When Darryl Purpose was 16 years old, his mother put a book called “Beat the Dealer” in his Christmas stocking. He went to Las Vegas as a teenager and began a career as professional card player. He still calls this the “only real job I’ve ever had.” Well, he was pretty good at that job. In 2009, he was inducted into the Blackjack Hall of Fame, one of 17 members, including Ed Thorp, the man who wrote that book that his mother put in his Christmas stocking at 16.

After years of playing in casinos across the country, Darryl took time off to walk across the country for peace, and fell in with a bad crowd – musicians and peaceniks and, in 1996, Darryl began to tour nationally as a solo singer-songwriter. Eight years, six CDs and a thousand-plus shows later, he was headlining venues like the Freight and Salvage, Club Passim, McCabe’s, The Bluebird Cafe, The Kennedy Center, and the Kerrville Folk Festival Main Stage.

Then, in 2005, inexplicably, Darryl set down his guitar taking a seven-year sabbatical in the Rocky Mountains. During this time, he shepherded the release of “Singer-Songwriter Heaven, the songs of Kevin Faherty” and continued to co-captain the Second Strings Project, which is responsible for delivering over 20,000 sets of guitar strings to those who need them all around the world.

Now Purpose is back to making music and in 2012 recorded his first CD of original material in 10 years - “Next Time Around,” produced by Billy Crockett for the Blue Rock Artists label. Listen to tracks from the new CD at www.darrylpurpose.com.

Tickets for the September 7 show are $12 in advance and $14 at the door. Call the box office at 207-442-8455. The Chocolate Church Arts Center is located at 804 Washington Street in Bath.