Mike Beresh's Letter's to Baltimore from the War

Press Release

Michael Beresh of the Americana group, The Country Devils, set out in September of 2009 on a new project, recounting through music the events of his great uncles’ Walter and Henry Beresh' WWII travels. Walter and Henry, both employees at Bethlehem steel lived in Highland town. During WWII, they served at Anzio Beach-Head and Bastogne Belgium, writing detailed letters of their accounts, and in Walter’s case, poems for their Baltimore family. Both brothers were killed in action and never returned home.
On March 6th 2010 Michael Beresh debuted the musical composition, Letters to Baltimore from the War to a sold out crowd at the Creative Alliance at The Patterson in Baltimore, just down East Avenue from where his uncles lived and where they grew up.

Brooklyn Playwright and songwriter Michael Patrick Flannigan Smith will narrate the evening with text from the Beresh brothers' letters. Michael Beresh will premiere his new songs based on his family history with an all star band of area musicians featuring members of Country Devils, Baltimore Afro-Beat Society, Arc & Sender, Soon Clyde, Love Unit & the beloved Baltimore mainstays Lawn Chair, The songs meld individual stories and historical facts depicting one family’s joys and sorrows through out World War II.

In 2011 Beresh along with songwriter Adam Miller (lawn chair) was approached by Baltimore’s Veterans Artist Program to write a series of songs based on other Maryland veterans and their stories. The result was Letters to Baltimore from the war volume II. A chilling recount of the stories of four modern day veterans and one Gold Star Mother. The show was performed on veterans day 2011 once again at the creative alliance at the Patterson theater.

Now for the first time on October 20th at Baltimore’s ,The wind up space, both albums will be performed in their entirety back to back along side reading’s of letters and stories told by the persons who lived them.