NEW GLOUCESTER – Sean Mencher, who has performed his style of traditional American music worldwide for 25 years, and his Rhythm Kings will perform Saturday, Feb. 7, at the New Gloucester Village Coffee House.

Mencher blends rock ‘n’ roll, western swing, bluegrass, jazz, blues and rockabilly. He leads with his own thumb-picking guitar style of boogie and swing that has taken him to Carnegie Hall with Texas legend Ronnie Dawson and to appearances on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” on NBC and at Lincoln Center.

The Rhythm Kings is made up of virtuoso fiddler Zach Ovington, formerly of Nashville, now of Auburn; drummer Marc Cousins, who also plays with the band Cattle Call and tours with Slade Cleaves; rhythm guitar player Sean Chambers; and local favorite Jonathan Dawson on bass.

Mencher has worked for Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Ronnie Dawson, Billy Lee Riley,Sonny Burgess, Rosie Flores, Hank Williams III, Ray Campi and other American roots legends.

Throughout the 1980s-90s, Mencher lived in Austin, Texas, and performed around the world with his band High Noon. During this time, the trio released five full-length original CDs for Goofin’ Records, Helsinki Finland.

When High Noon took an extended break in 1994, Mencher moved to Maine and continued pursuing his solo music career – in the studio helping bands produce albums or leading his New England-based Combo at a swing dance or rockabilly show.

Mencher has performed for the National Council of Traditional Arts, the National Folk Festival and at the Maine Festival, Rockland Lobster Festival, New Year’s Portland, Governors Conference for a Creative Economy, and Fryeburg and Common Ground fairs.

The show will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the newly renovated (although still a work in progress) vestry of the New Gloucester First Congregational Church at Gloucester Hill and Church roads. Tickets, available at the door, are $10 for adults, $5 for children and seniors. A pie and food auction will be held at intermission, with proceeds benefiting the church.

For more information, call Julie Fralich at 926-3161 or the church office at 926-3260; or go online to www.ngucc.org.

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