The Pearl Company

Séan McCann: Saturday, February 21, 8:00pm. $20/$25 at the door. SOLD OUT A founder of internationally renowned band, Great Big Sea, Sean has spent the last 20 years sailing around the world enamouring audiences from Copenhagen to California. Known as much for his intense screaming sea shanties as his tender ballads, McCann decided it was time to leave the comfort of safer waters and set out on his own for a new shore. His new album, and third solo project, entitled Help Your Self was recorded and produced by fellow east coaster, Joel Plaskett in his New Scotland Yard Studio in Dartmouth. The album features the talents of Erin Costello, Clive MacNutt, and Emergency alumnus, Dave Marsh.
Says McCann, “I was making some major changes in my life and Joel enabled me to express these transitions musically. The songs became my therapist and Joel’s studio was my couch. This is the story of how I learned to “help my self”. “To get to the end, the light, you can’t ignore the dark.”
This is the sound of a singer learning a brand new song; of a man determined to face his demons and take control of his own life. This sincere recording takes us from denial and despair to the freedom that can only come from facing the Truth. http://www.seanmccannsings.com/  https://www.youtube.com/user/greatbigsean

SOLD OUT! Rise Again: REMEMBERING STAN ROGERS: A Fundraiser for “The Stan Rogers Festival” in Canso NS: Friday, February 20, 2015.  $18 Adv / $20 Door. 8pm. A tribute to the music of Canadian folk legend, the late Stan Rogers.  Stan’s legacy includes Northwest Passage, and Barrett’s Privateers, a song that traveled around the world even before Stan recorded it. Stan’s music still appears at or near the top of Folk Music radio charts, every month.
Organizers of the Stan Rogers Folk Festival. “Stanfest” were forced to cancel their annual festival in July 2014 as Hurricane Arthur blew into Atlantic Canada. The decision to call it off was financially devastating to both the Festival and Canso. All proceeds from these concerts (in Hamilton Feb. 20, Kitchener Feb. 21 and London Feb. 22) will go directly to the Stan Rogers Festival.
The performers will present Stan’s music in much the style that he performed it.  Using three lead vocalists plus harmonies, guitars, fiddle, bass, and more, the band will weave two dozen Stan songs with memories of those seminal days.  The Stan Rogers tribute band is: Paul Mills: Paul produced all but one of Stan Rogers’ albums, and his alter ego Curly Boy Stubbs was guitarist on all of them.  Brad Nelson: Singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist, and musical director of the show. Jack Cole: Singer/instrumentalist, and the show’s producer. Anne Lederman: Renowned multi-instrumentalist (fiddle, accordion, piano) and singer. Dan Patterson: Bass, keyboard, and backing vocals. www.grandriverfolk.org

A Self Help Promotions a workshop in getting YOURSELF out there! CANCELLED due to insane business! To be booked again in April. Sunday Feb 15th 11 am – 3 pm Fee: $75. Hamilton’s Own Award Winning Comedian / Actress and Producer Shelley Marshall presents her acclaimed  Self Help Promotions  workshop in an intimate setting that encourages Artists in all genres to get the word out.  It’s designed of anyone that falters in self-promotion and perhaps struggles with figuring out the “business” side of things.  This class incorporates everything from creating a bio, cv, contact, list, media release, media kit, posters, online presence, booking theatres, getting the press interested, ticket sales, venue, merchandise.  The class comes with a USB stick with all the info I share including a Media Contact list and a Media kit for reference.  Limited spots. This workshop is suited for producers, song writers, comedians, writers, performers, or people that are starting up a small business venture. Contact: shelley@shelleymarshall.com  http://www.shelleymarshall.com/

