The Athens Arts League will welcome back Los Angeles-based artist Angela Petrilli Thursday, June 22, at McCandless Hall, five years after she last performed in Athens as half of the duo Roses and Cigarettes.

Angela Petrilli and Friends will perform Thursday, June 22, at 7 p.m. at McCandless Hall at Athens State University. The concert is free, but Athens Arts League will accept donations to help support its educational and cultural programs.

“We had the best time in Athens, and felt so welcomed,” former duo member Angela Petrilli said Tuesday while on a mini-tour in Nashville. “I reached out to (Athens Arts League) and said, ‘We’ve got to do this again.’”

In 2018, Athens Arts League hosted a community concert at High Cotton Arts featuring Roses and Cigarettes. Duo members Petrilli and Jenny Pagliaro were on tour in Nashville at the time. Pagliaro was battling breast cancer and took time while in Athens to speak to other cancer survivors.

In 2019, the duo’s song “Fast As I Can” was gaining momentum and critical acclaim. The excitement turned to tragedy when, at age 35, Pagliaro passed away from her battle with breast cancer.

After taking time off to grieve the loss of her friend and musical partner, Petrilli is back and excited to be returning to Athens which she remembers fondly.

“Athens has wonderful folks, and that 2018 visit was rare for us in that we got to be a part of the community for the day,” Petrilli said. “Now I get to come back, and I’m looking forward to reconnecting.”

Those who attend Thursday’s performance in Athens will enjoy blues, rock and some Americana. Petrilli doesn’t “put myself in a box” when it comes to musical genres.

“I listen to all genres because it’s like broad strokes,” she said. “You never know how a performance will inspire you and become part of the osmosis of who you are.”

Petrilli had a guitar teacher who took her to blues jams and taught her how to play in a live setting. She did not have access to those experiences through school, or have like-minded friends who wanted to write and perform. She said Athens Arts League and a supportive arts community with venues like High Cotton and Scout House are important.

“Artists need to have a place to focus on their dreams and be around mentors who can cultivate their skills,” she said. “The arts are valuable to a community. It’s a beautiful thing to connect with like-minded people.”

Music is Petrilli’s haven amid losing a friend to cancer and then the upheaval of COVID. Petrilli recently debuted her first solo EP, “The Voices.” The song “Ghost Inside a Frame” is a tribute Pagliaro. Petrilli credits her mom with the idea. Her mother also lost a close friend at a young age and observed that when she looked at photographs, she had changed and her friend looked the same.

“It’s growth and grief,” Petrilli said.