2009

MARCH 8: Suzie LeBlanc

accompanied by Robert Kortgaard on piano.

Agricultural Hall , March 8, 1 pm

$18.00 advance  $20.00 at the door

“Highlights in the 17th-century half were a grand and poignant aria from Carissimi’s Jephte, sung to a fare-thee-well by LeBlanc… LeBlanc’s rendition of Ombre pallide from Alcina was hair-raising in its impact, yet also arresting in its subtlety and the grace of its ornamentation. The house erupted. What a concert.

Ken Winters.”The Globe and Mail , 2008

www.suzieleblanc.com

APRIL 18:The Earthmen

featuring Mayne Island’s Matt Reid)

Agricultural Hall April 18, 7:30

$15 in advance, 18 at the door

Earthmen is a Progressive Funk/Blues quartet that is guaranteed to make you move. Formed in the mid 90’s, by the then high school classmates, Mayne Island’s Matt Reid (bass) and Morgan Kennedy (blues harp, vocals, dance moves), with Salt Spring Island’s Neil Kerrigan (guitar), and Pat Hayes (drums) have “an intuitive musical understanding in the interplay of the instruments that comes with years of experience as a tight cohesive unit”. (Cosmic Debris). Known for drawing large, enthusiastic crowds to their all night Funk throw-downs, independent recording artists “EARTHMEN” are reuniting for one night……with a grooving dance party at the Hall.

Island Note:

Matt (base) grew up on Mayne Island in a musical family. In high school he formed his first band “The Eathmen” and they went on to gather strong crowds with their funk based sound in the Victoria area While acquiring his diploma for jazz performance at the Vancouver College of Music he has been busy as a freelance artist, writing award winning film scores, laying down bass lines for one of Vancouver’s premier rhythm and blues band “Ten Soulgers and 8 piece reggae band “Macroinx” Don’t miss this new young emerging artist returning with his original band.

APRIL 24: Lynn Miles

Agricultural Hall April 18, 7:30

$15 in advance, 18 at the door

Students half price, kids free

“Canadian songbird Lynn Miles sings lusciously on her fifth country-tinged, folk-pop album. Smart lyrics abound as she expounds on love lost and gained, sketched with dark hues and rising tempos.” – Billboard Magazine

Born outside Montreal in Sweetsburg, Quebec, Lynn Miles grew up in a musical home. Her father played the harmonica and listened to his jazz collection while her mother was a lover of both opera and country music. Miles’ mother recalled once that she knew when Lynn had finally fallen asleep in her crib: Lynn stopped singing. During her elementary school years, Miles learned guitar, violin, flute and piano. She began performing in public at around the age of sixteen and when she was in her early twenties she studied with an opera singer to strengthen her voice and enrolled for a time at Carleton University in Ottawa where she studied classical music history and theory. Years later, Miles put this training to good use while serving as a voice teacher at the Ottawa Folklore Center. While at the center, she taught voice to many students including a then fourteen-year-old Alanis Morrisette. The lessons came just prior to the making of Morrisette’s first album.

Though Miles had been writing her own songs since the age of 10, she didn’t end up recording any of her own material until 1987 when she cut 9 original compositions for a demo at Happyrock Studio in Ottawa. An avid reader and music-lover, those early recordings were inspired by the books she loved to read, and the music she listened to on the radio.

http://www.lynnmilesmusic.com/home.html

MAY 22: Midnite Eagles with guest artist Ed Wahl

Agricultural Hall, May 22, 7:30

$15 in advance , 18 at the door

The Midnite Eagles are a  popular classic country band based in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. Ed Molyski with RCA Records leads the band, has many recorded hits and has been inducted in the Country Hall of Fame. Vocalist Ed Wahl joins the band for a classic country dance at The Community Centre on Felix Jack Road.

