Soldiers and family to perform at Dallas Songwriters Association concert in Carrollton

by PegNews wire

A captain sings of missing his newborn son while flying missions in Afghanistan. A sergeant’s wife finds lyrics to a song in the solitude she feels at home while he’s deployed.

The songs and the singers will be celebrated May 23 at 7 p.m. at the Neotropolis Theatre in Carrollton. Sponsored by the Dallas Songwriters Association, the concert will feature winners from the DSA’s “Songs from the Soul of Service” 2008 songwriting contest for military personnel. Tickets are $6 in advance and $7 at the door.

Contest winner Capt. Steve Wilson, a University of North Texas graduate and a B-52 electronic warfare officer, will perform songs including his personal and poignant “Like I Do,” inspired by the loneliness and separation he felt from being away from his infant son.

“On Sept. 10, 2002, my son Connor was born. Two months later, my unit deployed to fly missions in Afghanistan,” Wilson recalls. “Leaving my two-month-old first born son was difficult, to say the least.”

Jill Charles, the wife of Sgt. Robert Charles, wrote her song “I Can’t Wait to Love You” during Sgt. Charles’ initial deployment. “My heart was so broken and aching for him,” she remembers. “I was in the kitchen praying as I was doing dishes, and the song came to me.”

The evening will include performances by Wilson and his band, The Black Doves, singer-songwriter Charles and Latin/pop/folk singer Tania Cordobes. Doors open at 6 p.m. In addition, the 402 Texas soldiers who have died in Iraq will be remembered in a special tribute.

Songs From The Soul Of Service is presented by the DSA with assistance from the Office of the Secretary of Defenses’ America Supports You program, and support from Broad Jam Music Service, Chase Bank, the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center, and the Texas VFW.

Source: Dallas Songwriters Association