2007 / 2008 Concert Series Queen Alexandra Hall 10425 University Avenue TICKETS $18.00 advance & at the door when available Edmonton Acoustic Music 9934 Whyte Avenue 433-3545 Myhre’s Music 8715 118 Avenue 477-1586 Tix on the Square 420 1757 780 288 8111 Check website or call for special pricing on ticket packages www.northernlightsfc.ca Children 6 – 16 half price at the door Must have valid membership (available at door n/c) Saturday, Sept 15/07 - HIGHWATER JUG BAND - Some long time friendships fuelled by a common zeal for old time blues, jug band music, vintage acoustic instruments, and the sounds of scratchy old phonograph records has sparked somewhat of a southern Alberta roots-music super-group. The recently assembled collaboration taps a deep pool of performing experience, vocal abilities and song writing talent featuring some of the province’s busiest and most accomplished blues and roots musicians. Dan Tapanila, Mark Sadlier Brown, Tim Williams, Cedric Blary, Suitcase James and John Rutherford form a rag-tag team of musical sharp shooters set on having a ball. Saturday, Sept 29/07 - JOHN MANN - Mister Mann is the solo project of Spirit of the West’s front man and songwriter John Mann. After 11 albums and countless tours of the UK, Europe and North America with Spirit, December Looms is a return to Mann’s stripped down Alt Folk roots. Mann pens beautiful melodies with emotionally honest lyrics that capture the intimate moments of his hometown of Vancouver, its occupants, the fragile details of their dysfunctional love and the loss of a city’s innocence. Saturday, Oct 13/07 - KEN HAMM - is a Western Canadian blues and roots music artist with an international reputation. Emerging from early coffeehouses and Northern Ontario bluesbands, to festivals and concert halls, Ken has been playing professionally since the late 1960s. He has a reputation as a dynamic, moving performer, mixing hot slide fingerstyle acoustic blues with original songs based on his travels and encounters. Recent performances have included Edmonton Folk Festival, Calgary Folk Festival, Saskatoon Jazz Festival, and Vancouver Island Musicfest. Saturday, Oct27/07 – MICHAEL JEROME BROWNE - It was the great jazz, blues and folk clubs in Montreal that young Browne first heard the likes of Sonny Terry, Brownie McGee and Lightnin' Hopkins. By the age of fourteen he was performing professionally on the seventies coffeehouse scene playing guitar, banjo and harmonica and singing. When not on stage, you might find him playing live at Carnegie Hall with Kate and Anna McGarrigle, in the studio with Taj Mahal and Eric Bibb, performing live with Guy Davis, teaching at music camps and songwriting workshops, and more. Sunday, Nov 04/07 - HOMEFEST 2007 - We are pleased to be joining EFMF, ECOHH, EJPCOH and others in supporting this wonderful day of music. (Arts Barns) Saturday, Nov 10/07 – DUST POETS - The Dust Poets are a five-piece acoustic folk-pop group with roots deep in the Canadian prairie who poke affectionate fun at themselves and the world around them while spreading their own irreverent brand of small town angst. They have performed extensively across Canada and are well known for their infectious spirit, powerful stage presence, genre-bending originals, hot instrumental chops, and juicy harmony singing. They create arrangements that wander easily among different styles, including folk, bluegrass, swing, pop, and circus freak ragtime, featuring guitar, upright bass, accordion, mandolin, clarinet, and percussion. Saturday, Nov 24/07 – THE PRESENTERS - Several of Alberta’s music promoters and presenters are also musicians in their own right. This is your chance to see and hear what they hear in some of their favourite performers. Bill Werthmann may sing a David Francey, Peter Pirquet may sing a Ruthy Foster, Anna Sommerville may sing a Bob Jahrig…you get the picture. Should prove to be an entertaining evening. Saturday, Jan 19/08 – DAVID MYLES– First place winner in the 2006 International Songwriting Competition David Myles' songs are infectiously hummable. Myles' second full-length album, "Things Have Changed", is the latest in a long line of musical achievements. David’s last performances in Edmonton sold out very quickly. This East Coast treasure is garnering