The soulful sounds of songs like “Don’t Cry Out Loud” and “Midnight Blue” will fill the air at the Chocolate Church Arts Center on Saturday, Nov. 8 when Melissa Manchester takes its stage for an evening of American classics and new songs from her latest album, “When I Look Down That Road.”

“It is an honor and a thrill to welcome this internationally known Grammy Award-winning artist to our stage,” Executive Director Jennifer DeChant said this week.

“Melissa Manchester has delighted audiences at world-class performing arts centers like Carnegie Hall and Radio City Music Hall. Her appearance here will be the highlight of our fall season, and we anticipate a sold-out performance,” said DeChant.  “We can comfortably seat 250 but we can add extra seating in the balcony if we need it.” Tickets are on sale now.

Manchester comes by her talent for singing and songwriting naturally, having grown up in a home where her father was a bassoonist for the New York Metropolitan Opera, In the early stages of career she sang in the clubs in Greenwich Village and was a back-up singer for Bette Midler.

In 1980 she became the first artist in the history of the Academy Awards to have two nominated movie themes in one year — “Through The Eyes Of Love” and “The Promise.” Nominated twice for Grammy Awards in the late 1970s, she won her first Grammy in 1982 for Best Female Vocalist. She later combined her acting and singing talents in starring roles in Andrew Lloyd Weber’s “Song and Dance” and “Music of the Night.”

Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. show are $55 in advance and $60 at the door. Tickets are on sale now. Call the box office at 207-442-8455 or purchase online at www.chocolatechurcharts.org.