The Pearl Company

Valdy: Friday, June 21. 8:00pm. $25: Born Valdemar Horsdal in Ottawa, Valdy has been part of the fabric of Canadian pop and folk music for over 34 years. A man with a thousand friends, from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island to Texas to New Zealand, he’s a singer, guitarist, and songwriter who catches the small but telling moments that make up life. Valdy has sold almost half a million copies of his 13 albums, has two Juno Awards (Folk Singer of the Year and Folk Entertainer of the Year) with a total of seven Juno nominations and four Gold albums to his credit.
Valdy has taken his music to a dozen different countries, from Denmark to Australia and been an often-invited performer at the prestigious Kerrville Festival in Texas. Valdy has also been a panelist on Front Page Challenge, and played a lead role in an episode of The Beachcombers original series.
Today, he is based on Salt Spring Island, where he lives with his wife Kathleen, three dogs and a large cat. All three children are grown, flown and doing famously living in or near Vancouver, or Colorado.  www.valdy.com  Listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtNSljYgDe8

Don Byron w Michael & Roberto Occhipinti: Wednesday, June 19. Doors: 7:30. Showtime: 8:00 PM: $15.00/$10 Students/All Artists.  To call Don Byron a jazz musician is to fail to describe the scope of things he does; he’ll be playing at The Pearl with Michael Occhipinti (guitar), Roberto Occhipinti (bass), and a great young drummer named Maxwell Roach. For over two decades, Don Byron, a recipient of the first Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, has been a singular voice in an astounding range of musical contexts, exploring widely divergent traditions.  As clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, arranger, and social critic, he redefines every genre of music he plays, be it classical, salsa, hip-hop, funk, rhythm & blues, klezmer, or any jazz style from swing and bop to cutting-edge downtown improvisation. Acclaimed as much for his restless creativity as for his unsurpassed virtuosity as a player,  he has been consistently voted best clarinetist since being named “Jazz Artist of the Year” by Down Beat in 1992.  http://www.donbyron.com
An eight-time JUNO Award (Canada’s Grammy) nominee for Best Contemporary Jazz Album, guitarist/composer Michael Occhipinti’s inventive approach to creative music of all kinds has earned him a broad array of listeners and the respect of critics and musicians alike. Crossing genres that include jazz, chamber music, funk, world music, and anything involving modern guitar sounds, Michael is both a versatile musician and an imaginative band leader.  http://www.michaelocchipinti.com Roberto Occhipinti is diversity personified. He’s won awards and acclaim as a musician, composer and record producer. Throughout his career, the Toronto-born bassist has performed in classical orchestras, jazz ensembles, Latin groups, rhythm & blues outfits and rock bands. He has worked in theatre and opera, written for radio and television, played on film soundtracks and done more recording session jobs than he can remember.  http://robertoocchipinti.com
Listen to Don: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olOHeicY9cg

DeMure Productions Presents: Dirty Dancing: The Burlesque! Saturday, June 15. Doors: 7:30. Show: 8:00. $25 advance, $30 at door unless sold out. (Note: Tickets sold by event organizer; see below.) An All Star Cast of some of Burlesque and Vaudeville’s finest, paying homage to (arguably) one of the greatest movies of our time! ‘Dirty Dancing’.  Performances by: El Toro, Mizzy Thrasher, Red Herring, Bella Barecatt, The Mansfield Brothers, Tahitia Belle Fille, Lucky Minx, Lucky Fremont, Knox Harter, Faeya Tal, Liv Vicariously, London Bridges. Kitten: Whiskey Sour; Emcee: Madam Poynter. All music performed by: Ben Payne and The Cornered Babies
Sponsored by: Playground Conference 2013, DeMure School of Burlesque, Toronto School of Burlesque, Oshawa Laser Supply, Conspiracy Comics, Phoenix Design and Photography, Copy Dog, Homegrown Hamilton.
Win!! Win!! WIN!! Prizes, raffles, amazing entertainment! (Passes for two to Playground Conference 2013, A private Burlesque lesson from DeMure School of Burlesque, Tickets to upcoming burlesque shows, Comic swag, Delicious treats, Autographed memorabilia, And amazing giveaways by our fabulous sponsors! See Trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf0_97qrSgU&feature=youtu.be
Get Tickets: http://dirtydancingburlesque-es2.eventbrite.ca/?rank=1