Shari Vandermolen with QUARTER TO NINE: Saturday, February 14: 8:00pm. $20 /$18 students/arts workers/seniors. A sexy, sassy, jazz-soaked treat for the Valentine’s Day! Quarter to Nine is a jazzy musical act with the remarkable Shari Vandermolen on vocals.  The name comes from the song “About a Quarter to Nine” from the musical 42nd Street.  Incorporating the sweet soft jazz feel of days gone by, or the burlesque feel of risqué blues, Q2Nine influences include Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Etta James, Billie Holiday and the “big-band sound”. They’ll be bringing you Jazz Standards, naughty blues and torch songs peppered with just the right amount of show tunes for good measure. “Shari’s training as an actor imbues her music with an emotional edge that takes us places we have never been with these songs. Quarter to Nine is an experience as much as a concert.” http://www.q29.ca   Listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyDlzfMzUkI

Love Letters Cabaret: SMOKE: Friday, February 13. 8:00pm (Doors 7:30pm) Admission: $25 Advance/ $30 @ Door.  Smoke is a romantic and seductive show; perfect for a couple on Valentines weekend! SMOKE is a glimpse into the fantasies of a woman… Toronto’s edgiest, most sexually charged dance theatre company infiltrates the passionate minds of cigar factory workers in the 50s. Take a peek as each member takes a private moment from their mundane task to daydream about love affairs, secrets and desires.
This innovative and interactive company is the creation of Artistic Director and Choreographer Pastel Supernova (dubbed by Flare magazine as “One of Canada’s most influential women”). She is a former international dancer for Nelly Furtado with appearances on the David Letterman Show and more. Pastel packs the stage with beauty and talent, using elements of vaudeville, contemporary dance, and burlesque to tell stories, explore primal instincts. Witness a cast whose collective credits include: the National Ballet, the Canadian Opera Company, Mirvish Productions and Second City Productions just to name a few. You’ve never seen them? Here’s a peek: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yV3nObw-7wk    www.loveletterscabaret.com

Big Johnny Blue & Strange Cargo w Special Guest Richard Thornton of The Jack De Keyzer Band: Saturday, February 7, 8:00pm, $15 / $10 students/seniors/wage-challenged….  Like the blues?  You’ll love them John Crawford style.  Big Johnny Blue is John M. Crawford, Hamilton guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and founding member of The Hamilton Blues Society. He has written hundreds of songs, and played with countless local musicians over the years. He is committed to supporting local music and musicians, especially by supporting efforts to tell the story of Hamilton’s blues history, and the power of music to improve the life of every man. These guys rock;  Code Red Blues! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE8p_zRZeIs&index=1&list=PLB3320D903F7A1FCE  https://www.facebook.com/bigjohnnyblueandstrangecargo/

Jesse Macrae & Company: Friday, February 6. 8:00 pm. $15 / $10 students/seniors/wage-challenged… Greg Moverly opens. This will be Jesse’s first time showcasing at The Pearl. He is delighted to be joined by Andrew Aldridge, Michael Hickey and Nick Burson as a unit. This is sure to be an evening packed with inspiring originals, organic first time performances, with plenty of smiles along the way. Jesse’s taking this show as an opportunity to show his gratitude and appreciation for all the support and encouragement he’s been receiving from the Hamilton art community. A MUST SEE! https://www.facebook.com/jesse.macrae.96?fref=nf  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2OBS_Mq2rw

Jesters Incognito: Shows: Jan 9, 17, 23. Times vary. Tickets: $15.00. Jesters Incognito is an exciting and life-affirming one-man show that tells two unique stories.  For over 20 years, Harrison fills sketchbooks in order to cope with his Bipolar condition.  In it he writes the story of Mr. Meister, a taxi driver who starts an undergournd group of artists and entertainers in a dystopian world where live entertainment is outlawed.
With a creative mash up of cartooning, music, and comedy, you are taken into the imagination of both Harrison and Mr. Meister, wherein they reveal the key to mental wellness, and the cure to the dreaded Doldrums.  Audiences are raving about this underground renaissance of otherworldly jesters; the value of their seemingly silly shenanigans runs deep and leaves most blinded by glee!  Celebrate human resilience and the power of art!
“The Jesters Incognito are kicking off the new year with three performances at Hamilton’s awesome Arts Centre, The PEARL COMPANY!  This space is uniquely jesterly ~ eclectic, indie, and full of surprises.  I’m looking forward to bringing the nincompoops to the Pearl, to continue my support of creativity and mental health. :)”

