Steve's Blog
Tuesday July 26, 2011

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Hi everyone

Since our last concert at St. James Hall we've been rather busy having a great time! Margaret & I took off for Maui for a week (despairing of there ever being a summer in B.C.) and then it was Jazz Fest time - with all those "jazz" giants like Savoy Cajun Band, Foggy Hogtown boys, Rupa & The April Fishes, etc. Canada Day was next. Then we took off for Vancouver Island, taking in Merridale Cider and their excellent new bistro en route to Island Musicfest in Courtenay. Four days of incredible music. Then we took the ferry to Powell River and Sunshine Coast to visit Rogue sound man Jay O'Keeffe and his new bride Anna on their small-holding, and Margaret's brother in Roberts Creek before coming home to see Richard III at Bard On The Beach and then it was Vancouver Folk Music Festival time. Great music. What a shame about the weather. Linda Bull & I soldiered on bravely under canvas to broadcast The Edge On Folk from the park, and we also interviewed Gillian Welch & David Rawlings. It was supposed to be a 10 minute interview. It turned into a 32 minute chat! Which will need a fair bit of editing before going to air. It was a great weekend, in spite of the weather. A couple of days to recover, then I took off for Seattle to see Manchester United demolish the Sounders 7-0 and reunite with some fellow Reds in the emerald city. Zoomed home in time to head off to Mission for another wonderful weekend of music. I really do believe this to be the best festival in B.C. it's the right size, there's no pressure to find a spot in front of the stage, dancing is encouraged in front of the stage, and the music is amazing every year. Yet most of the performers are unknown and only play Mission. Many are stars in Europe and elsewhere, but they rarely play over here.

I've added 10 photo galleries to my webpage to cover the last few shows at St. James and the three amazing festivals this month. gallery.me.com/steveedge3

There's still plenty of music to take in before our concert series resumes at St. James on September 2nd with Swedish trio Vasen - including a concert this Friday at CBC Studio 700, Shorefest, and the Edmonton Folk Festival.

1. The Outside Track, Friday July 29, 8pm, CBC Studio 700 (700 Hamilton Street)

This Celtic quintet was in superb form at Mission over the weekend. What makes this concert especially exciting is that they are spending the intervening days on Bowen Island working on new material for their third CD, and they will showcase much of it at the concert. We will record the show, and present them with a calling card to take to the various record labels that might release this sort of acoustic magic. So please come along and support them in their endeavours. The band features Vancouver's own Norah Rendell on flute and vocals, Mairi Rankin from Cape Breton on fiddle and step-dancing, Fiona Black and Ailie Robertson from Scotland on accordion and harp respectively, and Irish guitarist Cillian O'Dalaigh. They play a heady mix of tunes from Scotland, Ireland, Cape Breton and Quebec along with original compositions and traditional songs. Don't miss this top-notch Celtic band at the Rogue at CBC. It's licensed, all-ages, and accessible (and air-conditioned!) Tickets will be available at the door, and are also on sale at Highlife Records and Rufus' Guitar Shop, and online.

2. Shorefest, Saturday July 30, Wednesday August 3, and Saturday August 6, Rogue Stage outside Maritime Museum, Kits Point, 7pm. Free!

Come along to our stage next to the yellow submarine in front of the Maritime Museum for three evenings of great B.C. roots music, and then stay for the fireworks. This Saturday it's Kevin Kane (Grapes of Wrath) and young Blues diva No Sinner. Next Wednesday it's The Sojourners and The Paul Pigat Band, and the final Saturday it's Headwater and Leeroy Stagger. The shows are free, and there will also be a beer garden, and a Rogue Information Tent. Brought to you by our good friends at Shore 104.3 fm. (I'll be hosting the frst two shows, alongside Gordie Robertson of Shore's Coastal Blues show.)

3. The Edge On Folk, Saturday 8am to noon, on CiTR fm 101.9 and www.citr.ca

Thanks to Val Cormier for filling in last Saturday. I'll be back in the chair this weekend with some festival highlights, new releases and concert previews. I'm changing the format too, so tune in and see how you like it! Next week Andrea & Arthur Berman will fill in for me while I'm in Edmonton, then it's back to normal service again for the foreseeable future. Listen for new music by the likes of Deep Dark Woods, John Reischman & The Jaybirds, Amelia Curran, April Verch, The Minor Empire, Tapia eta Leturia, Northern Lights, Dry Bones, Tedeski / Trucks, Pokey LaFarge, Griff, Jim Page, Diana Jones, Gillian Welch, The Greencards, Dave Alvin, Leon Rosselson, Locarno, JuJu, Mari Boine, Susana Baca, and much more.

See you at The Rogue!

Steve