Tag Archives: Local Performers

Steel Magnolias

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In days of old the Islamic world had Harems. In modern western society we have Beauty Salons. Both, I suspect, serve very similar functions. They are both exclusively the domains of women. Men are excluded and under normal circumstances would not want admission. Steel Magnolias is a glimpse into this world of sisterhood. The play is set in a home based beauty parlor in Chinquapin, Louisiana and is an exploration of the lives and transformations of the six protagonists over a three year period. Annelle (Hannah Van Der Roest) is the young miss fresh out of school trying to come to terms with an unsatisfactory relationship and is desperately seeking employment and independence. Hairdressing in Truvy’s salon is the first step in her transformation from naivety through worldliness to born-again Christianity.

             

Shelby (Kirsten Kasner) could be a stereotypical prom queen. In this instance she is an attractive young woman with an obsession for the colour pink and suffering from a very serious diabetic condition. She gets married, and against medical advice has a child and ends up with terminal renal disease. Throughout the process she goes through her own emotional and physical transformations that include a hair make over and dealing with the outcomes of her decisions.  M’Lynn (Michelle McCue) is her long suffering mother who tries to deal with the decisions of her willful daughter and is left to cope with the consequences. Among the constellation of characters there is Clairee (Elizabeth Ross). A very attractive wealthy matron who starts out as an avid football fan and ends up as a radio station owner. Ouiser (Joanne Wilkinson) is the eccentric in the pack. She behaves the way she does because people expect her to wear outlandish hats, clothes and act as a crazy old lady. That’s what people expect so that’s what they get. Despite that, this crazy old lady does undergo some moderation of her eccentricities within the the turmoil of the Salon. Truvy (Susan Hanson) seems to be the least affected by change. She reacts to the constellation of characters that inhabit her salon but she under goes no significant changes or transformations. In fact she doesn’t even get her hair done. She seems to be the rock solid centre of what is after all her salon. She’s a hairdresser and therefore it’s her business to bring about change. “There is no such thing as natural beauty”, or so she thinks. So in addition  to the meaningful personal transformations of the protagonists there is the manic outcomes of the hair styling process and the behavior of the patrons and their families (including the gun toting husband of M’lynn and Ouiser’s hairless dog – all of whom are off stage).

Here are some images from the life and times of Steel Magnolias:

                                                                                            

The play STEEL MAGNOLIAS, written by Robert Harling and directed by Bob McCue is playing at the the Studio / Stage Door in Cranbrook. The shows are Friday and Saturday of November 16th and 17th of November, Wednesday to Saturday November 21-24th, 2012 and Wednesday to Saturday November 28, 29, 30 and December 1, 2012. All shows are at 8pm and Tickets are available from Lotus Books.

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Heather G’s Jam #2

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LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: Heather G’s Jam, co-hosted by Dave Prinn and Heather Gemmell at Ric’s Lounge in the Prestige Hotel in Cranbrook, November 9, 2012, 7-11pm.

Location isn’t everything but it is certainly a step in the right direction. Ever since Finnegans Wake closed down local musicians have been bereft of a place to informally perform. Bj’s Creekside Pub is still very much on the scene but that is in Kimberley. The management of Ric’s lounge has stepped up to the plate with a live music policy that, if the two first Heather G jam session are any indication, seem destined for success. If so it will be well deserved. The location is perfectly obvious, accessible, well appointed, lots of parking, pleasant staff and good food. Add in some opportune timing (once a month, 7-9 pm) and a huge reservoir of local talent then it looks like we are in for some good times. On this particular night Dave Prinn and Heather Gemmell kicked off the evening with a great duo of their speciality – rocky / blues with lots of musical interplay. That was just the beginning of an evening filled with music by Sheva (Shelagh and Van Redecopp), Sharon Routley, Rick Marasco and Rod Wilson, James Neve, Mark Casey and Jon Bissett. But undoubtedly the stars of the evening were the ladies of the all female Blue Grass band PIXS AND STIXS (Cosima Wells, Paige Lennox, Janice Nicili, Shelagh Gunn and Heather Gemmell). This was only the second live performance by the band and although handicapped by some technical sound problems and the absence of their mandolin player (Shauna Plant) they proceeded to delight a packed house. At one stage people were lining up at the door. Here are some images from the evening:

                                    So, thanks to Heather Gemmell and Brian Noer for a great idea. Thanks to the management and staff of Ric’s for the venue. Thanks to the musicians and patrons for a wonderful evening and last, but not least thanks to Dave Prinn for his superb organizational skills and the masses of sound equipment he managed for the evening.