Annabelle Chvostek: Friday, June 14. Doors: 7:30. Showtime: 8:00 PM: $15.00 Door/$10 All Artists.  Chvostek is a versatile, fearlessly innovative multi-instrumentalist who has composed for dance and film, been a member of the ‘Wailin’ Jennies’ and performed across North America with artists like Po’Girl. Her latest album, Rise is joyful, anthemic, and unabashedly political, revealing Chvostek’s passion for social justice work and musical activism.  Call it protest music for the indie generation or a soundtrack for the Maple Spring. It features guest vocals by Bruce Cockburn and Oh Susanna, and Chvostek herself plays drawing, driving mandolin and fiddle on the album, a pulsating backdrop from these frequently-sweet-sounding strings.“…her original compositions are full of aching desire dressed in poetry and rendered with a musical imagination that seems to know no bounds”. Saskatoon Star Phoenix.  On Rise, Chvostek has managed to take a decades-old art form, the protest song, and completely re-imagine it for a new era of activism And last year, her two co-written duets with Bruce Cockburn were released on his Juno-winning album Small Source of Comfort.   http://www.annabellemusic.com  Listen Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqzzS3sTBoo

Elizabeth Shepherd: Saturday, June 8. 8:00 pm. Admission: $20.00. Elizabeth is the only jazz vocalist/pianist to ever have been long listed for the Polaris Prize – Canada’s most prestigious music prize. The two-time JUNO nominee has received widespread praise for her original compositions, but on her fourth album ‘Rewind’ Elizabeth showcases her skills as an arranger and interpreter, breathing new life – and soul – into songs both familiar and forgotten. Some of them are well-known standards; others are obscure songs or French tunes that Elizabeth heard and fell in love with when growing up in Paris.   The Toronto-based soul-jazz innovator has previously released three widely acclaimed records and toured extensively in North America, Europe and Japan. She has sold out legendary clubs from Tokyo to Detroit, and played festivals like Montreal and North Sea Jazz Festivals. www.elizabethshepherd.com “Stunning…. original and exciting” -Seattle Post (US) “Extraordinary talent” -RBBKulturradio (GER) “A hugely original musical mind at work” -Toronto Star (CAN) www.elizabethshepherd.com
Listen Here: http://elizabethshepherd.com/home/music-player/

Cindy Church: Friday, June 7. Doors: 7:30 / Show 8:00pm. $20. Whether she’s flying solo or collaborating with other singer-songwriters as a member of Quartette, Lunch At Allen’s (with Hamilton’s Ian Thomas and Marc Jordan) or Rankin, Church and Crow, Cindy Church is a stellar presence in the Canadian music scene. She has crafted a body of work that is at once artistically successful and culturally significant, sought after by fellow performers and treasured by listeners. Drawing from her own catalogue and exceptional covers of tunes for appreciative audiences internationally, Church has become renowned for the clarity and emotive precision of her voice and the subtlety of her approach to song interpretation and songwriting.  Weaving influences from east to west, she has blended styles effortlessly to create her own singular sound.
Originally from Nova Scotia, Church’s early sense of music was infused with acoustic country and folk traditions of the Maritimes. Building upon these roots, she discovered country music while living in western Canada, developing her repertoire and touring and recording with Ian Tyson as part of the Chinook Arch Riders. Embarking on a solo career in the 1990?s, Church proved herself to be a superb singer and songwriter with a distinctive voice and interpretive technique. These vocal stylings became a key element in the formation of Quartette, the striking collaboration of Church, Sylvia Tyson, Caitlin Hanford , the late Colleen Peterson, and now Gwen Swick, that would reshape the Canadian musical landscape. www.cindychurch.com
Listen here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xu4TWH-CKYE

