Special to the Sydenham Current
After presenting one of the most dynamic performing arts series in its 39-year history, the Wallaceburg and District Council for the Arts are back with a great Winter/Spring 2020 series that has some of Canada’s best musical talent again presented in the intimate confines of the Jeanne Gordon Theatre.
Last year, the Arts Council brought in such Canadian musical luminaries as the Dala Girls and Ben Caplan, and this year will feature former Nylons member and three-time Juno nominee Gavin Hope on Saturday, Feb. 22, Maple Blues Award nominee and Juno nominee Durham County Poets on Saturday, March 28, as well as the return of Michael Shatte who will take the Jeanne Gordon Theatre Stage Friday, June 12 and host a guitar workshop Saturday morning.
Rounding out the series will be favourite Wallaceburg son Paul Emery who will be performing the music from his creative work Rondeau with an all-star Toronto-based musical ensemble on Saturday, June 13. All performances begin at 8 p.m., except Rondeau which will be a 9 p.m. start.
Gavin Hope is a three-time Juno Award Nominee, both as a solo vocalist and also as a longtime Baritone member of the iconic Canadian a cappella group, The Nylons, with whom he wrapped up a sold out Farewell Tour in Canada, U.S. Belgium and Holland in 2017. He recorded six studio albums with The Nylons, as well as two successful solo albums: AC/Pop album “Anything Like Mine” which nationally charted in the Top 100 and Top 40, and most recently, the beautifully minimalist Jazz album “For All We Know”, called one of the top Canadian Jazz albums of 2013 by the Toronto Star.
The Durham County Poets are a lively and soulful group who have written and performed an eclectic blend of blues, folk, and gospel. With three albums under their belt, they have now released their 4th Album, Hand Me Down Blues on September 20, 2019, nominating them for a Maple Blues Award in the New Artist of the Year category and for a Juno for Blues Album of the year.
Michael Shatte is a Chatham native and world class guitarist. The Beat Magazine described Michael as “one of Canada’s best-kept secrets and certainly one of its most skilled rock performers” and Britain’s Blues Matters! magazine called him “one of the best undiscovered songwriters of our times.”
Paul Emery grew up in Wallaceburg back in the 1970’s and early 1980’s where he was a big part of the local music scene. He is a successful club owner in Toronto, but has kept producing great music with groups like Paul Emery and the Dickens and others. Rondeau has played to enthusiastic audiences in Toronto and is the story of a young guy’s journey to Rondeau Park for May 2-4 weekend back in the day.
Tickets for the shows are $30 each and there will be a cash bar. Tickets can be obtained by visiting the Wallaceburg Museum, on CKtickets.com. (Gavin Hope tickets are available through Eventbrite) or through the Wallaceburg and District Arts Council Facebook page.
Come out and enjoy the best Canadian music there is and do it in the intimate confines of the Jeanne Gordon Theatre in Wallaceburg. Call the Wallaceburg Museum for more information at 519-627-8962 or call Dan White at 519-312-2164. Hope to see you there.