Heather G’s Jam #3 will be held On Friday January 4th, 2013 7-11 pm.

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BJ’s Open Mic

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OPEN MIC SESSION HOSTED BY DAVE PRINN at BJ’s Creekside Pub in Kimberley, Saturday November 3, 2012, 7:30 pm

“Jam Session”, “Open Mic” – is there a difference? To most people probably not but there is a slight difference in intent. “Jam sessions” are a hang over from the Jazz Age when musicians would get together and mostly improvise instrumental performances based on standard jazz tunes and tunes from “The Great American Song Book”. There was (is) an expectation that the performers have a thorough working knowledge of the melody and the chords. That still happens of course but as jazz has slipped into the background a modern day Jam session usually uses classic rock and popular music as vehicles for performances. In both Jazz and Rock Jam sessions performances are mostly unrehearsed and often musicians may have never before played together. There is always a high element of risk of things coming off the rails and ending in shambles. On the other hand if things work at their best there is the possibility of audiences being treated to one time incredible performances.   “Open Mic” sessions probably owe more to the traditions of the folk music era. It is usually implied that the performers have worked and rehearsed together and have come up with credible polished versions for the performance. Occasionally, sometimes quite often in fact, other musicians may join the performance and the result is a “jam session”. Of course, there is some etiquette involved and “crashing” a performance without permission may cause some unpleasantness. The Open Mic sessions at BJ’s Creekside Pub are held once a month and, depending on the host, will usually contain elements of both types of sessions. Such was the case on Saturday night. Dave Prinn is a solid solo act who is very generous with sharing the stage during an evening. He opened the night with a solo performance and was followed by Bill St.Amand playing his jazzy standards. During the evening Dave jammed with Paige Lennox and Fred on such Blue Grass standards as “Blackberry Blossom”. It is not often in this area that two banjo players grace the same stage at the same time. Yours truly (Rod Wilson) did the Celtic thing with some songs and instrumental pieces such as “Dimming of the Day”, “Ben’s Lament”, “Bonnie Ciara / The Blarney Pilgrim” on the Irish Cittern. Who else played? there was Daze of Grace joined by Rod Wilson on Irish Whistle and percussion. On a rare night off from the Casino Tom Bungay did his thing and of course “D Squared” (Dave Phillipe and Dave Prinn – vocals and guitars) ripped up the stage with their very polished performances of classic rock songs. Solo performers Jon Bissett and a newcomer to the area “Lee” (didn’t catch his last name) provided some  mellow sounds before Dave rounded out the night with his extremely fine singing and finger picking on a few classic tunes that include Neil Young’s classic  “Old Man” . Keep an eye on calender – BJ’s Creekside Pub Open Mic sessions are usually on the first Saturday of the month.

           

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Home Grown at 30

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Home Grown Music Society Coffee House: Centre 64, Saturday October 27, 2012, 8pm

It has been said before – time flies when you are having fun. This is the thirtieth season of the Home Grown Coffee Houses and once again, along with seasoned performers,  new talent seem to have come out of the woodwork to enhance the local music scene. The Green room was crammed with eighteen talented musicians ready to go on stage.

                          

A fresh season and a fresh configuration of some well known local musicians, in what will be a first for the coffee house, an all female Blue Grass band. I hesitate to to call  PIX AND STIX a  “girl band” because they are nothing like their gender opposite “a boy band”. Most of these ladies are fresh from this summer’s Blue Grass camp and they were anxious to strut their stuff. This very strong vocal ensemble included Paige Lennox on banjo (a new banjo at that), Shelagh Redecopp on fiddle, Heather Gemmell on guitar and her first outing playing dobro, Shauna Plant on mandolin, Janice Nicli on bass and Cosima Wells on guitar. All the ladies did heavy duty on vocals as well. After listening to their renditions of ‘Bury Me beneath the Weeping Willow Tree’ and ‘Long Gone’ I suspect Cosima Well’s musical direction had a lot do with the harmonies within the band. Interspersed with the vocals were instrumental breaks on banjo, fiddle, bass, dobro and mandolin. The ladies have only been together musically for a couple of weeks  and this is sure to be the beginning of new, and hopefully, ongoing musical experience for local audiences.

                                      

Originally from Nelson, Darren Welch has more recently returned from “the centre of the universe” (Smithers, BC). Both Darren and I both met our wives in Smithers so, naturally, it is the centre of our universes.  Darren treated the audience to three original songs,‘Pretty Wild’, ‘Great Divide’ and ‘Sunshine’ that were colored by his northern experiences. They all featured good vocals with some nice controlled dynamic shadings in his guitar accompaniments. Doug Mitchell is no stranger to Homegrown audieces. Under different circumstances I suspect Doug is out to aggravate his audience and get them to think about the issues. ‘Keep Jumbo Free’ (“who needs a summer place to ski”) was, naturally, playing to the converted. His spoof on the health life style benefits of Coca Cola and musical comments on the Enbridge pipeline proposal all hit very responsive chords. Liz Dowling had a transport malfunction (her car broke down) that stranded her in Marysville some eight years ago and she has not come up with a good enough reason to want to leave.  She is originally from the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia and, naturally, folk music runs in her veins. She re-visited the folk music of a bygone era, threw in a Merle Haggard tune and finished off her set with Bob Dylan’s ‘Farewell Angelina’. Thank god for cars that break down in the most opportune and appropriate places.  Rob Young and James Neve are two core members of the folk/rock band 60 Hertz. Rob plays lead guitar and James sings and plays a very choice Larrivee acoustic guitar. James and the band are noted for the number and quality of original songs that make up their repertoire.  In a slight step away from 60 Hertz Rob and James were joined by Tristan Neve on a very original percussion set up that included a Cajon used as a kick drum. The Cajon is a small wood box drum originally from Peru. It has found its way                firstly into Flamenco music and now into the musical mainstream. Tristan uses the Cajon as a kick drum and along with a snare drum, cymbal and Irish Bodhran he has managed to come up with a small kit that pretty well covers all the territory normal associated with a standard drum kit. His use  of brushes on the Bodhran is very original. As always, it was another opportunity for the audience to touch bases with some of James Neve’s newer material that included ‘Take the Wheel’, ‘Safe to Sail’ and ‘Come Back’.        John Gerlitz  is one of a number of musicians proudly stuck in the past. For John it is the old-time music of the blues masters and practitioners of that style  that he finds especially attractive. He proved this with his renditions of Jessie Colin Young’s ‘Sugar Babe’, Bessie Smith’s 1925 hit ‘You’ve been a Good Ol’ Wagon but now you’ve done broke down’, and the ever popular “Deep River Blues’.  Dave Carlson  insists that bluegrass songs are sad songs that always sound happy. I’m not so sure about that particularly after Dave and Carol Fergus chose to focus on economically devastated communities in such songs as ‘Last Train from Poor Valley’ and Si Kahn’s ‘Aragon Mill’. Never-the-less the songs were especially fine songs complemented by Carol’s stand-up electric bass and Dave’s nice clean picking on his beat up old Martin guitar. The last act of the evening was a nameless band in full Halloween regalia. The band included Leslie Pink on vocals and guitar, Mike Kennedy on blues harp and the young Jeff Curren  on congas and percussion. The shading of the material was definitely bluesy with a little rock kick to move the night to a grand finale. That’s an apt description for their treatment of  ‘Tied to the Whipping Post’, ‘On the Road Again’ and ‘The House of the Rising Sun’.

 

 

 

 

Until the next Home Grown Coffee House on Saturday December 1, 2012 that’s it folks.Thanks go to the many volunteers that make the evening possible and thanks to the MC Bud Decosse, Ray on sound and Terry on lights.

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LOCALS at 21

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LOCALS COFFEE HOUSE, Saturday October 13, 7:30 pm at the Studio / Stage Door in Cranbrook

Time flies when you are having fun and so for over 20 seasons that’s what it has all been about and on this particular Saturday night it was no different. There were some new performers (Stacy Oig from Oliver), seasoned performers (Daze of Grace), expatriates  returning to the area (Ferdy Belland and Erin Dalton), performers trying on new roles (Barry Coulter), young performers (Angus MacDonald and Will Nicholson in LEATHER BRITCHES, and Connor Foote) and old performers who should know better (Rod Wilson). The night kicked off with MC Erin Dalton introducing Stacy Oig. Stacy is a new arrival fresh in from Oliver. “Do you like country?”  – what he served up was country but with a difference. No the usual “whinny, cryin’ and hurting” staples but a series of songs by unfamiliar composers (at least to these ears) such as Jake Owen, Eric Church  and Luke Brian. Stacy was very relaxed, with nice crisp guitar accompaniments and a good stage presence that garnered an immediate response from the audience. Local seasoned performers Daze of Grace, that included visual artist, vocalist and guitarist Sharon Routley,  and Jubal Routley on guitar were joined by Rod Wilson on percussion. As I was part of the performing group I can’t really comment on how we went down. I was too busy trying to remember what drum comes next.  Barry “Zimmerman” Coulter is a man of many talents and each time he steps on stage it is a revelation. Whether it is as an actor, jazz guitarist with the NOTABLES, on amplified dulcimer or, in this instance, as a 12 string guitarist / harmonica playing vocalist. Barry was sporting his latest prize – an Ovation 12 String guitar he picked up in a second hand store at a steal of a price. His performance was a “rootsy” take on “No Money Down”, “Motherless Child” and the Bob Dylan masterpiece “Every Grain of Sand“. Rumour has it that Barry is working on his blues  piano chops so maybe some time in the future we will get to see and hear the “Dr John“ side of his musical persona. After the intermission young Connor Foote came on stage to bring to life the musical characteristics of  Bob Dylan and John Prine. Connor has not been performing long but he has the essence of both of these performers absolutely nailed down.  He also did Hank William`s “Never get out of this World Alive“, and a couple of his own originals including the one with the classic intro line “I met my wife at a family re-union“. Ferdy Belland and his wife Erin have returned to the Kootenays after a nine year sojourn in Vancouver. Ferdy plays bass and in Vancouver played in a million bands. Erin returned to Cranbrook to take over LOTUS BOOKS, Ferdy to once again enliven the local music scene. During their stay in Vancouver Erin acquired probably one of the prettiest hand made guitars we are ever likely to see. It was this  magnificent guitar that Ferdy got to play on Tom Van Zandt`s “Pancho and Lefty“ and John Prine`s “Hello in There“. I was so mesmerised by the sound of this magnificent instrument that I forgot to take photos of Ferdy`s fine performance.  The last performers of the evening were LEATHER BRITCHES, featured Angus MacDonald on fiddle and Mandolin, Will Nicholson on Irish rhythm guitar and myself, Rod Wilson, on Irish Bouzouki and Cittern. The intention was to bring the evening to close with some foot stomping down-East fiddle tunes that included The Creature Set, The Cheap wine Set and The Battle March Medley. They finished the evening with Angus switching to mandolin and Rod to Cittern for “Bonnie Ciara“ (a plagarised version of the old Scottish tune “The Bonnie Dundee“) and the Irish session tune “The Blarney Pilgrim“.

I am sure the performers and the audience would like to thank the many, many volunteers that make LOCALS COFFEE HOUSE series such a success. A special thanks to Mark Casey on sound and Jon Bisset for his deft stage management .

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Brahms to the Blues

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From Saturday to Saturday (Sept 29 to October 6, 2012) there was wall to wall entertainment in the Key City (Cranbrook). The week kicked off with the La Cafamore String Quartet and Nicola Everton at the Knox Presbyterian Church with a sampling of very modern string music and a thick slice of the past with a Brahms Clarinet Quintet.  On the Sunday at the Key City Theatre the Go Go Grannies hosted a benefit concert for the Stephen Lewis Foundation. The opening act featured the rambunctious music of “The Good Ol’ Goats”  followed by the classical harp and vocal music of Bronn and Katherine Journey. See the previous posts in this blog for reviews of those events. 

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HEATHER G’s JAM, Wednesday October 3, 2012, 7pm at Ric’s Lounge in the Prestige Hotel in Cranbrook. Some of us musicians remember the heady days of a little while back when KAMP (Kootenay Association of Musical Performers) run regular Friday night sessions at Ali Barba’s Lounge in the Finnegans Wake Pub. Unfortunately the pub closed down and the sessions came to an end. They were great times with lots of great music. So much so that Heather Gemmell and Brian Noer decided to try and rekindle the flame by approaching the management of Ric’s Lounge for a trial Jam session.  Without any reservations the night was declared a great success. Lots of the former KAMP musicians showed up and there was good audience response. Heather kicked off the evening  with John Prine’s “Angel from Montgomery” and Rod Wilson chiming in on Irish Whistle. Other performers during the evening where SHEVA (Shelagh and Van Redecopp), JOSHUA BURNING (Garnet Waite and Keith Larsen) with their new bass player John Gerlitz. Their particular set served notice that this new configuration of the roots/country band is destined to make a significant mark on the the local scene.  Also on stage were Tom Bungay, Dave Prinn, Mark Casey, Jim Marshall and lots of percussion and mixing and matching of the various musicians in the room. Keith Larsen on mandolin and guitar really ignited Dave Prinn’s performance (not that it needed igniting) with some blazing solos and accompaniments. If there is any justice in the world there will be more sessions at Ric’s in the near future. In fact the next session has been scheduled for Friday November 9, 2012. There is nothing like real live music in great casual surroundings. Ric’s lounge definitely qualifies on all levels and for this we must thank Ric’s Operation Manager Rheanne Groumoutis  for the venue and Heather Gemmell and Brian Noer for pulling it all together. Here are some images from a great night of music:
                                                          

