The Pearl Company

Rae Billing & The Unpayables: Saturday, May 16. 8:00pm. $20 Advance / $25 Door. Rae Billing’s voice and lyrics create a touchstone that is unique on the Canadian landscape. Her voice has been described as “shiver-inducing,” “honest and pure, assured and desperate at the same time.” And her lyrics and music have been lauded as “full of wide open spaces and bittersweet emotions,” “handled with gutsy femininity.”  Rae’s show will focus on her fourth alt-country album, the fluid, passionate, and critically acclaimed, Walls & Fences. The album was chosen by respected Penguin Eggs Magazine as the top pick for April 2014 and has just been nominated in the Hamilton Music Awards for best alt-country album.
Working with the multi-talented Unpayables, Matt Coleman on violin/fiddle, Andrew Aldridge on electric guitar, K. Michael Hickey on electric and upright bass, Nick Burson on drums, plus the talents of Ed Roth on accordian and organ, producer Michael J. Birthelmer on piano and guitars, and Wayne Krawchuk on backups.
“There is a depth to her songs few contemporaries have yet to hone.” Jason MacNeil, All Music Guide.  Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkI7OvCupvs    www.raebilling.com

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Shari Vandermolen & David Brideau: Saturday May 5.  Doors: 7:30pm. Show: 8:00. Tickets: $20. Shari Vandermolen is a renowned vocalist and award-winning performer in Hamilton and the Greater Toronto Area who has been entertaining audiences for 15 years with her Quartet, Trio or 5-piece band Quarter to Nine.  She is also the lead vocalist for the 10-piece jazz combo SwingLine.  On May 5th Shari brings her powerful and impressive vocal stylings back to the Pearl Company for a more intimate evening of song with jazz guitarist David Brideau, James Gannett on bass and Vince Waters on drums.  “…hear Vandermolen make jelly of your emotions with her voice and her art… one example is Stormy Weather… I barely weathered that storm intact.”  – View Magazine
David Brideau is a Canadian jazz guitarist, composer, and teacher who has been an active musician for over 15 years. A Hamilton native, and honours graduate from the Mohawk Jazz program, David has played all around the GTA with his own group, the David Brideau Trio and Quartet, as well as being prominently featured in groups with Michael Morobito, Amber-Leigh Palka, and Lauren Perreira among others. He studied under jazz greats Bob Shields, Pat Collins, Kim Ratcliffe, and Mark Ucci and is currently continuing his studies at McMaster University. David often composes his own standards, and released the sold-out EP “Addicted To You” in 2016. He is a recipient of the Dave McMurdo Music Bursary, the Antony Roberts Music Bursary, and the Richard Newell Memorial Scholarship.
Ticets: https://www.ticketscene.ca/events/21098/