This Veterans Day join us for Soldier Stories, One Family's Journey through 250 years of War and Service, through music, letters, stories and poetry featuring Nell Robinson, Jim Nunally, Keith Little, and acclaimed director/actor Julian Lopez Morillas in a show benefitting The Berkeley Food & Housing Project.

The music in this thoughtful, critically acclaimed show ranges from traditional to contemporary roots and americana music, dating from the Revolutionary War to the present, delivered in surprising and fresh ways with Nell's smoky vocals, Jim Nunally's virtuosic guitar, multi-instrumentalist Keith Little's mandolin, fiddle and banjo, and beguiling three-part harmonies.  Woven throughout the music Julian will be reading letters, stories and poetry from Nell's southern family, who have fought in every war, at times on both sides, since the American Revolution (and against the middle as pacifists too).  Now in its third year, this engaging show full of laughter, tears, and  old favorites, will also include music from a soon-to-be-released Soldier Stories album with originals by Rodney Crowell and Guy Clark.  Said Vietnam Veteran Michael Hogan, “I honestly was apprehensive to attend Soldier Stories on Veterans Day...I am so glad I did! I served with the 1st Cav in 1967-68 in Vietnam and have just wanted to forget. Soldier Stories changed my mind. It is wonderful music, and the message is deeply INSPIRATIONAL.  I have never been so moved by a concert.”

This year the Soldier Stories concert will benefit a special program for Homeless Vets.  The Berkeley Food & Housing Project annually provides emergency shelter, meals and support services to more than 200 veterans. All service branches are represented by those who served in conflicts spanning from Vietnam to Iraq or Afghanistan or in peace time roles. Although all a homeless and looking for work, nearly all are trained and skilled including mechanics, technicians and culinary workers.  Shortly over a year ago, BFHP launched its Veteran’s Transitional Housing program, effectively known as “Welcome Home – Berkeley Vets,” as a complement to its existing Men’s Overnight Shelter. The program provides a much-deserved, long-overdue space for 12 veteran men to stabilize as they access case management and connect to employment and permanent housing opportunities.

Come enjoy this opportunity to share an evening of engaging string band music, thank our veterans, and reflect on our history with war and service, while helping to support this year's beneficiary, the Berkeley Food & Housing Project.

Visit the Berkeley Food and Housing Project's website

Listen to a track from Nell Robinson: