Steve's Blog
A sold-out show, a Food Bank plea, & exciting musical nostalgia
Thursday September 21, 2017

1. Garnet Rogers, Saturday September 23rd, 8pm, St. James Hall (3214 West 10th Avenue)

This show is Sold Out. I hope you booked your tickets in time, for this will be Garnet's last show out west on this tour - and he likely won't make the long road trip out here again.

I checked the Roguestory section of our website just now and counted up no less than 26 previous concerts by Garnet, dating back to The Savoy in 1987! Strangely, his last concert here was back in 2011, since when he's released a fine CD, Summer's End (2014), and he's also published his memoir, Night Drive - Travels With My Brother. He'll have plenty of copies of both at the show.

If you're coming to the show, Garnet asks that you please bring something for the local Food Bank. We'll have a box by the entrance door to collect these items.

2. Early Spirit, Friday September 29th, 8pm, St. James Hall (3214 West 10th Avenue)

Jay Knutson, one of the three original members of Spirit Of The West, teams up with young Celtic / jazz fiddler Gabriel Dubreuil, bassist Will Ross, and percussionist Ben Kelly (son of Geoffrey Kelly, another founding Spirit) to present new takes on the songs he wrote for SOTW back in the day. These songs will be spiced up with fiddle tunes and newer songs. It promises to be an amazing night! Tickets and information can be found here.

3. Don Ross & Calum Graham, Thursday October 5th, 8pm, St. James Hall (3214 West 10th Avenue)

Two brilliant Canadian guitar poets team up the following week, showcasing their new CDs (Don's A Million Brazilian Civilians, and Calum's Tabula Rasa) with solo sets and some stirring duets from their 2013 collaborative CD, 12:34. This will be Don's 27th show, dating back to 1988, and Calum's gig will be the first time at The Rogue for this brilliant young guitarist and singer from Alberta. Details and tickets here.

4. Trio Da Kali, Friday October 6th, 8pm, St. James Hall (3214 West 10th Avenue)

We team up with Caravan World Rhythms to present a show with this amazing trio of acoustic musicians from Mali, West Africa. Trio Da Kali have just released a remarkable CD, Ladilikan, with the renowned Kronos Quartet (World Circuit Records). I'm sure they will play most - if not all those songs, even without the Kronos strings. The Trio consists of Fode Lassana Diabate (balofon - an ancient wooden xylophone), Hawa Kasse Mady Diabaté (one of Mali's most popular and impressive female singers), and Mamadou Kouyate (bass ngoni - a precursor of the banjo. He is the eldest son of Bassekou Kouyate, who brought his fine band to St. James Hall a few years ago - and to the Vancouver Folk Music Festival a couple of times, most recently in 2016). Details of this show can be found here.