While in the thick of planning the Meriden debut of the Old Church Concert Series, we could not have imagined a better outcome. Friday, February 7, 2020 was a spectacular night of music and community spirit with a veritable “who’s who” of CT’s finest singer/songwriters joining fans old and new to christen the new venue and honor Mike Wilcox, who created this unique series four years ago. We are so thankful he has trusted us with his “baby”.

Please bear with us – we have so many to thank! HUGE gratitude to Frank Critelli for handling the challenging emcee duties like the pro he is. Meriden is incredibly fortunate to have this man of music in its midst!

Pastor Bruce Miller and the First Church of Meriden enthusiastically opened their doors to us and have been tremendously supportive. The First Church’s amazing “kitchen krew” received rave reviews for the great food. Our crack operations team handled the million details and should be acknowledged as well — Bruce Burchsted, for not only his printing and signage skills but his wisdom as well. Pat Coffey and Steve Bradley embraced the setup and soundboard for 24 acts which is no small feat! Kathy Matula brought great ideas and greeted everyone with a smile at the door. Kate Garrahy coordinated the collectable T-shirts as a special treat for Mike and the team. Thanks also to the city’s Howard Weissberg and CTRail for bringing creative solutions to the mix.

Check out photos from Connor Gagne Photography here, and video from Hollywood East Productions.

We ask everyone to please support our many generous sponsors: Telefunken Elektroakustik; Gallery 53; the City of Meriden, CT; Midstate Chamber of Commerce; Prentis Printing Solutions; The L. Suzio York Hill Companies; The Downtown Coffee Shop; Kingship Recording Company; Illiano’s Ristorante & Pizzeria Meriden; Hunter’s Ambulance Service; Meriden YMCA; La Poblanita Restaurant; Sudor Taino Group Fitness; CaroVail, Inc.; The Local Pizzaria; Making Meriden Business Center; Meriden Parks & Recreation Department; and Joseph F Feest. Big thanks for continuing support from the Acoustic Blender – WESU FM, Middletown CT; Homegrown-The Connecticut Connected Music Show on WESU FM; WWUH; WHUS Radio; CYGNUS RADIO; iCRV Radio; WPLR’s Local Band Show; WPKN Independent Community Radio, and CONNECTICUT ROCKS! Radio as well. Be sure to check out their broadcasts.

Of course, this event would not have succeeded without the generosity of CT’s singer/songwriter community who volunteered their valuable time and amazing talent to honor Mike and help us kickoff the Series in Meriden. Please support these great artists whenever possible: No Line North: Canyon.; Chris Bousquet – American Elm; Elana Zabari; Say Love; Shannon Mulready Music Page; Jeff Burnham & the Insiders; Seth Adam; Gilead Road; Meggie; Zoo Front; Seat Of Our Pants; Still Rivers; Pigeon English; Kat Wallace and David Sasso; Shannon McMahon; The Moon Shells; Lys Guillorn; Among The Acres; Nick Depuy Music and Barbie Tatum; the “Professor” Richard Neal; and Frank Critelli. Of course, huge thanks to the beautiful crowd who attended and please mark your calendars for Friday, March 6 when we will be back to the standard three-artist format!

With sincere gratitude to all,
David Emmett Cooley & Denise Jones