Steve's Blog
Friday March 29, 2013

Hi everyone

Happy Easter!

Just a short message this week - that's the plan anyway!

1. Battlefield Band, Saturday March 30th, 8pm at St. James Hall (3214 West 10th Avenue)

Brilliant Scots band return with a brand new CD - Room Enough For All - and heaps of new songs and tunes. And humour, of course! This amazing band can switch from bagpipe trios to fiddle trios to multi-instrumental jams to glorious harmony vocals - sometimes in the same medley! There will be dancers from Vancouver Scottish Country Dance to step it out to a couple of tunes by the band as well, so a rollicking good time is guaranteed. Tickets are available online and at the door. www.battlefieldband.co.uk

2. The Savoy Family Cajun Band, Thursday, April 4th, 8pm at St. James Hall (3214 West 10th Avenue)

You can either dance all night or sit and watch as this excellent quartet from deepest Louisiana brings their traditional music to St. James Hall. It's a Cap Uni Global Roots show, so advance tickets are only available through their box office on 604-990-7810. There will be tickets at the door, though. You won't find better Cajun music than this! It's the real thing, and the musicians are stellar! www.savoyfamilycajunband.com

3. Pharis & Jason Romero with special guest John Wort Hannam, Friday April 5th, 8pm at St. James Hall (3214 West 10th Avenue)

From Horsefly B.C. we are delighted to present the return of the banjo-building, old-time singing duo of Pharis and Jason Romero. They have a great new CD, Long Gone Out West Blues, and everyone was raving about their fabulous showcases at the recent Folk Alliance in Toronto. Pharis used to lead a great band called Outlaw Social, and her voice and songwriting are so compelling! I defy you to keep a dry eye when she's in full flight; I know I can't! If you love great harmonies, sublime picking and that warm, down home old-time style you must not miss this show! www.jasonandpharis.com.

Opening for the couple is Alberta songwriter John Wort Hannam. He's won a few awards himself in recent years, and his new CD, Brambles & Thorns, is brim full of poetic images of rural life and the loneliness of the long distance farmer. This will be his Rogue debut, and we think you'll like him a lot! www.johnworthannam.com

4. April In Paris Festival of Gypsy Jazz (April 12 - 14)

Our 7th annual festival kicks off with a CD Release Cabaret for Deanna Knight & The Hot Club Of Mars, with special guests from The Dusty Flowerpot Cabaret to set the mood, and to teach and demonstrate some swing dancing. We will also have a special guest or two, as well. On Saturday it's the stunning guitar of Marc Atkinson and his trio plus Lache Cercel & Roma Swing Ensemble weaving their gypsy magic all night long. We finish up on Sunday with the very hot gypsy jazz string quartet Van Django and the exceptional promise of Victoria quartet Brishen (featuring dynamite guitar whizz Quinn Bachand and The Bills' fiddler Richard Moody.) Full details will be in the Rogue Folk Review next week (see below)

5. Rogue Folk Review out next week!

The April issue will be mailed on Tuesday night and available for download before then.

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

Please join me tomorrow morning for 4 hours of the best in Roots and Folk Music from next door and all around the globe! I'll feature a World Premiere of the aforementioned Hot Club Of Mars CD, Kiss Of Fire, as well as the new Battlefield Band CD (they may even call in) and a taste of Cajun music, plus lots of new stuff - including a guest vocal by Dick Gaughan on the new Solas CD. I'll be on the air at 8am tomorrow on 101.9fm in Vancouver and Telus TV Channel 3717, and of course, online, streamed live on www.citr.ca