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 THE JAZZ COUNCIL

Friday October 5, 2012, 7pm at Ric’s Lounge in the Prestige Inn in Cranbrook.
Despite the acknowledged fact that Jazz is not the most popular music of this decade The Jazz Council continues to thrive. The original configuration of the band; Laurel Ralston (Trumpet & Fluegelhorn), Sven Heyde (drums), Bernie Primbs (baritone sax), Tim Plait (keyboards) and Joel Kroeker (bass) have probably played over 30 engagements in just over a year. There are not too many, if any, local bands that can boast that sort of activity. Unfortunately, Tim has relocated to Germany to further his studies and Joel has taken up a teaching position in Sparwood. But as, they say, “it ain’t over till’ it’s over” The Jazz Council will continue to thrive with two new replacement musicians; Geoff Haynes on keyboards and Stu Driedger on bass. Geoff is from Edmonton and he will be taking on  a number of musical tasks vacated by the Tim Plait. Stu Driedger is a local Cranbrook youth who has been away to study and is now back on the local scene. This particular gig was a kind of shake down cruise for the new musicians. An opportunity to run the changes on some familiar standards and jazz tunes before taking on the original material and projects that I am sure are in the works. Geoff and Stu had an opportunity to explore the standard piano jazz trio with “Darn That Dream” as well as such small combo staples as, “Fly me to the Moon”, “You Can’t Take that away from Me”, “It might as well be Spring” “Summertime”, “A Nightingale Sang in Berkley Square” “Harlem Nocturne”, “If I had a Bell”, “Night Train” and at least one Miles Davis Tune. For this civilized night of music, food and refreshment the musicians and the patrons need to thank the new Patron Saint of Live Music in Cranbrook, Ric’s Operation Manager Rheanne Groumoutis. Thank you, thank you, thank you Rheanne.

                        

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BILLY MANZIK AND LISA EDBERG: Friendz Now Pub, Cranbrook, Saturday October 6, 2012 9pm. Well this was a surprise and a very pleasant one at that. Who are these guys? Sorry Lisa, you are definitely not a guy. Where did they come from? How come we have not heard of them? These are two very talented musicians who currently reside in Santa Cruz, California. Billy Manzik is originally from from Thunder Bay, Ontario and plays guitars and sings. Lisa Edberg plays outstanding upright bass and is originally from Colorado. They are part of that musical underground of very talented people who seem to just kick around gypsy style, covering thousands of kilometers going from gig to gig. They may play for a dozen people or 15,000, depending on circumstance. Their music is a blues/country/roots mix  best meant for a “foot stompin’ good time”.  Although there are a few original songs in the mix most of their material consists of “covers”. That can be taken as a unkind compliment but it isn’t really. There is way more to it than that. Rather, they take material, remold it and come up with interpretations that are definitely their own personal vehicles of expression. They work extremely well together. Billy sings lead with some exceptionally authoritative finger picking / flat pick guitar with some nice clean dobro slide thrown in for good measure. Lisa excels on her 1957 Epiphone upright bass, plays guitar and sings mostly back vocals. She plays her bass in a “slap” style that is not too often seen around here. The end results are great bass lines punctuated with a percussive attack that drives the rhythm into that “foot stompin'” mode. On Saturday night they”stomped” their way though Neil Young’s “Helpless”, J.J.Cale’s “The Breeze“, and on down “Highway 61“, checked in on a  “Brown Eyed Handsome Man“, “Corrina”, “Who Do You Love”, “Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor“, and for good measure they threw in a Van Halen Song. That is only a sampling of what when down during two sets of fine rootsy music. I hope they are back this way some time and maybe a few more Cranbrook residents will get to savoir their talents.

