Winter Solstice Acceptance Celebration

tickets $20 online, $25 at the door (online sales end at 6:30pm on the day of the show) 

Waverly Alston and The Black Breath Collective present an evening of unique and enriching community winter holiday programming at The Fallser Club that aims to promote peaceful expression, unity, and love through the universal language of music. Their vision is to create a program that showcases a variety of musical genres, encouraging community participation and fostering a spirit of togetherness, acceptance, and joy.

Waverly Alston

Waverly Alston, Jr. has served in music ministry for 25+ years. Waverly has worked consistently as a composer, director, arranger, and soloist. In 1999, he established “Waverly Alston in the Company of Friends” a group of his talented Friends who tour and provide music with a message. They have performed at The Annenberg Center for Performing Arts, Berks Jazz Festival, West Oak Lane Jazz Festival, FOX, Kimmel Center, Philadelphia Jazz Project, and numerous churches/venues along the east coast. Along with music, Waverly is personally dedicated to providing workshops for male engagement, which help urban males find alternatives to negative paths through self-awareness and healing. His community gospel music workshops involve re-engaging people in their love of singing and deepening their understanding of gospel music at its core. Additionally, Waverly serves as an outreach minister, ministry consultant, adjunct professor, and a trained master-level therapist. He is dedicated to working in music, social work, and human development. Waverly is always intentionally looking for opportunities to bring the healing elements of music, therapy, spirituality, and self-awareness into intersection. 

Brendan McGeehan is a true utility player in the music industry. A trained recording engineer and studied musician, he is adept and comfortable behind the board, in the producer’s chair, as well as being a player on the other side of the glass.

Equally at home at a rock venue, classical concert hall, or jazz club, Brendan’s enthusiasm, love, and understanding of many genres of music keeps him in demand.

Recent highlights include working with Cyndi Lauper on her next Broadway musical, producing a one-day, multi-location festival celebrating the life and music of Nina Simone, a weeklong residency at the Kennedy Center with award-winning author Jacqueline Woodson and Wondersmith Entertainment, producing a Brazilian jazz album incorporating over 60 musicians for Philadelphia based group Minas, and many more. He also just put the finishing touches on his first solo album, under the moniker “Peace Fortress.”

As an engineer, Brendan is constantly involved in the production of sounds, whether it’s working as the in-house producer/engineer for an 88-year-old Philadelphia accordion legend or mixing audio for 20,000 people at Subaru Park for the Philadelphia Union at an MLS game, and all things in between. Brendan works as an engineer, producer, arranger, and session musician at Elm St. Studios in Conshohocken, PA. Brendan helped produce monthly jazz salons @exuberance in South Kensington, where he recorded every performance. He has taught sound design at Lebanon Valley College, and proudly serves on the board of Symphony21, a non-profit organization that inspires youth and unites communities through the power of music.

On the live stage, Brendan currently plays bass for Philadelphia act The Right Fiction (with whom he produces a podcast called The List), and has toured extensively up and down the east coast. He also regularly performs with Ron & The Hip Tones, Matt Santry, Minas, and others.

As a composer and sound designer, he has scored music for many films over the last few years, working with directors from Philadelphia to LA on shorts, features, corporate events, and non-profit films. His documentary, “Dizzy Fingers: the Life of Joe Soprani” was featured on NPR and enjoyed a sold-out premiere.

Isaac Stanford

Isaac “Slowey” Stanford is a steel guitarist, specializing in pedal steel, lap steel, and dobro. A prominent figure in the Philadelphia music scene, he has collaborated with an eclectic mix of artists, including BalletX, members of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and pop icon Cyndi Lauper, as well as serving as a Kimmel Center Artist in Residence. His Hawaiian-inspired instrumental quintet, Slowey and the Boats, is signed to Hi-Tide Recordings and has released four LPs, including a Christmas album. The band has performed at tiki festivals from Lake George to South Florida and can be found playing seasonally at Longwood Gardens and Dawson Street Pub, where they host a monthly BBQ.

Beyond his musical endeavors, Isaac has dedicated the past 20 years to teaching 7th-grade social studies in the Cheltenham School District, where he brings his passion into the classroom to inspire students in his world cultures and geography class.