Albany Beer & Hymns to have love theme

ALBANY — A unique local event, Beer & Hymns, which combines an evening out at a pub with the singing of hymns, is set for Monday at Harvest Moon.

While the first two shows have attracted good crowds, organizer Gabriel Lawrence said Friday that the monthly event has had an unusual start.

“We haven’t had a ‘regular’ month yet,” he said.

Beer & Hymns launched in late December with a Christmas edition called Beers & Carols that drew a crowd that exceeded the capacity for its home at Harvest Moon, 2347 Dawson Road. Lawrence said about 300 people showed up at the first show, and more than 100 people had to be turned away because of the capacity issue.

The January get-together came on Jan. 23 — the day after a powerful storm system and EF3 tornado wracked parts of Albany and Dougherty County, where residents already were recovering from the straight-line winds that ripped through and destroyed property on Jan. 2.

“We thought about postponing it,” he said, “but we decided to go through with it as kind of a way for people who had gone through the storm to get away from it all for a little bit.”

The January event, which attracted an estimated 150 people, also resulted in the donations of two truckloads of items for storm survivors, he said.

“We were pretty proud of that,” Lawrence said.

Monday’s show, which will have a post-Valentine’s Day love theme, promises to be the first “regular” Beer & Hymns session.

“Every single hymn will have the word ‘love’ appear in it at least one time,” Lawrence said.

While the events focus on singing traditional Christian hymns, Lawrence has said there are secular songs that also make it into the events on occasion. That will be the case with Monday’s edition, which he said will include a couple of Beatles’ songs that are in keeping with the love theme.

Organizers point out that drinking alcoholic beverages isn’t required of participants, though they are asked to join in the singing.

“They can come in early to eat and the singing starts at 7 (p.m.),” he said.

It’s a busy time for Lawrence. Last Friday, he began performing as accompanying pianist for Theatre Albany’s production of “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” a musical that features the songbook of the legendary Fats Waller. After today’s 2 p.m. matinee, remaining performances of the musical are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday with the matinee finale at 2 p.m. Feb. 26.