Focus Alexandria Presents Folk Singer/Songwriter Peter Mayer

Focus presents folk singer/songwriter Peter Mayer, with special guest Doug Alan Wilcox, on Saturday, March 7, at 7 p.m. at St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church in Alexandria. Tickets are $18 general, $15 in advance at www.focusmusic.org.

Actively touring throughout the ‘90s, Minnesota native Peter Mayer is known for his earthy, intimate songwriting and fingerstyle guitar work. He has been recognized by such well-known folk institutions as the Telluride Festival and Lyons Folk Festival, and has received favorable reviews in publications such as Acoustic Guitar and Dirty Linen.

Mayer writes songs about interconnectedness and the human journey; about the beauty and the mystery of the world. Whimsical, humorous and profound, his music breaks the boundaries of folk, and transcends to a realm beyond the everyday love song, to a place of wonder at the very fact of life itself.

Mayer began playing guitar and writing songs when he was in high school. He studied theology and music in college, and then spent two years in seminary. After deciding that the priesthood wasn’t for him, he took a part-time job as a church music director for eight years, while performing at clubs and colleges, and writing and recording his music. In 1995, he started touring full-time. Since then, Mayer has gradually gained a dedicated, word-of-mouth following, selling out shows from Minnesota to Texas, New England to California.

Mayer’s ninth CD, “Heaven Below” (2010), continues his themes of spirituality and serenity, and occasional silliness. To wit: “The Hat Song” and the lyric, “She’ll adore ya/ In a fedora.” His more recent effort, “Third Street” was released last year and is described as “a marvel of contemporary folk/singer songwriter goodness.”

“His guitar work is breath-taking, his lyrics mind-spinning, his singing soul-soothing and his feet-on-the-ground optimism nothing short of healing,” writes Marilyn Rea-Beyer, music director at WUMB Radio in Boston. Washington area musician and XM Radio host Mary Sue Twohy says Mayer “makes it look easy -- beautifully crafted songs that pose eternal questions -- his arrangements make it sound like there is certainly more than one man and his guitar in the XM Satellite Radio studios.”

Maryland native Doug Alan Wilcox has traveled a road from solo acoustic artist through numerous electric bands of various stripes and back again, performing along the way at some of the country’s more notable venues as well as countless small cafes and concert spaces. His sound has been described as “funky folk” and “folk with a groove” _ a folk/rock, jazz and blues blend. Having a penchant for spiritually attuned lyrics, Wilcox’s newest work pushes the boundaries of mystical reference, exploring the “bigger picture.”

In addition to his guitar, Wilcox’s work on hand drums, harmonica and harmony vocals has supported numerous world-class regional and national artists.

Tickets are available here. Discounts also available for Focus members. For more information, contact Herb Cooper-Levy at 703-380-3151 or herb@focusmusic.org.

St. Aidan’s is located at 8531 Riverside Rd., Alexandria, Va. 22308, between Fort Hunt Road and Route 1.

Video: Several songs recorded at Front Porch, Boulder, Colo: http://www.petermayer.net/video/

Focus Alexandria, a volunteer-run local nonprofit, presents monthly folk and acoustic music shows, usually on the third Sunday night of the month, in Alexandria. Next, on Feb. 17, is acoustic blues singer Scott Ainslie, with Rick Franklin.