Celebrating its tenth anniversary, Newtown Arts Festival will be joining with Edmond Town Hall to present Amy Helm in concert at the town hall, 45 Main Street, at 7 pm, Friday, September 16.

A cocktail reception from 5 to 6:30 pm in the building’s Alexandria Room will precede the concert. Cash/credit bar plus complimentary hors d’oeuvres will be available.

Concert tickets are $40, and available now at edmondtownhall.org and newtownartsfestival.com.

Festival Chair Barbara Snyder and Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers Chairman Jen Guman announced the pairing of the festival, a major cultural event in Newtown, and Edmond Town Hall, a historic location.

“We are so pleased to be working with Jen Guman and the professional staff and volunteers at Edmond Town Hall,” Snyder said. “It is an example of the flourishing arts environment in Newtown.”

Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Amy Helm’s third album, What the Flood Leaves Behind, is her most autobiographical yet, both in content and creation. Out now via Renew Records/BMG, the 10 songs represent a gathering of ideas and experiences, friends and collaborators. Yet, the album also marks a landing — a pause for the traveling musician and mother of two young boys who was seeking clarity in her calling and career.

In particular, “Verse 23,” the track from which the album title is derived, encapsulates the themes of What the Flood Leaves Behind. Written by M.C. Taylor (Hiss Golden Messenger), the song serves as a sort of “reckoning,” says Helm, “of the good and the bad and everything in between.”

Throughout the record, Helm sings stories of life’s relentlessness. But like she extrapolates from “Verse 23,” the most productive, and often the most healing response, is to create. As a result, What the Flood Leaves Behind serves as a defiant form of self-expression, as Helm steps fully into her own light.

In addition to the performance by Helm, the two-day 2022 Newtown Arts Festival — scheduled for 11 am-5 pm Saturday and Sunday, September 17-18, at Fairfield Hills — will again focus on bringing the community together to enjoy local talent in art, dance, music, food trucks, and a wine and beer garden.

Admission will be $5 each day, payable at the gate or eventually in advance online. Earlier this year the Newtown Arts Festival Committee selected an original design by Newtown native Ryan Patrick to serve as the 2022 festival logo.