1. Rogue 36th Anniversary Bash with Get Back - Unplugged plus special guest Jenny Allen, Friday May 5th, 8pm, Mel Lehan Hall at St. James (3214 West 10th Avenue) 
Since May 1987 The Rogue has been presenting up to 60 shows per year, and the annual celebration of this durability features a musical trip down memory lane - with a difference! Last Spring we hired members of Van Django and Mad Pudding to celebrate the music of The Beatles, specifically the rooftop concert at Abbey Road and related songs. This one-off event was amazing! The band had so much fun that they revived it last Fall and took it on the road to various towns across B.C.

Cam Wilson, Andy Hillhouse, and Allen Dionne (Mad Pudding) will once again join Brent Gubbels (Van Django) and L J Mounteney (Cool Yule) and their English pal Dave Gibbons to give us their unique arrangements of Beatlemania anthems. It will be fab gear, man! 

It's been said that the sign of a great song is when it can stand on its own, without any need for complex production. With the warmth of voices in five part harmony, and the simple beauty of acoustic instruments, Get Back Unplugged aims to revisit some of the best loved songs of late-period Beatles, and to deliver them with the joy and spontaneity of friends singing around a kitchen table.

Bringing together six stellar singers and players who, between them, have straddled the worlds of folk, Celtic, blues, jazz, and classical music, this intimate and fun performance does not try to imitate the Fab Four, but rather seeks to present interpretations that are authentic to the musicians' own unique voices. While they revere and respect the spirit of these classics, the group embodies the kind of playful, creative energy that the Beatlesdisplayed in the studio, even occasionally alluding to other genres such as fiddle music, gypsy jazz, and classical music as the spirit moves them.

Opening for Get Back-Unplugged will be Calgary singer songwriter Jenny Allen who played many times at The Rogue in the early days - when she was a stalwart member of the local singer songwriter community. It will be great to hear her voice again, and she's a fine guitarist, too.

"Sensual, frank and fearless", said Calgary Fast Forward Magazine about Jenny. Her first solo recording, 'Something to Say', produced by Canadian folk legend Valdy, led to invitations at major festivals both in Canada and the US. and widespread critical acclaim. 

On the heels of her acclaimed sophomore release 'If I Fall', Allen joined forces with Calgary-based songwriters Lin Elder and Lori Reid. Their trio 'The Fates' became one of Alberta's most beloved concert acts, touring extensively throughout Western Canada over nine years in support of their three studio CD releases, receiving extensive airplay and charting at #2 for best album of 2008 on CKUA Radio.

Currently working on new material, Jenny will soon be recording a solo project. She continues to captivate audiences with her songs and stage presence, clearly demonstrating she's a musical force to be reckoned with.

This is a special, nostalgic night at The Rogue. A chance to look back at some memorable moments - and ahead, as we anticipate more magical musical nights to come. I'm sure you've enjoyed many shows with us down the years, so we hope you will be there to share the music, a few memories - and some cake - and to revel in the wonders of acoustic music with solid roots. Live, In-Person Tickets are on sale here. and we also have our Watch-At-Home tickets on sale here.

This show is sponsored by Genia Ainsworth, a supporter of live music in general and a stalwart volunteer at the Rogue Folk Club in particular. Thank you, Genia! 

2. Karla Mundy & Michael Creber, plus The Tanglewood trio, Sunday May 7th, 8pm, Mel Lehan Hall at St. James (3214 West 10th Avenue)
The Rogue teams up with the East Van GoGos once again in a Fundraiser for the Stephen Lewis Foundation, to raise money to support African families whose lives have been ravaged by the AIDS epidemic.

The music will be wonderful, of course. Karla Mundy has long been one of my favourite singers, ever since I first heard her with the local Celtic band Cleia. She was a member of Mad Puddingfor a while, and also starred in the bluegrass / folk combo Plough. These days she is best known as a choir leader but it's been a long time since her glorious voice graced the Rogue's stage.

This night we will be treated to a double dose of Karla, as she teams up with Noa Neuman Spivak and Emily Villavicencio in the Tanglweood Trio, and with brilliant pianist Michael Creber.  In between sets there will be the Loony Auction and lots of opportunities to support this great cause. 

N.B. in order for us to lend our support as fully as possible, for this event we will not hold a CD Draw, there will not be a streamed watch-at-home option, and there are no member discounts or Parcel O'Rogues allowed. Advance tickets can be purchased here, where you can also read all about the cause - and these wonderful musicians too.

3. Rogue 50/50 Draw

We have a 50/50 Raffle running until May 18th, and you could win a lot of cash! As much as $10,000 is possible! Tickets are on sale at all our shows (except May 7th), and also online.

We really need your support and you can buy tickets in bundles:

You can buy as many tickets as you like! 

So far the total sales have been a bit disappointing, with the jackpot under $3,500. So come on, you Rogues! Please help us out and remember, if you want to win, then first you have to buy a ticket. The more the merrier. And the more you buy the better the chances of The Rogue sticking around to bring you the best music on the planet. We have a 36 year record to maintain ...

4. Coming Soon To The Rogue

5. Vancouver Folk Music Festival Discount For Rogues!

Rogue Folk Club members can purchase advance weekend passes for the VFMF (July 14 - 16 in Jericho Bech Park) at a 10% discount using the code ROGUE2023 when you buy direct from the folk festival office on 604-602-9798 or online at thefestival.bc.ca

6. Radio Waves

This week on The Saturday Edge On Folk (8am to noon on www.citr.ca and 101.9fm) I'll pay tribute to recently departed Canadian songwriting legend Gordon Lightfoot, with some of his songs performed by the great man himself, and some by others from across Canada and beyond.

Another R.I.P. goes out to Irish folk rock pioneer John Fean, whose band Horslips recorded a monumental "concept" album, The Tain, in 1973. It's an epic tale from pre-Christian times, and is often referred to as the Irish Aeneid. It tells stories of a war between Connaught and Ulster, involving Cu Chulainn and Queen Maeve and a prize bull. It was my first exposure to Irish folk rock back in my college days in England, and some of the tunes have remained "ear worms" ever since! 

There will also be concert previews, of course, including Rogue shows and also Indigenous Blues diva Crystal Shawanda (who plays the Mel Lehan Hall on June 2nd), and desert blues combo Tamikrest - the Pink Floyd of the desert (who play The Massey Theatre in New Westminster on May 26th).

New releases include: US Bluegrass band Special Consensus, who have just released an album of Canadian songs (and they play The Anza Club on May 8th!), Daimh's new CD Sula, Scots harpists Lucie Hendry and Rachel Hair, Chicago Celtic rockers Logical Fleadh, Montreal bluesman Michael Jerome Browne, Celtic supergroup Imar, Canadian legend Bruce Cockburn, and bluegrass luminaries Alison Brown and Tim O'Brien. 

Plus some of my personal faves from 36 years of Rogue Folk shows.

I hope you will tune me in and turn me on this - and every - Saturday from 8 to noon on www.citr.ca