Like charity, perhaps peace begins at home, too.
Domestic violence in its various forms is all too common. November being family violence prevention month, getting the message out is the primary driver behind A Concert for Peace at Home, set for November 17 in Elmira.
Performances by Jacob Moon and Scott Carere will benefit the prevention program at Woolwich Community Services.
“A big piece of this is awareness,” said organizer Marilyn Bauman of the impetus for the concert. “By doing things like this, we hope that people will become more involved. We’re trying to get people in talking mode.”
Shining a light on the situation of family violence, Bauman notes, brings the issue out of hiding.
Additionally, she hopes to raise some money for the WCS cause. “Funds are always an issue.”
The concert at Woodside Bible Fellowship is a free-will offering, with Bauman hoping the audience will be generous.
Having seen Moon perform this summer, she said he seemed like a good fit for the kind of fundraising concert she’d had in mind for some time.
For his part, Moon said he was eager to get involved.
“I’m always happy to be part of something like this,” he said. “There’s a longstanding tradition of folk music dealing with this issue.”
Moon is no stranger to fundraising concerts or singing for a cause, including the likes of Compassion Canada, International Justice Mission, Mennonite Central Committee, Canadian Foodgrains Bank and many schools across Canada. He notes, however, that family violence issues haven’t always been accounted for among such efforts.
“I don’t often get a chance to play at events that are related to this cause,” said Moon, adding the topic is right in the genre’s wheelhouse.
“I’ve got lots of songs about struggle and improving communication and fostering understanding.”
A Kitchener-Waterloo native and music grad of Wilfrid Laurier University, the Hamilton-based singer-songwriter has kept a tiring pace of touring and recording in the intervening two decades, and now has nine albums to his credit.
Decidedly folky, his music reflects a range of influences that sometimes makes it difficult to pigeonhole. The song stylings draw on his own songwriting heroes such as Jackson Browne, Peter Gabriel, Ron Sexsmith, Paul Simon and James Taylor.
In folk tradition, he draws on his own experiences and the stories of others he meets. Songs of struggle, for instance, aren’t hard to come by because it’s not hard to come by stories of personal hardships.
“That’s how come … I’ve got songs about struggle, about existential crisis,” he said.
With the issue of family violence, there are far too many stories.
“That’s why with [concerts] like this we’re trying to put a stop to gender violence,” Moon added. “To say, as a community, we stand against violence.”
For Bauman, who grew up in the rural southern part of Nova Scotia, family violence was all too common in the local communities. She’s been involved with WCS and its family violence prevention program for 17 years.
As a supporter of the work, she’s long thought that a concert would be a good way to raise awareness and funds. How next week’s show goes over will determine if the format is repeated.
“If something like this could work, then maybe we can do this every November,” she said.
A Concert for Peace at Home takes place November 17 at 7:30 p.m. at Woodside Bible Fellowship, 200 Barnswallow Dr., Elmira. Moon will be supported by former Wellesley Idol winner Scott Carere. More information about WCS and its programs can be found online at www.woolwichcommunityservices.com.
Moon shifts into Christmas mode with The Commissionaires for a show December 9 at the Registry Theatre in Kitchener.
