Steve's Blog
Dave Gunning kicks off a myriad of shows for our 30th Anniversary!
Friday March 24, 2017

Nova Scotia has produced some brilliant songwriters down the years, and Pictou's Dave Gunning is rightly earning favourable comparisons with the likes of Gordon Lightfoot, Bruce Cockburn, and Stan Rogers for his narrative songs of ordinary folk and their everyday struggles to make a go of it in this wonderful - and sometimes harsh & unforgiving - land. Dave is one the most engaging performers around! We saw him last month in Kansas City at Folk Alliance, and he has just completed a tour or Alberta with his old friend JP Cormier. Come and hear one of Canada's finest as he leads us on a journey to Nova Scotia and across Canada to visit some of the outposts where his fellow-maritimers have put down new roots and kept treasured thoughts of home alive and kicking!

Click here for Tickets and More Information

2. State of The Rogue - March 2017

The Rogue's 30th Anniversary is coming up in May, and we have a variety of concerts over the next few weeks to mark the event in the best way we know how: by presenting top-notch musicians in as many genres of Folk / Roots music as we can muster! We've got everything from Canadian and American singer songwriters to acoustic blues, bluegrass, Celtic, Scandinavian fiddles, Cuban jazz, Tex Mex accordion, a Grammy-winning Gospel singer, and of course, our 11th annual festival of gypsy jazz - April In Paris! 

2017 has started well for The Rogue, with several sold out shows already, and some stellar performances: Sharon Shannon, Martyn Joseph, Old Man Luedecke, Cajun Country Revival, and The Paperboys were all fabulous nights before a packed house. Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haasgave a memorable workshop, we premiered Alasdair's movie, and they played a great show to another full house right after that. Three events in one day! Amazing!! Christine Tassan et Les Imposteures were equally incredible, but, alas, the turnout was our lowest for months. 

Many people point out that whenever they attend a concert we seem to have a full house. Indeed, there are many sold-out shows, but those people don't come to the other shows and never see the nights when we struggle to make ends meet. Such shows may seem less important, but they have always made up a significant part of our programming. They are essential stepping-stones for emerging artists - and equally vital in helping us to find the next sold-out performers. Artists' careers don't go on forever; many bands split up after a few years and some members form new bands, others stop touring altogether. We need to find new musicians to replace them and to keep our concert series on the cutting edge (no relation!)

We have always encouraged young, local performers (like Lydia Hol, above) to make the step up from coffee houses and pay-to-play gigs and join us for a Rogue show with professional sound and wonderful volunteers in our cosy venue. I am constantly auditioning new music for the series and for my radio show. I attend conferences and festivals around the world looking for new names to bring in to Vancouver. Today's music scene is incredibly exciting - especially in the world of Folk and Roots. 

Our next few shows will feature many artists new to The Rogue (like Nordic Fiddlers Bloc, above.) I am 100% convinced that some will become firm favourites. I really hope that they will ALL become firm favourites, but for many of them, this is the first step along that journey. I urge you to take a chance on some of the shows we have coming up. Take a look at our concert calendar and see for yourselves what a wide range of music we present. There is surely something for everyone here. But more importantly, we ask that you join us on this journey of discovery and take in some performances by artists you've never heard of. Visit our website and listen to the music of the artists in the YouTubelinks on the concert pages. Then take the plunge and buy some tickets - or a Parcel O'Rogues 10-pack (or 20 or 30-pack!) and save money as you join us on this incredibly rewarding journey!

We really appreciate your continued support. Without it we will not be able to keep going, and that would be very sad - for all of us. See you at The Rogue!!