Concert and Album Reviews by Deborah Holland
It’s hard for me to imagine how anyone could not love The Small Glories. Even harder to imagine is seeing them live and not falling head over heels for the powerhouse/high-energy duo that is Cara Luft and J.D. Edwards. The musicianship, the songs, the stage banter, and most of all, the sound of their two voices together is undeniably entertaining. …
12:50 p.m.: OK, so I’m spoiled. Obviously, this is NOT the Vancouver Folk Music Festival, so I’m going to have to adjust. Getting here was easy. You park your car at BCIT for $5.25 (for the whole day), and a shuttle takes you to the festival. This is where the trouble begins. There’s a good chance it’s going to rain …
The Night Before Day 1 of the 2019 Vancouver Folk Festival It just took me two and a half hours to work out a schedule so I can see all the artists I want to see. 10,000 steps? Hah! No extra exercise needed this weekend. Monday morning. Festival is Over Siri: What are bone spurs? This year, I was unable …
This was supposed to be five acts, but even getting it down to seven was difficult. However, since I started with 18, I feel pretty good about seven. First of all, kudos to artistic director Debbi Lynn Salmonsen for bringing together literally something for everyone. There’s plenty of great world music, lots of traditional music, many singer-songwriters, some cutting edge …
I start this with a disclaimer. I know Shari Ulrich. I adore Shari Ulrich. We are kindred spirits in many ways. And though I haven’t known her for that long, I feel like I’ve known her forever. I suspect many in the audience on June 18 felt the same way. The only problem is I hardly ever get to see …
When Heather Kitching of Roots Music Canada asked me if I wanted to review Donovan Woods’ new album, The Other Way (Meant Well Records), an acoustic rendering of his 2018 Both Ways, my first response was, “no.” What more could I say about the songs that I hadn’t already said in my Both Ways review last year? Then the CD …
If the world was fair and just Suzie Vinnick would not be a “Canadian treasure.” She would not be known for winning the Canadian Maple Blues Award ten times, or for receiving dozens of other Canadian music nominations and awards. Nor would she be someone’s favorite “female” roots and blues artist. No, if the world were fair and just, Suzie …
Only once in my life did I vote for a U.S. president that won. Not once have I ever voted for any record to win “best something” and seen that album win. Until this year. The album in question was Both Ways by the now Juno-winning Donovan Woods, so seeing him in concert performing (mostly) songs from that album was …
“It’s like a party.” – Annat Kennet, my traveling companion “It IS a party!” – Me People who live in almost total darkness for three quarters of the year don’t need much of a reason to have a good time in the middle of the summer – when it doesn’t get dark until around 3:00 a.m., but the Dawson City …
Here are a few truisms about folk festivals (and music festivals in general, but particularly folk festivals). You’re not going to be able to hear all the music. If you try, you won’t have any fun, and you’ll never see any full sets. Even with the most precise, pre-planned schedule, you won’t ever hear everyone you planned to see. Also, …