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Linda McRae Supports D.R.E.A.M.S: Thursday, June 6. Doors: 7:30 / Show 8:00pm. $15 /$10 students/all artists.
This former Spirit of the West Troubadour is on tour from Nashville and is helping to raise money for the Hamilton D.R.E.A.M.S team to build houses in the Dominican. Mimi Shaw & The Highnote Ramblers will open.  Linda earned a Juno nomination and double Platinum triple Gold recording status as bassist and accordionist with Celtic/Roots group Spirit of the West. When she left the band after 8 years, she resumed her solo career combining old-time sounds with the universal themes of heartbreak and redemption, offering an intriguing sepia postcard from the past that is vibrant and alive in the present. She performs on clawhammer banjo, acoustic guitar, accordion, and porchboard stompbox; her credits include numerous recordings and performances with musical luminaries such as Bruce Cockburn and Neko Case. You will even find her at New Folsom Prison, California’s infamous maximum-security prison, performing in concert and facilitating songwriter workshops for the inmates.  McRae’s recent album Rough Edges And Ragged Hearts has been nominated for Album Of The Year Canadian Folk Music Awards.  Quotes: “one of the most pure, soulful, honest and distinctive voices in Roots music, period!”  Allison Brock, Wide Cut Country, CKUA  “Linda McRae stands tall, singing and playing music with honest soul and humility, cutting through the fog with her timeless clarity.”  Colin Linden, Songwriter, Producer, Guitarist. www.lindamcrae.com  Listen: http://lindamcrae.com/files/Song_Files/11_Be_Your_Own_Light.mp3
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40 Tiny Performances at the Pearl Company: Saturday, June 1. Doors: 7:30. Show: 8:00. $15/$12 Students/Seniors/Artists. Bringing together 40 of Hamilton’s finest performers from the world of theatre, dance, spoken word, comedy and music for a night of art, creativity and fun!  40 performers have 90 seconds to sing, dance, emote, rant, juggle, joke, or do whatever they please.  Curated by multidisciplinary artist Lisa Pijuan-Nomura.  “40 Tiny” is a night not to be missed. Where else would you find such an amazing cross-section of talent from across the Toronto/Hamilton corridor!  And who is this Lisa Pijuan-Nomura? She’s a multidisciplinary tornado who is using all her connections to pull together a night of creativity that can never be duplicated.  Talent displaying talent displaying talent. You must be a witness.  Web: www.girlcancreate.com  Blog;  www.girlcancreate.blogspot.com

May 18, 25, June 1: The Willowbank Lecture Series presents: URBAN DWELLING : Creative ways to engage with our shared urban landscape. Registration: $10. 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m (Speaker 10-12/Discuss 12-2-ish…).  Willowbank is an independent and innovative educational institution in the cultural heritage field with three primary components. It is a beautiful 13-acre National Historic Site with an impressive 1830s mansion on the Niagara Parkway; it is a School of Restoration Arts, which grants a Diploma in Heritage Conservation to graduates of its intense three-year program; and it is a Centre for Cultural Landscape, which serves as a focus of research, workshops, lecture series, conferences, short courses, and consulting activities related to its mission.
This year’s Willowbank Lecture speakers form a diverse and provocative group. They will discuss more innovative, collaborative and sustainable ways of engaging with our shared urban landscape. It’s an impressive line-up:
May 18   :  Urban exploration and the power of curiosity
10am        ANDREW EMOND, Photographer from Montreal
May 25   :   Let’s forget about ‘heritage’: people and place in the contemporary landscape
10am        DR. JOHN SCHOFIELD, Archaeologist from York, England
June 1    :  Artifact and ritual: reshaping the cultural landscape
10am        JULIAN SMITH, Architect / Planner from Niagara-on-the-Lake
The Willowbank community is broad and diverse and united in believing that understanding and nurturing cultural heritage is an essential part of a shared and sustainable future. Willowbank is an independent and innovative educational institution.  It has a highly-regarded staff, led by well-known architect, scholar and educator Julian Smith; an outstanding international faculty; and a distinguished Board of Directors. Its graduates are leaders and innovators in the field.  http://www.willowbank.ca
To register, call 905-262-1239 ext 21, make your reservation, they will email your confirmation.