It being a long weekend I was concerned leading up to the show that we weren't able to assemble the audience they deserved but the ladies put me at ease, "We'd rather rock out in your living room for a small crowd than waste a night in a hotel." They drove 500 km off their route for our little audience and proceeded to make us very, very grateful with their performance.
I was already a fan so it was very special to have the opportunity to experience a live-in-our-living-room performance from Laura, Val and Mariel just back from touring India, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan and Kurdistan as official ambassadors of American folk music. It being a long weekend I was concerned leading up to the show that we weren't able to assemble the audience they deserved but the ladies put me at ease, "We'd rather rock out in your living room for a small crowd than waste a night in a hotel." They drove 500 km off their route for our little audience and proceeded to make us very, very grateful with their performance.
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UPDATE September 2014: Sarah Jane and her Brilliant String Band were nominated for Canadian Folk Music Awards Traditional Album of the year for "The Cape".
If you have a chance to see the Bombadils you must. What a privilege to have them play for us in an intimate setting. Our audience was blown away.
Kevin and mandolin player Donovan Locken put on a really sweet show with a mix of traditional bluegrass songs and original compositions from Kevin's hot-off-the-presses EP, "Taller Than the Trees". Those who came out were 80% pickers themselves and Kevin and Donovan indulged us by anchoring a fun jam after the show. Everyone had a great evening. We heard Jadea on CBC Radio 2 on Wednesday night and were privileged and amazed to get the same sound in our living room on Friday night. Jadea, with the amazing Tom Juhas on guitar and talented Kelsey McNulty on keyboards, attracted some folks who had seen her before (her Kelowna groupies!) and ended up with a roomful of new fans and followers. www.darthjadea.com UPDATE: September 2014 Jadea was nominated for Canadian Folk Music Awards Contemporary Singer of the Year for her work on the album, "Clover". A truly musical, creative and talented bunch, Jason and the diatonics delighted our audience with catchy and upbeat yet substantial songs. Their arrangements beam originality and precision with each member contributing something distinct to a fresh and richly balanced whole. Unlike this little promotional video, we got a full-on plugged in show right in the living room - our first with drums - and it really, really worked! www.jasonandthediatonics.com We had a record crowd of people of all ages (6 - 86) and many nationalities (Iranian, Czech, German, Chinese and Canadian) for the Annie Lou show. Not many bands could entertain an audience as diverse as that! Annie Lou can, that's for sure. "Annie Lou" is Anne Louise Genest, Kim Barlow, Andrew Collins and Max Heineman performing mostly original Anne Louise Genest songs and a few cool covers. Completely charming.
http://www.annielou.ca/ Just wow!! www.thesweetlowdown.ca The Sweet Lowdown - May from Daniel Pender on Vimeo. We had two concerts this week because we just couldn't say 'no' to The Sweet Lowdown. Glad we didn't! Amanda, Miriam and Shanti are beautiful group of ladies in every way. They lit up the room with amazing playing and close harmonies in a mix of traditional bluegrass and well-rooted 'new'grass.
Lucky us to have been a whistlestop on the Gordie Tentrees World Tour! Did I hear him right? 130 performances in 138 days from Whitehorse to New York, Route 66 to Los Angeles, up to Kelowna via Seattle and Portland, on to Victoria and the Gulf Islands, then 4 or 5 European countries ending in Italy?
This is what super hard-working musicians' days look like: Gordie pulls into the driveway juuust in time from Golden. He would have been early but got stuck on the other side of a highway 1 road closure. He charmed us all (even Sugar, the dog) expertly and unhurriedly with a personalized show of stories, songs and awesome picking. He chatted with every guest during the intermission and after the show. He sold a few CDs. Next morning he's up early, heading out for an oil change, loading up the guitars and taking a couple of Snedden breakfast burritos and a coffee 'to go' to catch the 3:00 pm ferry for the evening show in Victoria. Holy moly. We wound up the season last night with an enthusiastic house-full and a great show by Michael Jerome Browne. If you close your eyes when Michael is playing you time travel to the South in the 20s, 30s and 40s. The humidity in the room changes. If you missed your chance last night Michael will be back through Kelowna in mid-May at the Minstrel Cafe. Update November 2012: Michael was the recipient of "Solo Artist of the Year" at the Canadian Folk Music Awards! |
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