Best of Erin & Nara: Shows: Jan 10, 15,16, 22, 30, 31. Times vary. Tickets: $15.00. MF Arts Productions presents… Partner’s in love and laughter, Erin and Nara are pleased to announce their BEST OF THE SO FARS, Show! This couple is known for their original song “Sexy Cuz We’re Lesbians” and for being the over-the-top hysterical hosts of Shelley Marshall’s The Full Bawdy Comedy Show. This FuNNy SHoW will be comprised of some of their favourite Comedy Skits, Songs, and Dance and will have you lol-ing and possibly even rofl-ing in the aisles! Erin & Nara are both hilarious (without ever ‘reaching’) and totally adorable! Their comedy is never cruel; raunchy sometimes….but never cruel.

Democracy is Dead: Subtitled “What are we going to do about it?” Runs: Jan 15-17; 22-23; 29-31. Times vary. Tickets: $15.00. Democracy is Dead is a multi-disciplinary, multi-media theatrical work written and directed by Gary Santucci. It is a wake-up call to the generations of the 60?s and 70?s to join the young people of today to begin to repair the damage that we all have caused and allowed to be inflicted on our environment, our institutions and our societies. The work was inspired through and by the cathartic exercise of creating the Pearl Company Arts Centre in Hamilton’s sacrifice zone. CAST: Gary Santucci – Alpha; Jeremy Shand – Beta; JonGordon Odegaard – Gamma; Greek Chorus: Francis X. Rocchi – Jason; Val Kay – Helen; Robert Inness – Homer; Jolanta Bace – Aphrodite; David Minnick – Euclid; Steve Wilson – Orpheus.

A Wake For Lost Time: Starts at 1pm on the 24th/finishes 1pm on 25th… Tickets: $20.00 (Gives you the right to come and go…or stay all night!) The Elephants Collective is a Toronto-based collective born out of the Theatre Passe Muraille emerging artist collective program! “A Wake For Lost Time.” captures what it is to be human and the effects time has on us all. What starts out as a look at existence within time from that of an outside observer, quickly becomes the story of everyone’s experience in the moment they find within themselves, audience and performers alike. The emotion and struggle of the cast become absolutely heart­wrenching as time progresses. “I can’t imagine a script that captures the nature of this performance, nor can I picture an actor alive that could replicate what Elephants in the Room have accomplished with this powerful show.” Everything on stage is real in the truest sense of the word. An amazing achievement; half theatre, half experiment. While the individual scenes and pieces that made up a full performance cycle are moving, challenging, and entertaining, it is a thrill to watch the performers engage with this material over 24 hours, to see them fight their own exhaustion, to watch the pieces evolve and change, and discover new meaning and life with each repetition.

An Evening with Ryan Van Sickle: Saturday, January 3; 8:00pm. $20 at the door: Born and raised in Dundas, and having travelled the USA, Ryan Van Sickle rocks The Pearl with his 4^th annual “Let’s Welcome the New Year!” show! The man is an excellent singer/songwriter whose yearly visit we enjoy enormously.  Writing songs of character and integrity that resound with the timeless and universal, Ryan Van Sickle uniquely translates the themes of love, war, life and death and the epic and mundane struggles within. Following in the steps of the masters from his native Canada, Ryan draws on the influences of Neil Young, Daniel Lanois, and Leonard Cohen alongside American greats Bruce Springsteen, Emmylou Harris, Johnny Cash, and Lucinda Williams. With the release of his latest album Ghosts Of The Brokenhearted, Ryan emerges as a powerful songwriter; asserting his prowess in building a lyrical highway with a strong voice to carry listeners on the journey. http://ryanvansicklemusic.com/  Listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmBiU67-2q8