in writing, teaching and mentoring.

"This is the first time we've done anything like this, the first time we've sponsored a major music performance," Johnson continued.

In addition to raising money for the Birchwood Center, Nunnery's appearance will also celebrate the release of her album, "Wilderness Lounge."

"She's gotten really wonderful reviews," Johnson said.

The Liberty concert is just one in a series of stops organized by The Birchwood Center.

Nunnery will appear at The Showroom in Spartanburg 7 p.m. Wednesday Oct. 22 for a concert organized in conjunction with the Hub City Writers Project.

Nunnery will also appear at The Bohemian Caf