And that was the week that was.

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“Babe Ruth Comes to Pickle River”

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CRANBROOK COMMUNITY THEATRE

Presents

“Babe Ruth Comes to Pickle River“

at the Studio / Stage Door

Thursday, Friday and Saturday

October 4, 5, 6th, 2012

Tickets are $15 and are available at Lotus Books

This charming play is about the early years of radio in Canada’s hinterlands.  In 1932, Jane, a 30-something woman pursuing one dream while avoiding several other bad ones, accidently arrives in Pickle River, a far-flung mining town in northern Ontario. There she meets Roy, a young entrepreneur who is launching a fledgling radio station just as the medium is beginning to take the country by storm. In Babe Ruth Comes to Pickle River, two talented actors portray six characters to create a magical staging of the people and places of Pickle River, Ontario. Local Director Tanya Laing Gahr has assembled a stellar cast, starring Lisa Aasebo and David Popoff.

Here are some images from the full dress rehearsal:                                                            This is such a fun play that it would be a shame to miss it … be there.

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Shelagh and Van’s Wedding

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Saturday, September 1, 2012. It couldn’t have been a better day. It was sunny, warm (not too warm) and the venue for the wedding of Shelagh Gunn and Van Redecopp at Mayook was perfect. Over the years the old Dougie Erickson property has been host to may gatherings of friends and families of the “Mayook Maniacs” but this one was extra special. It was a gathering of some two hundred friends and family to celebrate the marriage of Van Redecopp and Shelagh Gunn. They met about five years ago at one of the Sorento Bluegrass camps, became musical friends and the romantic partners that culminated in this day of celebration. A grand happy occasion, good friends, good food, good weather and the cream of local musicians. What more could one want.

Here are some images from the day of celebration (click on the images for a larger view).

                                  

Mayook always means live music. Although there was some DJ music on tap in very short order live music ruled the day. As usual for Mayook there was an entire spectrum of music. From bagpipe tunes drifting down from above the campsite, classic rock, country, Bluegrass, traditional folk, Cape Breton Fiddle Music and some mad bagpipe and percussion improvisational mayhem.

                                                            These are some of the images I managed to capture but if friends and family have images they would like to share send hi-res Jpeg files to me at parahaki@xplornet.com and I will add them to the post.

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 and for those who missed it here is  The Wedding Song

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Summer Artists Showcase Series

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Cranbrook International Airport in partnership with “The Pickled Bean Cafe” are running a Summer Artists Showcase at the airport. The idea is to expose incoming and outgoing travelers to some of the fine talent in this area. For two hours at peak travel times, usually Thursday or Friday between 4:30 and 6:30pm, acoustic solo or duos acts avail themselves of the relaxed atmosphere of the Pickled Bean cafe. Long time local favorite Tom Bungay (The Saltwater Cowboy) was the first to kick off the series in June. On Friday June 22, 2012 the duo “Daze of Grace” played a selection of original material as well as covers of some classic rock tunes. Described as “Ambient Folk/Rock” it was a good mix for the venue. Sharon Routley (Guitar and Vocals) is a well know visual artist in area and she displayed some of her cards and prints during the performance.

 

                     

Jubal Routley, Sharon’s accompanist added his ethereal guitar sounds to the mix.

On Thursday July 5th, 2012 it was Jim Marshall’s turn to entertain the travelers at the Cranbrook International Airport. Jim is probably one of the finest finger picking guitar players in the area and is well known for his vocals and original arrangements of his own material as well as a  classic country, rock, blues, ragtime and pop tunes. Included in Thursday’s performances was Santana’s “Black Magic Woman”, an instrumental version of the Beatles “Michelle” (with some wonderful moving bass lines), The classic Big Bill Broonzy blues “Key to the Highway” and a rocking version of Chick Berry’s “Memphis Tennesse”.

Jim will be back at the Pickled Bean Cafe on Thursdays July 12th and July 26th, 2012.

Leather Britches, featuring young Angus MacDonald on fiddle and Rod Wilson on Irish Bouzouki, will bring the sounds of Cape Breton to the Cranbrook Airport on July 19th, 2012. Heather Gemmel  will be also be performing her unique blend of acoustic rock and blues there on Friday August 3, 2012.

Even if you are not going any where drop by. It is a great place to cool your heels and take in some of the good music of the area.