Steve's Blog
Welcome To Rogue February!! Check out what's happening this month!
Thursday February 1, 2018

2018 got off to a roaring start at The Rogue, with 3 sold out shows (2 with Jim Byrnes and 1 with Connie Kaldor) and a new dance floor at St. James Hall. Last weekend's Beppe Gambetta show was another amazing concert with a packed house. Now we get down to some equally spectacular shows as we enter a whole new month!

1. Paul Pigat's Boxcar Campfire & Lynn Miles, Friday February 2nd 8pm, at St. James Hall (3214 West 10th Avenue)


Vancouver guitar wizard Paul Pigat has played here with Jim Byrnes, Mike Farris, Black Gardenia, and many more. He leads the superb rockabilly trio Cousin Harley and will bring his other band playing his own compositions - Boxcar Campfire. Here is Paul playing Mr. Sandman on one of his beautiful Gretsch guitars. 


Lynn Miles is one of Canada's most accomplished singer/songwriters. With twelve albums to her credit, this winner of multiple Canadian Folk Music Awards and a 2003 Juno Award writes some of the most poignant hurtin' songs - and delivers them with great, self-effacing humour! Lynn was a standout at the recent Celtic Colours festival in Cape Breton, sharing new songs with 5 other amazing Canadian songwriters specially written for the event. Lynn released a duo CD, Heartbreak Songs For The Radio, last month with fellow-Canadian Lynne Hanson. She will probably share some of those songs at The Rogue tomorrow night. Here she is singing her classic ballad Black Flowers.

Tickets and information https://roguefolk.bc.ca/concerts/ev18020220
 

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2. Contra Dance with The Sybaritic Stringband, Saturday February 3rd, 7:30pm, at St. James Hall (3214 West 10th Avenue)
It's the first dance on the new dance floor at St. James. No experience necessary. Come alone or bring a few friends. All dances taught on the spot, and dancing is with a live band playing Quebecois and old time fiddle music. Arrive early for introductory lessons.
 

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3. Ten Strings & A Goatskin plus Ben & Anita, Sunday February 4th 8pm, at St. James Hall (3214 West 10th Avenue)


Ten Strings & A Goatskin are a young, acoustic, bilingual, Celtic power trio from PEI who transform traditional music with vigour, a healthy curiosity, and sparks of goofy humour. They have blazed a trail across North America and western Europe winning friends and admirers everywhere they go. Their concerts are always great fun, and they will play to a full house again this Sunday so make sure you get your ticket! This will be their third Rogue gig. Here they are with the title track from their 2nd CD, Aupres Du Poele (around the woodstove)


They will be joined by extra special guests from Cape Breton, Ben Miller & Anita MacDonald (Scottish border pipes and fiddle) who have made a big impression on us at the Celtic Colours Festival in Cape Breton over the past couple of years. They will be accompanied by guitarist Zakk Cormier. This will be their Rogue debut, so here is an introduction to their music.

For tickets and information https://roguefolk.bc.ca/concerts/ev18020420
 

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4. The Driven Bow - B.C. Fiddle Festival. Three evening concerts, six B.C. bands, multiple genres, six fiddle workshops - on the first long weekend of the year at St. James Hall (3214 West 10th Avenue)

• Daniel Lapp plus Early Spirit, Friday February 9th, 8pm
• Daniel Lapp is a world renowned fiddler, singer, composer, multiinstrumentalist, teacher, band leader, sideman, producer, the list goes on! Early Spirit honours the spontaneity of improvised music, the intimacy and pace of Celtic music, and songs from the early days of Spirit of the West. Daniel Lapp and Gabriel Dubreuil will each lead workshops the next day. https://roguefolk.bc.ca/concerts/ev18020920
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• Mad Pudding plus Jocelyn Pettit, Saturday February 10th, 8pm
• Mad Pudding returns! This popular Vancouver band mixes their own brand of Celtic funk with a vast array of eclectic musical choices, and astonishing creativity and expertise! Jocelyn Pettit is a vibrant young fiddle player, stepdancer and composer with a very bright future. Cam Wilson and Jocelyn Pettit will each lead workshops over the weekend too. https://roguefolk.bc.ca/concerts/ev18021020
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• Locarno plus Kathleen Nisbet's Metis Dance Hall, Sunday February 11th, 8pm
• Locarno - led by Tom & Kalissa Landa - plays a compelling blend of Mexican, Cuban and North American popular music with infectious exuberance! Kathleen Nisbet (Viper Central) will open the show with her Metis Fiddle Ensemble. Kalissa and Kathleen will also give fiddle workshops on Sunday. https://roguefolk.bc.ca/concerts/ev18021120

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5. Roguelele Night, Tuesday February 20th, at St. James Hall (3214 West 10th Avenue)
Whether you're a ukulele novice or a seasoned strummer the Vancouver Ukulele Circle is for you! It's the oldest ukulele club on the American Continent. 

You say you can't sing and can barely play? NO PROBLEM! Quality is not an issue. We do this for fun. Sing as loud and free as you like because everyone else (over 100 people) is doing the same. We play from a 230 page book of classic songs.
 

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6. Stephen Fearing Trio plus Riley & Vivian, Friday February 23rd 8pm, at St. James Hall (3214 West 10th Avenue)


“Fearing’s music crackles with ideas and collaborative energy… masterful guitar work from acoustic rock rhythm to elegant finger style.” Acoustic Guitar Magazine
With a life of many relocations and countless months on the road performing, Stephen Fearing is a gifted storyteller and true musical nomad with the ability to captivate audiences of all sizes and attitudes. He has released ten albums as a solo artist, nine with Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, and two more with Irish singer / songwriter Andy White. His latest, Every Soul's A Sailor, is arguably his most powerful lyrical statement to date. Here is the title track.

Opening is Seattle old time banjo / guitar duo Riley Colgano & Vivian Leva making their Rogue debut.

For tickets and information, click here
https://roguefolk.bc.ca/concerts/ev18022320_1
 

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7. Altan, Sunday February 25th 8pm, at St. James Hall (3214 West 10th Avenue)


After thirty years of playing on stages all over the world from Dublin to New York, Tokyo to Sydney, the premier traditional Irish band, Altan came back to the hills of Donegal to record their new album, The Gap Of Dreams, whose 13 tracks transport the listener to the lifestyle of rural Donegal, to a time before electricity when folks would gather together in the mists of winter to tell stories, sing songs and dance into the wee hours of the night. The music lifted the locals’ spirits and helped elevate them beyond the hardships of the day like famine, conflict, and emigration. Come and lift your own spirits as this amazing band fills St. James Hall with their sumptuous brand of Celtic music!

Get your tickets here:
https://roguefolk.bc.ca/concerts/ev18022520
 

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8. Radio Waves
I hope you can join me for this week's edition of The Saturday Edge On Folk (8am to noon, on CiTR fm 101.9 and www.citr.ca) I hope to have some new music from Altan, and will feature some Grammy-nominated CDs and whatever else takes my fancy over the next couple of days!