The holidays are on the horizon and fast gaining speed. Calendars are filling up rapidly with nights promising eggnog and roaring fires. Stress level spikes will be inevitable! Amidst this manic festive ramp-up, the Commodore is bringing together Vancouver’s top Blues musicians to calm our nerves down for a chilled out pre-Christmas Blues Concert. In true Millennial fashion I had to dig into the wealths of the internet to zero in on what the Blues really are all about. PBS describes the Blues as a “roots music form that evolved out of African-American work songs, field hollers, spirituals, and country string ballads [, born] more than a century ago… [T]he blues [are] the foundation of virtually every major American music form born in the 20th century, including jazz, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and hip hop.” Now that is a whole lot of musical goodness. The earthy richness of the Blues goes so well with the warmth of the festive season. The night is set to be a plush holiday gift for the Blues connoisseur. And for the lesser-informed youths, preoccupied with their Whips and their Nae-Naes, the night will be a fantastic opportunity to court a musical genre that is sadly becoming forgotten.
So, who exactly will we be seeing at the Commodore next weekend?
Jim Byrnes
Jim Byrnes is a Blues great from St.Louis, Missouri. We have been lucky enough to have him move to Vancouver and call our rainy city home since the seventies. Byrnes has put out ten albums and also has an active acting career. He has won Juno Awards, Maple Blues Awards, Western Canadian Music Awards, Canadian Folk Music Awards and awards from the Variety Club. Byrnes is also a member of the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame.
Incognito
Incognito have five albums to their name and they have been serenading the West Coast for thirty years with the highest quality Blues. They also incorporate soul and R&B elements into their music.
David Gogo
David Gogo is a Blues musician from Nanaimo. He has earned numerous Canadian blues accolades, including five JUNO nominations, a Western Canadian Music Award, a CBC Saturday Night Blues Award, and multiple Maple Blues Awards.
Steve Kozak West Coast Allstars
Steve Kozak is Vancouver’s very own, homegrown, Blues musician. He has been a prominent figure in the city’s Blues community since the mid-eighties. He released “Lookin’ at Lucky” in 2012 to rave reviews and was consequently nominated for a Maple Blues Award in 2013.
Gary Comeau and the Voodoo Allstars
Gary Comeau and the Voodoo Allstars will bring the New Orleans flavour of Blues to the evening. “Swamp, roots and bayou blues” is how they describe their music. These guys will pack some heat!
Murray Porter Band
Murray Porter is a Mohawk piano player. He comes from the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory and incorporates the tribe’s unique culture and history into his music. His music is a mix of blues and country. Porter also employs a lot of humour in his songs. His gravelly voice explores universal themes of love. Murray Porter has been bringing his unique style of “foot-stomping, hand clapping blues piano” to audiences for over thirty years now.
Dalannah & Owen
Dalannah Bowen is seventy! She is also of African-Canadian and Cherokee heritage. Bowen has had a career spanning fifty years of singing blues, jazz and gospel. Owen Owen Owen, her partner-in-crime is fourty-seven and also Canadian. He brings jazz and classically-trained bass to the party. He has been devoted to his craft for forty-one years now. Dalannah and Owen have joined their individual Blues forces to create a brand new Blues storm of their own.
The BobCats
The BobCats have been entertaining Vancouver audiences for more than thirteen years now. They specialise in “highly polished harmony singing” that is accompanied by “exceptional instrumental ability”.
Billy Dixon Soul Train Express
Brainchild
Brainchild do folk, folk-blues and folk rock. They originated in Vancouver in 2004 but songwriter and guitarist Bing Jensen, and bassist Dave Engleman, have been playing the Blues in Vancouver since the sixties, when they were San Franciscan draft-dodgers. They have since grown the band to include Mallory Temple on percussion, J.Krickler on guitar and Bill Sample on keyboards. Brainchild make and play original music that encompasses folk, blues and rock, while getting a bit flirty with latin and jazz flavours. They have consistently been a much-loved staple at all of Vancouver’s jazz events.
Johnny Ferreira & the Swing Machine
Portuguese-Canadian swing specialist Johnny Ferreira will get the crowd dancing, that’s for sure! Ferreira does tenor sax while Linda Rhyne will provide the main vocals. Famously known as the best swing band in Vancouver this is Juno level stuff.
Get in on the fun and buy your tickets here. Proceeds from the show will go to the Drew Burns Commodore Musicians fund, administered by Access to Music Foundation. Bring lovers, bring friends, bring family!
-Prachi Kamble