Sinners Circle @ The Garde Arts Oasis Room Fri June 20

*Last updated 5/5/25
Friday June 20, 2025
The Garde Arts Oasis Room
325 State Street
New London, CT
8pm
Facebook Event Page

Very excited to announce the return of the Sinners Circle, one of the state’s first songwriting circle series, coming to the recently refurbished Oasis Room at the Garde Arts Center Friday, June 20! 

To reboot the series, series founders (“Original Sinners”) Hugh Birdsall, Jim Carpenter, John Fries and Ben Parent will come together and share the stage together for the first time since before COVID. We are very excited to be partnering with the fine folks at the Garde on this renewed endeavor. 

For the uninitiated, the Sinners Circle was created about 15 years ago with the idea of bringing novel combinations of working songwriters together, from different genres, to share songs, swap stories, network and get to know each better, performing in the round “without a net” in front of a discerning listening audience. We started out in coffee shops and grew to larger stages such as the Eugene O’Neill Theater Rose Barn and the Hygienic Art Park. Many, many of CT’s best songwriters have played a Sinners Circle, from a wide range of musical backgrounds and styles. 

Tickets go on sale Tuesday, May 6 at the Garde’s website (see link above). There are two tiers of tickets— front row/high top tables, and general seating. $22/$26 in advance. Libations/refreshments will be available at the show. We are very excited to reboot this popular music series to support songwriting and original music in SECT. Hope you to see you out there!


LOVE & PRESS

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- Phil Smith (musician)

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- Stephanie Shawn "Bar Fly Journals"
(Sound Waves Magazine)
Published December 2024

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- Don Diederich (musician / local music fan)

"If you don't have ears, then it's possible you're not aware that southeastern Connecticut - specifically New London County - has an incredibly vibrant music scene. Over the years, it's gone from a hotbed of indie rock to an area of musicians, fans and venues that support a complex and varied number of artistic styles. The wailingcity.com web site - newly and lovingly redesigned - is a tremendous resource. A labor of affection and devotion conceptualized in 2006, wailingcity.com boasts artist bios, reviews and interviews, a club and band data base and calendars, videos, audio streaming, and cross-referenced links on all of the above - as well as lists of music services such as instrument instruction, record and retail stores, related media and periodicals, festival information, and so on. It's the brainchild of musician/artist Meghan Killimade, (and contributors), and they do a terrific job."
- RICK KOSTER (The Day) Published April 03. 2014

“Wailing City, is, as of now, probably the most successfully comprehensive listing on local and area shows in Southeastern Connecticut on the Internet; the folks at Wailing City are doing an excellent job of making sounds from the underground.”
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