Pat Guadagno and Steve Reilly are among the Shore-based musicians taking part in a first-ever Nashville Guitar Pull for charity this Saturday at Middletown Arts Center.
It’s called a Guitar Pull — a type of event that’s infinitely more pleasant than a hamstring pull, less sticky than a taffy pull — although it often draws from the same kind of audience that appreciates a first-rate tractor pull.
Defined as “a Southern tradition where a small group of musicians sit around and take turns playing songs on a guitar,” the loosely structured, stories-and-songs format has a city-slicker cousin in our regional Songwriters in the Round/ Songwriters by the Sea events. And Saturday, such an event pulls into the greater Red Bank Green when the Middletown Arts Center (MAC) hosts a first-ever Nashville Guitar Pull concert for a worthy cause.
Commencing at 6 pm — and preceded by a 4 pm wine and beer reception — the event reconvenes an All-Shore group of veteran singers, pickers and players, headlined by a couple of local star attractions: Jersey Shore “saloon singer” supreme Pat Guadagno, and Irish-born troubador Steve Reilly. They’ll be joined on the MAC stage by Peter Myers, Joe Miller and Steve Delopoulos for an intimate and casual session of rock-era standards, country/folk evergreens and maybe even a few originals. Proceeds from both the pre-show and the performance benefit the Monmouth County-based nonprofit Hope For Children Foundation, an organization whose mission of “making a significant positive difference in the lives of children” extends to its many assistance programs in the areas of health, housing, utilities, education, daycare and nutrition.
Take it here to reserve tickets ($40 per person) to the April 4 event.