JULY 31: Fred Eaglesmith

Open Air concert at the Farmer’s Market Grounds   July 31 7:00

$15 in advance, 18 at the door

Eaglesmith won The Juno Award for Best Roots and Traditional Album – Solo, is winner of the Canadian Independent Music Award and was a finalist in the 2006 International Songwriting Competition for his song, “Alcohol and Pills.” Two tribute albums of Eaglesmith’s work have been recorded, and Fred and regularly scores on critics’ top ten lists on both sides of the border, in Europe and in Australia, and on Americana and Roots charts. His most recent CD, MIlly’s Cafe, reached the Americana top 10 in 2006.

www.fredeaglesmith.com/

OCT. 24: Billet Deux

Agricultural Hall Oct. 24, 7:30

$15 in advance at Happy TIdes, 18 at the door

IMPROVIJAZZATION NATION

1. They call their sound “Djazz:” Parisian cafes, Bebop, M. Reinhardt, Classical. What it is is WOW great, with a distinctive sound thanks to the use of a cello, rather than a gypsy fiddle. Pitched at a lower register, the CD has a sexy rumble, like the pillow talk in those French romance movies of the ‘60s. Billet-Deux’s principals are Troy Chapman on Django-y guitar, and James Hinkley on the cello. Deux is a superb mix of modern jazz and bebop classics, a terrific Hinkley original (“Fishwife Blues”), and a few eclectics that demonstrate how broadly and thoughtfully the group explores its material. The CD starts off with a few faves by the likes of Dizzy and Mingus before branching out, and it sets the right tone. Really, the arrangements are so appealing, and the sound so alluring, the listening can begin anywhere – this is a “leave in the CD player” disc. Hinkley and Chapman are backed by the exquisite Josephina Hunner, on second guitar, Michael Yocco on bass, and Roger Bennett on drums. Bennett is deserving of special mention, as he is consistently making crucial contributions, those surprising rhythmic and drum choices that color the entire tune, or those little touches that bring a smile and make the tune. Deux is unquestionably one of the top jazz releases this year.
2. - Tom Petersen, Victory Review September 2008

DEC. 5: Kim Darwin

Kim will be presenting his new and original  musical comedy

Agricultural Hall, Dec. 5, 7:30

$15 in advance at Happy TIdes, 18 at the door

Kim Darwin is a masterful accordionist as well as an accomplished pianist and composer. As a young boy Kim first learned to improvise on the accordion. Upon entering university at 16, he turned to piano and composition, earning a Bachelor of Music Degree in Composition from the University of British Columbia, Canada. As a versatile freelance pianist and accordionist, Kim went on to enjoy a rich and varied musical career. He played in Big Band ensembles with bandleaders such as Bobby Hales and Dal Richards and played in show bands backing up Hollywood acts. Kim was also active in numerous Jazz ensembles including the Dave Quarin Quartet, the Roy Reynolds Quintet, the Ray Sikora Quintet and the Brad Muirhead Septet. Kim regularly played piano in professional music theatre productions. He played with the Canadian touring show, A Chorus Line and with Gaslight Theatre and Arts Club Productions in Vancouver, BC. An adept vocal accompanist, Kim worked for years as a pianist with the Variety department of the CBC. He performed with numerous well-known Jazz vocalists such as George La Fleche and Eleanor Collins. In the ’80s Kim was a founding member of the Durmen, where his uniquely humorous, virtuosic and engaging style of composing emerged. His European-style dances and waltzes were infused with Jazz harmonies and improvisations. Pieces which bore quirky titles such as Apprentice Prepared Blowfish and Middle-Class Dance, are still performed today. Kim also maintained a passion for modern and avant-garde Jazz. In the 90′s, along with the fierce members of the Free F’all Quartet and the Paul Blaney Quartet, he continued to explore and push the boundaries of Jazz improvisation. A very experienced music teacher, Kim has instructed hundreds of piano and accordion students. He has led adult education classes in piano at Capilano College, Vancouver, BC, held master classes and taught private lessons in piano and accordion. Kim taught for years in the Jazz program at Courtenay Youth Music Camp in BC. Kim’s first priority was the wellbeing of his young students, although he did insist they call him by his title, My Liege. His students reciprocated by calling their band Ask Kim! Kim has lately returned to his musical roots. He is now writing and recording music featuring the accordion in varied musical settings; as a solo instrument, and in duos and trios. Drawing from his broad range of musical interests, Kim incorporates elements of Jazz, Classical, Tango, and European dance music in his rich and lively compositions. Recent musical collaborations include; recording and performing with the Saul Berson Jazz Quartet, an unusual combination of sax, accordion, guitar and acoustic bass and with Jaiya, a Celtic/fusion trio with vocals. The Canada Council for the Arts has recognized Kim’s talent as a composer and performer by awarding him a grant for specialized music sound recording. With the Canada Council’s support Kim has produced his CD, Accordion Nights. Kim’s album of original compositions has just been released in January 2004.