(SHEFFIELD, Mass.) – Singer-songwriter Tom Pacheco inaugurates Peace of Mind House Concerts, a new house concert series on Saturday, March 24, 2012, at 8 p.m. Pacheco is a prolific songwriter who has lived and performed all over the world and whose songs have been recorded by Richie Havens, Jefferson Starship and the post-Last Waltz version of the Band. Marilyn Miller, of Hudson, N.Y., will warm up the crowd for Pacheco. The concert is preceded by a potluck dessert at 7 p.m.

Tom Pacheco currently lives in Woodstock, N.Y., and has played at the Guthrie Center in Great Barrington. Pacheco has written and will be submitting a song to the Guthrie Center in honor of Woody Guthrie’s 100th birthday, which is being marked this July.

Born in 1946 in Massachusetts, Pacheco is the oldest of nine children raised by Tony Pacheco, a jazz musician and artist. Tom’s chosen medium of musical expression, like his father’s, became the guitar: “I had my first lesson from my father at the age of ten, but he never pushed music at me,” he says.

After graduation from Dean Junior College, the 17-year-old Pacheco took off for Greenwich Village. By day, he attended Hofstra University; by night, he was a regular performer at venues such as the Night Owl, Café Wha, Café Au Go Go and the Bitter End.

In 1965, Pacheco formed a “psychedelic folk/rock” band, the Ragamuffins, which released two obscure singles on the Seville label. In 1969, Euphoria, his next group, made an album for the MGM subsidiary, Heritage: “Four folk singers, two guys and two girls. Sharon Alexander was in that band.” The two subsequently formed a duo; Pacheco & Alexander, released in 1971, was the duo’s only LP, and they subsequently broke up. Three years later, Jefferson Starship included Pacheco’s “All Fly Away” on its gold album, Dragon Fly.

During the first half of the 1980s, Pacheco moved to Austin, Texas, returned briefly to New York, and then resettled in Woodstock, N.Y., before being tempted to try his luck in Nashville during 1986/87: “They told me they wanted positive uptempo songs. Nothing else.”

Pacheco’s next move was radical, taking him across the Atlantic to Dublin, where he signed with a local independent label, Round Tower. Between 1989 and 1997, Pacheco released seven albums including a duo recording.

Marilyn Miller’s 10-song debut album, Nighthawk, showcasing her unique voice and mastery of a wide range of song styles, was produced by Todd Mack of Off the Beat ‘N’ Track Studio in Sheffield. The recording is a collection of songs ranging from the punkish-rock of “Crash and Burn” to the down-home country of “Crater.”

There is a suggested admission of $15 to the concert. For information and reservations e-mail or call peaceofmindconcerts@comcast.net or 973.280.6094.