A local favorite finds the roots of soul at Bath’s Chocolate Church | Column
Pat Colwell and the Soul Sensations to Debut New Show “A History of Soul Music” at the Chocolate Church Arts Center
Bath, Maine – On Saturday, September 19 at 7:30 p.m., the Chocolate Church Arts Center (CCAC) will welcome local musician Pat Colwell and the Soul Sensations for the first performance of a brand‑new concert series, “A History of Soul Music.” The show will trace the evolution of soul from its gospel roots to its modern incarnations, all through the lens of a local artist who has spent nearly six decades immersed in the genre.
Colwell, a Bath native, has performed at the CCAC many times in the past, but this time he is bringing the audience on a new journey. The show, co‑created with his brother Bob Colwell—known for his work with The Boneheads, Alter Igor and Hallowell Does The Last Waltz—was inspired by a question the siblings asked themselves: “What records being made today will people still listen to 500 years from now?” They found that soul music answered that question.
The program opens with Ray Charles, the “soul god” who fused gospel, blues and R&B in a way that helped ignite the genre. Colwell recalls hearing Charles on a “gigantic Magnavox stereo” in his family’s living room, noting that the singer’s pioneering blend “helped ignite what became known as soul music.” From there the set moves to Sam Cooke, whose voice brought gospel into mainstream pop, and to Etta James, whose music Colwell describes as carrying “the joy and exultation of love” as well as “the pain and struggle embedded in the Black American experience.”
The show then takes a broad sweep across the 1960s and ’70s, spotlighting Motown, Stax, Muscle Shoals, The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Al Green, and Aretha Franklin. Colwell says the performance is more than a collection of hits: “Soul music is inseparable from the American story that produced it,” he told the Times Record. He points out that the Civil Rights movement and other social upheavals shaped the music, which is why the Staple Singers appear “front and center,” performing songs like “Respect Yourself” and “I’ll Take You There.”
Beyond Black artists, the concert includes a tribute to one of the great voices of “blue‑eyed soul,” Van Morrison, underscoring soul’s influence on a broader musical landscape.
Colwell’s enthusiasm for the project is rooted in his own musical history. He remembers buying his first guitar in high school after hearing The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, only to discover that many of those songs had deeper roots in Black American music. “Don’t tell law enforcement,” he jokes, “but because of that, I began playing gigs at Colby College and University of Maine frat parties in 1966 at the tender age of 15! Soul music was the reason, and I didn’t look back.”
The event is part of CCAC’s Local Talent Spotlight, a series designed to showcase extraordinary Midcoast artists. Executive and artistic director Matthew Glassman said, “We spend a lot of time bringing artists from around the country and around the world to Bath, but part of being an arts center is also recognizing the remarkable artists already among us and giving them opportunities to create something new.”
Colwell’s “History of Soul Music” reflects his lifelong devotion to the genre and his belief that concerts can educate as well as entertain. “I love concerts that give us a chance not only to hear music, but to hear where music comes from— to follow a thread through time and discover how one artist leads us to another,” he told Glassman. “I especially love when one of our own local artists uses our stage to try something new.”
The Chocolate Church Arts Center will host the show at 7:30 p.m. on September 19, providing Bath and surrounding communities with a rare chance to experience a personal and historically rich exploration of soul music. Tickets are on sale through the CCAC box office and its website.
