Fall is in the air and the Raise the Roof concert series is back!  After a summer filled with sun and heat, it’s time to move indoors for live music in Proctorsville on October 30.  

Accordionist Jeremiah McLane, fiddler Sarah Blair, guitarist Owen Marshall and piper and whistler Tim Cummings have joined forces to create an exciting new quartet that plays traditional music from France and the British Isles, as well as original compositions. Called Mystery Cafe, the dynamic foursome plays and sings music full of subtle changes in mood, interweaving songs and tunes with texture and dynamics that give the listener the impression they are four musicians with one mind.  Their firm grounding in high energy traditional dance music, as well as haunting slow airs, combined with mastery of their instruments and innovative playing make for a musical experience filled with energy and spirit.

Mystery Cafe is led by accordionist Jeremiah McLane, whose lifetime of pursuing and performing music includes many genres:  blues, jazz, folk, Celtic, French and Quebecois, enriched by studying African drumming, Indonesian gamelan and minimalist composers Steve Reich and Philip Glass.   He founded two popular New England traditional bands, Clayfoot Strutters and Nightengale.  His solo recording, Smile When You’re Ready, was nominated by National Public Radio as part of their “favorite picks” poll that asks listeners for songs that make them feel good.

Mystery Cafe will perform on Sunday October 30 at 4:00 p.m. at Gethsemane Church on Depot St. in Proctorsville.  The little church, know for its big acoustics, is an intimate venue.  Admission is $10 at the door.