Eli Smith, folk singer, banjo player and guitarist will perform at the second annual Summer Concert Series of St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church and Pro-Cathedral, Brooklyn Heights, on Thursday, August 12, at 6:00 pm. The 45-minute concerts take place in the church at Montague and Clinton Streets each Thursday through September 2, 2021. The Forum @ St. Ann’s, the parish’s arts and culture program, is presenting the concert series to benefit St. Ann’s Pop-Up Pantry on its first anniversary.

Smith grew up in New York’s Greenwich Village. He has recorded for Smithsonian Folkways Recordings and regularly performs as a solo musician and with the string band the Down Hill Strugglers. He has performed and recorded with John Cohen (New Lost City Ramblers) and Peter Stampfel (The Holy Modal Rounders and The Fugs) and has opened for songwriters Patti Smith and Steve Earle. Smith can be heard singing “The Roving Gambler” on the soundtrack to the Coen Brothers’ film Inside Llewyn Davis. Eli Smith has performed at festivals and venues including the Kennedy Center, Library of Congress, Newport Folk Festival, Vancouver Folk Festival, The Jalopy Theatre and many more.

A music producer, Smith currently heads the annual Brooklyn Folk Festival and Washington Square Park Folk Festival and has curated releases of historic archival recordings, including the Harry Smith B-Sides for Dust-to-Digital and numerous albums for Jalopy Records. Smith served as Traditional Music Consultant for the video game Red Dead Redemption 2 from Rockstar Games and played a roller-skating fiddler in the film Tesla with Ethan Hawke. Smith also hosts the Down Home Radio Show podcast.

Concertgoers are asked to donate food items or make a financial donation to St. Ann’s Pop-Up Pantry. The program was launched in June 2020 in response to the increased food insecurity in Brooklyn resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The program quickly evolved, providing increasing amounts of non-perishable and fresh groceries as the lines of guests grew longer. Today, St. Ann’s Pop-up Pantry provides nutritious food to as many as 300 people a week, and the need shows no sign of stopping.

All are urged to combine their love of music and the desire to help their neighbors by attending the Summer Concert Series benefiting St. Ann’s Pop-up Pantry.