Steve's Blog
Friday March 21, 2014

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Hi everyone


Welcome to Spring! It seems a bit chilly for Spring, but I am very happy to be here and so far not suffering too much from seasonal allergies. Mind you, at the end of last Friday's Shari Ulrich show - which was a very fine concert - my back seized up and I ended up in ER for a few hours. Not a great way to start the weekend! Big thanks to Andrea Berman for filling in for me on last week's Edge On Folk (at very short notice!) Happily, my back is a lot better, though still a bit tender, and i'm really looking forward to being back on the air again this Saturday (touch wood!)

1. Martyn Joseph, Saturday March 22nd, 8pm, St. James Hall (3214 West 10th Avenue)
This weekend's concert is a very special one: the return of Welsh troubadour Martyn Joseph, whose latest CD is a collection of his versions of songs by Bruce Springsteen, entitled Tires Rushing By In The Rain. Martyn has covered some great songs over the years (including Run To Cover - a complete album of cover songs) but he's also an extremely powerful and prolific songwriter himself, so to find him devoting a whole album to "The Boss" is a bit of a departure. These are not straight copies, either. He's put his own indelible stamp and style on the songs. I'm sure he won't restrict himself to material from this CD when he plays St. James Hall on Saturday. He has hundreds of songs to draw from, and his trademark is to wrap his songs in stories and experiences and to help us get through these often troubled times with a sense of belonging and hope and courage. Just what a good troubadour is meant to do! Martyn has created his own style and reputation as a mesmerizing live performer. A unique talent driven by passion, social awareness and love for his trade, his music manages to empower and speak for the many.  “Really what I do is to try and write songs that might step up and make some sense of a moment in time. A good song makes you feel like you’re not alone in the world.”

You certainly won't be alone at this show. We are expecting a full house, so make sure you secure your tickets in advance and get there early! Tickets are available here and at Highlife Records and Rufus' Guitar Shop


2. The Edge On Folk, Saturday 8am to noon, CiTR fm 101.9 and streamed live on www.citr.ca
I'll have new music from Martyn Joseph's latest CD, plus Scots singer Emily Smith, Scots / Cuban fusion band Salsa Celtica, Mali's Habib Koite, Irish songbird Karan Casey, Canadian songwriter Craig Cardiff, Australian blues diva Kara Grainger, the new Fearing & White CD Tea & Confidences, Scots Gaelic chanteuse Julie FowlisJim Byrnes' homage to his home town roots in St. Louis, a new album by Fred Eaglesmith, a new Oysterband CD, a glorious album of Everly Brothers covers by Norah Jones and Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong, Basque accordion wizard Kepa Junkera's tribute to the music of Galicia, plus some vintage tracks by David Lindley, some exhilarating Irish music from Caladh Nua, and a whole lot more! Yes, it's going to be exciting and eclectic and full of surprises (good ones, I hope!) Please join me for four hours of music you won't hear anywhere else; music that will thrill and inspire you, and help you revel in the joys of living out here on the left coast with all this beauty and harmony all around! You can listen live on fm 101.9Telus Channel 7023, or to the live stream on www.citr.ca Podcasts of the show will be available later here and playlists are archived here


3. Rogue Office Move!
We have found a new office! Hooray!! It's on Granville Island, next door to Theatre Sports at 1502 Duranleau Street, right by the entrance to the Island. We move in on April 7th, and there is much sorting and culling to be done at our old home on Broadway at Dunbar. We've been there for over 25 years! In the new space we're hoping to make our archive of recordings and publications available to members. I'm also hoping to get Radio Rogue up and running again soon - back pain permitting!


4. Coming Soon To The Rogue
We have some incredible concerts lined up in the next few weeks, starting with Steve Dawson on March 30th, Caladh Nua on April 2nd, Craig Cardiff on April 3rd, The SteelDrivers on April 10th (this one is at CBC Studio 700,) Fearing & White on April 13th, The Good Lovelies on April 21st, and April In Paris, our 8th annual festival of gypsy jazz from April 25 - 27th. We are very excited to have just added David Lindley on May 11th and we are working on a second Milk Carton Kids show on June 13th. We strive to keep the very best in folk and roots music happening at The Rogue, and have been managing to keep afloat for 27 years, so we must be doing something right! Thanks for your support! For all the latest news and updates please visit www.roguefolk.bc.ca There's something new being added every day or two, so stay informed - and Go Rogue!