Steve's Blog
Thursday April 11, 2013

Hi everyone

1. April In Paris Festival of Gypsy Jazz, Friday April 12 - Sunday April 14, St. James Hall (3214 West 10th)

There's a great line-up celebrating the musical legacy of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli with seven bands from B.C. plus Swing Dance Lessons each evening, and a Movie or two and a Jam Session on Sunday from around 4pm - so bring your instruments! Tickets are available for all three concerts online on our website and also at Highlife Records and Rufus' Guitar Shop. Tickets will also be available at the door for all three shows. Michael Wrycraft's brilliant poster details all the most important information. The bands are Deanna Knight & The Hot Club Of Mars, The Dusty Flowerpot Cabaret, Paul Pigat, The Marc Atkinson Trio, Lache Cercel & The Roma Swing Ensemble, Van Django, and Brishen, a young band from Victoria. Full details are on our website.

2. Bill Bourne, Thursday April 18th, 8pm at St. James Hall (3214 West 10th Avenue)

An Alberta troubadour with over 30 years in music, Bill Bourne has had stints with Scotland's Tannahill Weavers, and Canadian bands Bourne & MacLeod, Bourne & Johnson, BOP Ensemble, The Christmas Carol Project, Tri-Continental, and a duo with Faroe Island singer Eivor Palsdottir. He's been coming to the Rogue since we started in 1987, and he has released a couple of excellent CDs since his last visit - Bluesland and Songs From A Gypsy Caravan. His craggy voice, powerful guitar rhythms, and expansive world vision make his concerts uniquely fascinating and eclectic. Come see what he's up to this time! www.billbourne.com

4. Taj Mahal & Shemekia Copeland, Thursday April 25th, 8pm, The Chan Centre (6265 Crescent Road, UBC)

It's the Rogue's biggest show to date: Blues Night Out with Blues legend Taj Mahal and the new Queen of the Blues, Shemekia Copeland. Taj has been recording and touring and combining his Blues roots with soulful music from all over the planet for over 45 years. He will be accompanied by Kester Smith on drums and Bill Rich on bass. This will be his first Vancouver concert in many a year, and he has just released The Hidden Treasures of Taj Mahal, a double CD of unreleased recordings from 1969-1973 and a concert from London's Royal Albert Hall in 1970. Shemekia Copeland is the daughter of another Blues legend - Johnny Copeland. She narrowly missed out on a Grammy this year for her latest CD, 33 1/3, and was recently crowned "The New Queen of the Blues" by Koko Taylor's daughter. She and her quintet will open the show before Taj adds a long set. This show is General Admission, so there are no reserved seats. Tickets are available at various locations: The Chan Centre Box Office and The Rogue Folk Club Sales Table add no extra service charges. Highlife Records and Rufus' Guitar Shop also carry tickets, and you can buy them online on our website (N.B. Vancity members receive a 10% discount when they present their card at a Rogue gig or they go to the special link from the Vancity website.) Tickets are also on sale at all Ticketmaster outlets and their website.

Please let us know if - and where - you see a poster or an ad for this concert. We would love to know which is our most effective method of advertizing.

5. Rogue Website updated

We have added plenty of concerts in May and into June now, so please visit our Concert Calendar for the latest concert news.

6. Steve Edge on CBC North by Northwest, this Saturday from 7am to 7:30am

I will be the guest of Margaret Gallagher, who is filling in for Sheryl McKay on her popular CBC radio show (broadcast on 88.1fm and 690am.) Hope you can join us!

7. The Edge On Folk, Saturday 8am to noon, CiTR fm 101.9 and Telus TV channel 3717. Also streamed live on www.citr.ca

On this week's show I'll be tracing the gypsy road, celebrating the death of the last great dictator of the 20th century, and spinning all kinds of roots music - new and old. Please join me for 4 hours of the very best in folk, roots and world music, this and every Saturday. Podcasts will be available later on www.citr.ca and all playlists are archived on this website.

8. Celtic Connection Articles

If you get a chance, pick up a copy of the April issue of the Celtic Connection newspaper. I write a monthly column about Rogue events and such, and this month I tried to find a way to tie in all our April shows. Here is the article in full. I must say I'm rather pleased with the way I managed to find a thread of continuity and to weave it onto the story. There's also a feature about Yours Truly on the next page of the Celtic Connection!

Have a great weekend! Hope to see you at The Rogue!!

Steve