By Tribune Staff

ST. JOHN — Irish musician Duke Special will return to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York next week, but on Saturday he’ll stop in St. John for a "house gig" to raise money for the local food bank.

The program will take place from 7-9 p.m. at the St. John High School Auditorium, said Linda Welch, concert organizer. A freewill donation is requested for the performance, with all proceeds going to the Send Derek to Germany fundraiser campaign for Cerebral Palsy treatments. Posters for the event also request the donation of a non-perishable items for the food bank.

Duke Special, whose real name is Peter Wilson, is a piano-based songwriter with a romantic style and a warm, distinctly accented voice, according to information from friend and fan Welch. One of the ways he is breaking into the U.S. market is by performing at small venues.

Last year he did a fundraiser at the Crest Theater in Great Bend on behalf of the Barton County Arts Council. Robert Feldt from the Arts Council said at that concert Duke Special was on stage two hours without a break. "He gave a performance that was out of this world."