House band for church behind vital Brooklyn hunger program performs “Christmas in Brooklyn,” new collection of holiday songs to benefit soup kitchen, food pantry, more

http://themiltonstreetrevivalband.bandcamp.com/

The house band for the church behind one of North Brooklyn’s largest hunger programs will celebrate the release of their new holiday-themed benefit album, Christmas in Brooklyn, with a concert and holiday sing-along at Brooklyn Rod & Gun Club in Williamsburg next month.

On December 20th, The Milton Street Revival Band will present an evening of music from their new album, a 12-song collection that combines jazz- and folk-tinged renditions of classics such as “We Three Kings,” “What Child Is This,” and “O Come All Ye Faithful” with original compositions by members of the band. The performance will be preceded by a lively holiday sing-along led by the band’s pianist, Dan Costello.

All proceeds from Christmas in Brooklyn will fund the hunger program and other services run by Brooklyn’s Greenpoint Church, including a Wednesday soup kitchen which feeds an average of 450 people each month. Last holiday season, the church’s weekly food pantry distributed groceries to more than 11,000 New Yorkers from the Greenpoint community and beyond.

The album can be downloaded for $12 or purchased on CD for $20 at http://themiltonstreetrevivalband.bandcamp.com/.

The Milton Street Revival Band has accompanied worship services at the 150-year-old church every Sunday since 2008. Led by music minister Jason Benjamin, a trumpeter who co-founded the renowned hot-jazz band The Red Hook Ramblers, the folk-gospel sextet includes Rachael Benjamin on autoharp and Beth Soleimany on double bass, both members of the bluegrass band Holler; pianist Dan Costello; violinist Melissa Wrolstad; and guitarist Andrew Hoepfner. The all-acoustic album also features a complete gospel choir.

Greenpoint Church, located at 136 Milton Street in Brooklyn, is a historic church led by Rev. Jennifer Aull and Rev. Ann Kansfield. Over the past ten years, the married pair have transformed a flagging congregation into a thriving spiritual community. Today, the church’s diverse membership mirrors the vibrant neighborhood it calls home, from Greenpoint natives to young families to artists hailing from all over the world. The church is open to all, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religious background, or political viewpoint.

“Christmas in Brooklyn reflects the playfulness, diversity, and joyful spirit of our church, which celebrates the unique blessings that every single human being brings to the world,” said Benjamin. “A great holiday present in and of itself, it’s also a gift that gives back, providing support for a hunger program that sustains thousands of members of the Brooklyn community each month.”

Admission to the December 20th concert is $10. The show will be preceded by a Christmas carol sing-along from 6-8 PM. The band will also present a complete live performance of the songs on Christmas in Brooklyn at Greenpoint Church on November 24th at 1:00 PM.

About the Milton Street Revival Band
Pastor Rev. Ann Kansfield hired Jason Benjamin as the Music Minister of Greenpoint Reformed Church in 2008 and he changed the church’s music program from the traditional solo organist to a band made up of church congregants and friends. As bandleader and trumpeter of Brooklyn’s Red Hook Ramblers, a dixieland jazz band, Benjamin brought an inclination towards early 20th century music to the church band’s style and instrumentation. The current line-up of the band includes Beth Soleimany (double bass, Gospel choir Director), Rachael Benjamin (autoharp, guitar, church Deacon), Rob Kendt (guitar, church Deacon), Melissa Wrolstadt (violin, mandolin ukulele), Dan Costello (piano). All band members are independently active in New York City’s music and arts scene.

In their weekly music worship services, the band blends New Orleans-style spirituals (e.g. “Over in the Glory Land,” “I Woke Up this Morning”), classic Southern folk and country (e.g. “I’ll Fly Away, “I Saw the Light,”) traditional Protestant hymns, gospel classics from the ‘30s-‘60s, and other selections from the Greenpoint Reformed hymn book, New Century Hymnal (Pilgrim Press). The band also frequently incorporates secular songs with a spiritual bend from late 20th century artists such as Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, Prince, John Lennon, Neil Young, Chris Bell, Gillian Welch, Dolly Parton, as well as original songs written by members of the Milton Street Revival Band.