The Maggie Spike Trio will perform Sept. 22 at the Eicher Arts Center in Ephrata. From left are Henry Patterson, Maggie and Spike.
Playing songs in an array of musical styles, the Maggie Spike Trio will entertain the public on Sept. 22 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Eicher Arts Center, 409 Cocalico St. In Ephrata Borough’s Grater Park.
Weather permitting, the performance will be outdoors in the beautiful park. Audience members are urged to bring folding chairs. Admission is free. Donations will be accepted.
Singer-songwriters Eric (Spike) and Peggy (Maggie) Gernerd are married, formed the musical group Maggie Spike and sometimes perform as a duo.
Eric first picked up acoustic guitar to play the songs of musicians such as Neil Young and Bob Dylan. He later delved more deeply into American and world folk music.
Peggy, inspired by vocalists such as Carol King and Joni Mitchell, wrote her first song at 18. She later learned more about her Irish ancestry and Celtic music, and some of her musical creations reflect both Celtic and jazz influences.
They joined with percussionist Henry Patterson to create and perform as a trio original songs in the American folk, Celtic, jazz and world rhythm genres. They will also perform at the Eicher event “fun covers” of other composers’ songs in those genres.
In addition to vocals and percussion, Maggie plays guitar and ukulele and Spike plays guitar, banjo and Irish bouzouki.
The Maggie Spike Trio’s world rhythm music features calypso, reggae, Mediterranean, Afro-Cuban, African, Brazilian and Middle Eastern influences.
Patterson’s drumming is characterized by Maggie Spike as exciting and tasteful as well as eclectic. Some of the percussion instruments featured by the trio include Irish bodhran, African djembe, Spanish castanets, Middle Eastern dumbek, Afro-Cuban bongos, Latin American cabana and shakere, musical washboards and spoons and wood blocks.
The Sept. 22 performance is part of the 2024 series of admission-free, Sunday afternoon shows hosted by the Eicher Arts Center, Inc., a 501 (c) non-profit organization formed four decades ago to save the historic Eicher House from demolition, find new uses for it and help Ephrata Borough transform one of Ephrata’s oldest buildings into a showplace cultural and entertainment venue. The non-profit organization also rents out the facility for weddings and other private events.