Steve's Blog
The Very Best Shows In Town?
Friday October 25, 2024

Winner of multiple awards for his outstanding and innovative guitar work, Canada's Don Ross has performed more tmes at The Rogue than anyone else, dating back to the late 1980s! This time he teams up with another exceptional guitarist, young German singer / songwriter Jule(pronounced Yule) Malischke. We saw them at the Edmonton Folk Music festival in August. They were fabulous! 

Get your live in-concert tickets here. or Watch At Home tickets here

3. Sophie Lukacs Trio / Tony Furtado Trio, Sunday November 3rd, 8pm, Mel Lehan Hall at St. James (3214 West 10th Avenue)

This is a unique double-bill, the first of three such adventurous bookings in November at The Rogue. Brilliant guitar picker and banjo innovator Tony Furtado cut his teeth in the California bluegrass quintet The Good Ol' Persons(with John Reischman and co) in the 1980s. Since then he has branched out into more diverse musical styles. He will be accompanied by hot fiddler Luke Price and Ani diFranco's acoustic bassist Andy Stochansky. They will perform first.

Hungarian-born Canadian songwriter Sophie Lukacs now lives in Montreal, where she studied classical music and then medicine at McGill. She became fascinated with the sound of the kora - the 21 string West African harp - eventually studying with the renowned griot Toumani Diabate in Paris. He invited her to join him in Mali, and there she stayed - for seven years in Bamako - to follow her muse. She brings the unique sound of the kora to her original songs, and she won the Canadian Folk Music Award this year for Global Recording of the Year for her debut album, Bamako. She was outstanding when we saw her at the CFMAs in St. John's - accompanied by Calabash and cello / bass, as she will be here. Can't wait to see her again!

For live in-concert tckets, click here. 

For Watch At Home tickets, click here

4. Grace Petrie, Thursday November 7th, 8pm, Mel Lehan Hall at St. James (3214 West 10th Avenue)

Grace Petrie is, arguably, the most prolific and relevant politically-charged songwriter of our times. This young English singer performed brilliantly at last year's Edmonton Folk Festival, ably supported by Ben Moss on fiddle and melodeon. Such a powerful set, laced with humour and passion. She repeated the feat at this summer's Vancouver Folk Music festival, and we are so chuffed to be able to present them at The Rogue for the first time. Essential listening!

Tickets are going fast! You can buy yours here, or to Watch At Home go here.

5. Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas / The Henry Girls, Saturday November 9th, 8pm, Mel Lehan Hall at St. James (3214 West 10th Avenue)

Another unique double-bill, featuring the stunning fiddle / cello duo, Fraser & Haas, who have graced our stage many times over the years. They always put on a fabulous concert of traditional and contemporary tunes from Scotland, Canada, USA, Spain, Scandinavia, and France.

Donegal sisters, The Henry Girls, combine sumptuous harmonies with brilliant musicianship on fiddle, harp, guitars, piano and more. Their repertoire includes original songs, beautiful instrumentals, and amazing covers of all manner of familiar songs across many genres. They were absolutely fabulous at Folk Alliance last year, and this is our first chance to bring them here. Not to be missed!

For tickets and information, go here.

6. Skye Consort & Emma Bjorling / Cecilia, Thursday November 14th, 8pm, Mel Lehan Hall at St. James (3214 West 10th Avenue)

Our third incredible double-bill of the month features Quebec's Skye Consort with Swedish singer Emma Bjorling. They perform songs and tunes from Quebec, and Northern Europe with instruments including cello, hardanger fiddle, and bouzouki. Emma is a marvellous singer. You may have seen them at the Mission Folk Festival in 2023. They were totally captivating - and fun! 

Cecilia is a trad trio of Celtic music "royalty": Louis Schryer(fiddle), Erin Leahy (piano), and Timi Turmel (accordion). Their instrumental interplay is totally exhilarating and original. I don't think there are enough words in my vocabulary to describe them! Suffice to say that Timi plays the fastest accordion I've ever heard, and the music sways, swings and rocks with great passion and drive. 

For tickets and information, click here