Bowfire’s Ho Ho Ho Down
Violinist and Bowfire creator Lenny Solomon, above, was a trouper yesterday, making his way through the snowy streets from his home/studio in Etobicoke down to the Gladstone Hotel where we met to talk about Friday’s roaring Holiday Heart Strings concert at Roy Thomson Hall. Ever the pro, Solomon was right on time and happy to be promoting this unique, fiddling powerhouse; Bowfire is sometimes called “Riverdance for the fiddle,” a comparison the show’s creator does not reject.
Conceived as a one-off for Expo 2000 in Hanover, Germany, the original production was seen by some New York producers who approached Solomon about growing the show into the touring machine it has since become.
“It took a couple of years to develop the concept,” explains the fiddler. “We brought in a Broadway team to move us around the stage and develop it into a real show; there’s also a singing aspect to this tour because it’s our Christmas show. It was important to us to really establish solid production values; the theatrical aspect of Bowfire is a very big part of the show; there are sets and costumes and dramatic lighting, there’s also dancing. ”
Bonjay Breaking Out
For a local indie music duo to get a favourable review in the New York Times is verging on the miraculous, particularly when the group — Toronto’s Bonjay – has no physical distribution in the US. But that didn’t stop music critic Jon Pareles from lauding the duo’s electro-dancehall sound in his November 28 review.
So how did Bonjay’s Ian “Pho” Swain and singer Alanna Stuart celebrate? They spent an afternoon last week at the Christie Ossington Neighbourhood Centre teaching at-risk youth how to build beats using Ableton Live music software and sharing their experience about how to create a music career one small step at a time.
Broughtupsy, the EP reviewed by Pareles, is a six-track follow-up to last year’s terrific “Gimme Gimme” single (both available on iTunes). READ MORE
Women’s Blues Revue Can’t Miss
Take Toronto’s most iconic concert venue, Massey Hall, add a stellar cast of female instrumentalists, throw in an electrifying musical director in the form of guitar sensation Donna Grantis and blend with half a dozen uniquely talented, powerhouse vocalists and the result is the sizzling annual concert known as the Women’s Blues Revue.
The 24th edition of this “must attend” event features Alana Bridgewater, Kellylee Evans (left), Alejandra Ribera, Robin Banks, Little Miss Higgins and blues veteran Rita Chiarelli.
Started as a remedy for the lack of recognition for women in this male dominated genre, the Toronto Blues Society has presented more than 100 different female vocalists over the years. READ MORE
Wade O. Brown’s Christmas Cavalcade
As a programmer for City of Toronto’s Cultural Services, Special Events it’s been my privilege to program an eclectic variety of music for appreciative audiences over the past decade. There’s something extra special about holiday season events — seeing the joy on people’s faces and watching children sing along to their favourite carols really warms my heart on what can be frigid winter nights.
For Cavalcade of Lights, presented by Scotiabank, I’ve had the good fortune of working with many outstanding musical directors including Andrew Craig, Brainerd Blyden-Taylor and Adrian Eccleston, and for this year’s event on Saturday (November 27), Wade O. Brown (above).
A talented R&B singer, songwriter, producer and composer, Wade will be leading an all-star backing band including Shamakah Ali (Al Green, The Dazz Band, Chaka Khan) on drums, Rich Brown (autorickshaw, James “Blood” Ulmer, Bruce Cockburn) on bass and Drake’s guitarist, Adrian Eccleston. READ MORE
Shakura Thrives on Taking Chances
During our interview yesterday, I never did ask Shakura S’Aida how long she’s been in Toronto, but the Brooklyn-born blues singer, left, was dropping venue names like the Treehouse on Church Street and the Bellair Café, so I know she goes way back.
S’Aida will be onstage at Hugh’s Room tomorrow night leading her smokin’ hot band, featuring guitarist Donna Grantis, through a selection of songs from Brown Sugar, her 2010 disc, and her earlier Blueprint album. The band will almost certainly throw in some new material that S’Aida and Grantis have been writing but that’s not what’s making the singer nervous: she’ll be opening for herself at Hugh’s, reviving a cabaret act she hasn’t done in more than a dozen years. S’Aida’s alter-ego is named Funky Louise, a blues singer who’s brash, sloppy and my guess is, lots of fun.
“I don’t know if she’s still funky,” says Shakura as we walk her superbly well-behaved Black Russian Terrier, Lulu, through High Park. “But knowing that I’m doing something I haven’t done in a really long time is scaring the bejesus out of me and that’s a good thing. This audience has never seen her before.” READ MORE
