Steve's Blog
Saturday June 23, 2012

Hi everyone

Greetings from a very hot evening in Languedoc, France! Must be well over 30C here. Actually its 30C in the shade, and we don't have one! I guess it's not quite summer there yet.

Just a quick note to update you on the latest concert news.

The next show is Laurence Juber, Grammy-winning guitarist from London who toured and recorded for several years with Paul McCartney & Wings. Laurence now makes his home in Los Angeles, but has only played at The Rogue once before, way back in 2001, I think. He has recorded two stunning albums of Beatles songs on solo guitar, with no overdubs, and has also recorded many other Wings and Sir Paul songs on his solo albums. An amazing technically skilled player, he is also possessed of the gift of adding great emotion to the music, getting right down to the heart and soul of each piece. Opening for him will be Cape Breton fiddler Dwayne Cote and the brilliant Newfoundland gypsy-jazz guitarist Duane Andrews, who we've been dying to bring in for years. Laurence is en route to Island Musicfest in Courtenay; the other two are heading north to the Atlin Music Festival after our gig.

Speaking of Laurence, we need someone to pick him up from the airport around 2pm on the 5th and convey him to his hotel and to the gig. If you can help out, let me know. Thanks! I'll probably be a bit busy getting things ready for the show (we don't get back till the evening of the 2nd).

The next 3 weekends are taken up with festivals in Courtenay (where I'll be introducing Richard Thompson on Friday) and interviewing Holger Petersen (of CBC Saturday Night Blues & Stony Plain Records fame) about his book, "Talking Music." Then it's Vancouver (July 13 - 15) where Linda Bull and I will co-host The Edge On Folk from Jericho Park. The following weekend it's Mission, then on the28th it's the first of 3 nights of music on The Rogue Stage at Shorefest, with Harry Manx, Jim Byrnes & Steve Dawson, Viper Central and a whole lot more. On August 1st The Breakmen and The Be Good Tanyas are on the bill with Dustin Bentall & Kendel Carson (I think!). The Rogue Stage will run from 6pm to 9pm on Sunset Beach, in the park. Followed by fireworks, of course.

On August 2nd - my birthday, as it happens, there will either be a House Concert with NZ's Pacific Cuirls, or they might open for Pied Pumkin at St. James. I'm waiting to hear back from the Pumkins.

On Friday August 3rd we present the long-awaited return of Nova Scotia's wonderful singer Laura Smith at St. James Hall.

Then on August 4th, Shorefest concludes with a stellar line-up including The Great Lake Swimmers on the Rogue Stage.

Then we have two great nights at CBC Studio 700 (maybe we'll need the air-conditioning by then!) with a CD Launch for Linda McRae on August 7th, and the return of Boston quintet Joiy Kills Sorrow on the 8th (led by Qualicum's Emma Beaton.)

We've just added a rare (very rare in these parts) concert with the remarkable American blues diva Rory Block. August 15th at St. James Hall. She recently published her autobiography, "When A Woman Gets The Blues," and it's a compelling read. Earlier this month she released a CD in tribute to the Rev. Gary Davis, continuing her series of albums of songs by blues legends who have inspired her - and in all but that of Robert Johnson - taught her in her early days in music (in the mid to late 1960s). She's still making incredibly soulful, passionate music steeped in the Blues tradition, and we are thrilled to bring her to The Rogue for the first time.

If that's not enough music to keep you sated, try Old Crow's House Concert with American singer / songwriters Danny Schmidt and Carrie Elkins on July 11th. http://oldcrow.net for more info.

Big thanks to the surrogate hosts of The Edge On Folk while I'm away - I think Andrea and Arthur Berman are on right now, in fact!

Tickets to most of these shows are on sale at Highlife and Rufus' Guitar Shop, and on our website of course.

Apologies for the rudimentary formatting here. I'm using an iPad and a simple keyboard.

See you soon!
Steve