rave reviews across the country……… AND, CARA LUFT - A powerfully elegant guitarist, Cara favours a variety of open tunings and also enjoys branching out into mandolin and clawhammer banjo. In performance she balances pathos with joy, telling invariably hilarious stories between poignant songs, simultaneously managing complex retunings of her guitar. Saturday, Feb 2/08 – AL BRANT - Al Brant writes music that is soulful, reflective and life affirming. It simply comes from the heart, creating images and drawing feelings from his listeners. Combined with a voice that has depth and incredible range, this makes for an unforgettable listening journey……….. AND, CORI BREWSTER As fresh as a breath of Mountain air, this eclectic singer songwriter knits together strands of folk and roots country. Cori discloses passion and finesse in her songwriting. Her lyrics are rich with a strong Canadian flavour, to the landscape, personalities, and stories she tells. We are thrilled to have Cori back at the club. Saturday, Feb 16/08 – STEVE DAWSON - has evolved into a musical chameleon, whether appearing with his group Zubot and Dawson, the avant-folk quartet The Great Uncles of the Revolution, blues legend Jim Byrnes, performing his own solo shows, or producing acclaimed albums in the studio. On stages ranging from Dobrofest in Slovakia to the renowned Monterey Jazz Festival and almost every major music festival in Canada, Steve is constantly striving for unique sounds and approaches to acoustic music. His instrumental abilities have landed him on stages with artists as diverse as John Lee Hooker, David Lindley, Long John Baldry, Oh Susannah, and Francois Houle, to name just a few. Saturday, March 1/08 – MALINKY - Ranked among today’s foremost young exponents of Scottish song, Malinky combines an array of vocal talent with a highly distinctive instrumental palette in fresh yet timeless arrangements of both traditional and contemporary material. Their fast-track progress on the international Celtic scene, since forming in 1998, has been underpinned by outstanding musical prowess, fruitful artistic evolution and a maturity well beyond their years. Malinky first emerged at Glasgow’s prestigious Celtic Connections festival in 1999 as winners of a Danny Kyle Open Stage award. At a time when most new Scottish bands were focusing on instrumental sounds, their song-centred repertoire immediately marked them out from the crowd. Saturday, March 15/08 – MARIA DUNN - A storyteller through song, Maria Dunn combines North American folk and country music with the influences of her Celtic heritage. Born in Scotland and raised in Ontario and Alberta, she writes songs inspired by historical and contemporary characters, capturing their struggles and triumphs in her lyrics. In 2002, Maria received a Juno nomination in the Roots/Traditional Solo category for her second recording, For a Song. We Were Good People (2004), explores the stories of working people in Western Canada--tales of resilience and hope through experiences of immigration, internment, exploitation and The Depression. Saturday, April 5/08 – JOHN BOUTTE - Think of Nat Cole, and then of Jackie Wilson, and then of Marvin Gaye, and then of Sam Cooke, Joe Williams and Jimmy Scott. Not of them actually, but of the moods that surrounded them, and especially of their audiences. Think of the way they treated an audience, of the way they read the room. Think of how the audience felt about themselves on the way home. Then treat yourself to the music of John Boutte. John has won Best Male Vocalist of the year at both the Best of the Beat Awards (including the most recent 2006 award) and the Big Easy Awards. Saturday, April 19/08 – COME ON IN MY KITCHEN - Taking its name from the classic Robert Johnson song, this annual travelling revue features some of Western Canada’s finest acoustic artists. Canadian blues guitarist Mark Sterling will be joined on stage with some of Canada’s finest singer/songwriters to deliver songs and storys. Known for his riveting slide guitar work and smooth vocals, Edmonton’s Mark Sterling co-founded this show in 1999 as a way to celebrate a collective love for country blues. Sterling has released two acclaimed solo blues albums, and written songs with country up-and-comer Adam Gregory. .