The Pearl Company

StandUp Theatre’s Tough Enough Saturday & Sunday February 25 & 26 at 2:00pm.  Tickets $12. Call 905-517-1054 to buy tickets in advance. Tough Enough is a musical… the eleventh musical production in StandUp’s short history…maybe the best…probably the most important. A straight on look at bullying in our culture. These kids are good…so’s the message…a perfect storm…  StandUp Theatre’s actors are young people from 11 to 15.  They are presenting the play that they have been working on since fall.   All ages welcome.

The Jazz Connection Big Band: Friday, February 24. Doors at 8:00, jazz at 8:30. $15 /$10 students/artists: The JCBB is a well-established 17-piece jazz ensemble comprised of professional and semi-professional musicians from the Hamilton/Toronto area. They perform only the best modern big band charts from the books of Goodwin, Martin, Menza, Rich, Basie, and many other great contemporary composers. Jazz Connection’s approach is high energy, uncompromising, straight ahead jazz. They combine the highest level of musicianship with great charts in an entertaining show that engages both the jazz enthusiast and the casual listener equally. The incredible acoustics at The Pearl have no trouble accommodating that very cool space of surround sound big band music; we are always delighted to have them back! http://www.jazzconnection.ca

Dean Hollin CD Release: Saturday, February 18. 8:00pm. $15 / $10 students/artists.  With Steve Thomas on piano.  At last a CD celebrating Dean’s “musical biographies” of songwriters such as Porter, Kern, Mercer, Gershwin. Appropriately entitled “indicative”, his recent release is just that – indicative of the music that has become so undeniably associated with both the man and the entertainer!  Hollin lovingly weaves his extensive knowledge of the composers with each and every song he performs – accented with his own personal accounts and anecdotes.  This CD-release concert, with pianist Steve Thomas fingering the ivories, will feature numerous selections from “indicative” including “Moon River”, “One For My Baby”, “Stardust” and “When I Fall In Love”, as well as other favourites from Hollin’s rather impressive repertoire. Withvocal tones romantically reminiscent of such greats as Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett and Andy Williams, Mr. Hollin will take you back in time and remind you of the brilliance… “Hollin’s warm, smoky voice and his exquisite charm and enthusiasm radiates affection for his material and his audience” Gary Smith, Spectator http://www.deanhollin.com

Redeemer University College and Friends Showcase: Thursday, February 16, 7:30 start. $5 adv / $10 door.  Redeemer is bringing together some of their finest student musicians and giving them a stage upon which to hone their skills and show an audience what they can do.  Plato’s Cave is a group of 7 musicians mainly made up of music majors at Redeemer University College who are experimenting with many musical ideas and genres. They are the 2012 winner of the Redeemer Battle of the Bands. Miniver Sail are the 2012 People’s Choice Award winner’s of the Redeemer Battle of the Bands; they received accolades from the judges for their strong lyrics and contemplative style.  Myles Gardner is an aspiring singer-songwriter from McMaster University and an integral part of the music team at the Meeting House Church in Ancaster.
The Facebook event is located here: https://www.facebook.com/events/161472887299907/

Jaron Freeman Fox and The Opposite of Everything: Saturday, February 11. 8:00pm. $15 / $10 students/artists.  Described as “Gogol Bordello meets The Mothers of Invention”, The Opposite of Everything somehow combine bluegrass with Indian music, African beats with sea shanties, or klezmer with the blues, and make it sound like the most natural thing in the world.  With a diverse cast of Toronto’s finest and most adventurous musicians, the band is led by maniac violin virtuoso Jaron Freeman-Fox known for his celebrated solo album Manic Almanac.
“Jaron Freeman Fox  & The Opposite of Everything electrified the Blue Skies stage. It was an instant dance party.  The music was both challenging and superb. A definite highlight of the weekend.  Jaron’s creativity and talents are simply amazing…” –Joel LeBlanc- Artistic Director, Blue Skies Music Festival
“Jaron Freeman Fox and the Opposite of Everything electrified the crowds wherever they went at Live From the Rock. The exuberance, talent, creativity and controlled insanity demonstrated by this exciting Toronto conglomeration was a joy to behold.” –Jennifer Ives: Artistic Director, Live From the Rock   http://theoppositeofeverything.com

Roxanne Potvin with Kim Wempe: Saturday, February 4: 8:00 pm $15 / $10 students/artists: With her new album “Play”, Potvin has achieved something that few artists ever succeed in doing – she’s expanded her style and grown as an artist while still keeping the grit and authenticity that is so appealing about her music. All blues and no play made for an unfulfilled Roxanne Potvin. Her smart and sassy new album Play, finds the Montreal-based artist pushing new buttons and continuing her evolution from a stylish, bluesy guitar slinger to a more tuneful pop-orientated performer, free-spirited and varied.  Steve Dawson who runs the Black Hen label out of Vancouver encouraged her in her decision to shift direction and helped her keep the songs on “Play” ambitious, while never losing the loose limbed joyful feeling that inspired them.  She says about her aggressive, energy-driven hooks of Play, “I had been listening to all different types of music and learning to approach writing as a discipline. I found myself going back to the Beatles and Beck.” Clearly Roxanne can rock with the best of them when she wants to. www.roxannepotvin.com Kim Wempe’s beautiful voice is haunting and smokey; some insist she is the child of Janis Joplin and sister of Adele but Wempe is out to blaze her own trail and leave a slew of dropped jaws in her wake. This may be because she is far from the fragile and sensitive singer songwriter; when she sings, her vibe is strong woman with the urge to move mountains! She has won both an East Coast Music Award and Music Nova Scotia Award  http://kimwempe.com