Never Alone

Prior to a concert we gave at a prison last year, a resident asked something along the lines of, “Can you just play a bunch of Irish music so we can feel like we’re at a pub?”

And we thought to ourselves… ”You know what? Yes…yes we can.”

We proceeded with our plan for that particular concert, which wasn’t all Irish music, but the question stuck with us. The more we thought about it, and the way that Irish fiddle music is so often part of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, we realized how little we actually knew about St. Patrick. And so began an exploration into the life of Patrick, and what it could be like to have a concert with Irish music that could take residents out of prison for an hour while exploring the life of this man turned saint - who, it turns out, lived a truly inspiring life.

Thus was ‘Never Alone’ born, a concert that ended up including music from multiple countries written over the course of six centuries.

The title ‘Never Alone’ comes from the lyrics of “Breastplate of St. Patrick,” a song by Porter’s Gate inspired by a famous prayer that is attributed to St. Patrick. The prayer speaks to God’s goodness, strength, and presence, in all moments of life. Through this song, stories from Patrick’s life, and many other pieces of music, we reminded one another of the truth that we are truly never alone.

We had the pleasure of performing ‘Never Alone’ inside four correctional facilities, a homeless shelter, and in City Church’s Lower Theater in Cleveland Heights this month. It was a joy to share this program with so many people across Northeast Ohio!

A resident at one of our concerts in a correctional facility presented us with this drawing after our concert!