The Wholly Rollers will perform their final show as a group on Sunday, Aug. 18, at 4 pm at Canterbury Shaker Village as part of the Music on the Green concert series. The group has played together for nine years and have performed regularly at the village since 2018.
With roots in bluegrass, old time, and gospel, The Wholly Rollers have performed in venues from northeast Massachusetts to the White Mountains. They have played for churches and many nonprofit events.

“We decided early on we were going to do this without charge for nonprofits,” said singer and instrumentalist Dick Bennett. “And when we started landing paid gigs, we donated our pay back to nonprofits.”

Given how central music was to Shaker life, as well as the enthusiastic audiences the group’s village appearances draw, Bennett said, it’s a fitting place for their final performance.

In addition to Bennett, The Wholly Rollers currently include Brian Roff on vocals and guitar, Jeff Fetter on vocals, fiddle, and mandolin, Gary Schroeder on vocals and bait bucket bass, and Craig Whitson on vocals and guitar. Vocalist Tom Fredenburg was a member of the group until his passing in 2019.

“We have thoroughly enjoyed doing this,” Bennett said. “No one ever has more fun at a Roller concert than The Wholly Rollers.” Held outside in a natural, intimate setting, Music on the Green features various types of music for all ages throughout the summer. Admission is free with a suggested donation of $20.