James Keelaghan, who has been hailed as Canada’s finest singer-songwriter, will return to the Music for a Change benefit concert series on Friday, February 12, at 7:30 p.m. in Wilde Auditorium, which is in the Harry Jack Gray Center at the University of Hartford, 200 Bloomfield Avenue

Tickets are $17.

Keelaghan, who recently released his 11th CD, House of Cards (Borealis Records, October 2009), is possessed of an insatiable appetite for finding the next unique story line. He forges his pieces with brilliant craftsmanship and monogrammed artistic vision, making him one of the most distinctive and readily identifiable voices on both the Canadian and international singer-songwriter scenes.

For almost 25 years, this poet laureate of the folk and roots music world has gone about his work with a combination of passion, curiosity intent and intensity. His masterful story telling has, over the course of 11 recordings, been part of the bedrock of his success, earning Keelaghan nominations and awards - including a Juno (Canada's Grammy) - and acclaim from Australia to Scandinavia.

“I’ve always had the urge to write,” says the Calgary native who has been calling Winnipeg home for the past few years. “Some things weren’t being said in the way I wanted to say them, some things were not being written about at all. That's why I started to write the historical material. That led me to writing my own personal narratives as well.”

Opening the show will be Chuck E Costa, a young singer-songwriter who lives in Connecticut and performs and leads musical workshops for children. A graduate of the University of Colorado, he moved back to the Northeast to pursue a musical career. With a sincere voice that has drawn comparisons to Jonathon Edwards and Michael Stipe, Costa delivers seamlessly. His dulcet voice, emotive lyrics, and beautiful accompaniment on the acoustic guitar make Costa a special performer.

The University of Hartford launched the Music for a Change series in the spring of 2000, with the goal of using music as means of helping the Hartford community. To date, more than $150,000 has been raised for a number of Greater Hartford nonprofit organizations.

For tickets, call the University box office at 860-768-4228 or 1-800-274-8587, or purchase them online.