The Pearl Company

Kirk Starkey & Hanna Bech: Saturday, September 23. Doors: 7:30pm. Show: 8:00pm. $20 /students/seniors/wage-challenged PWYC (pay what you can). Kirk Starkey is “One of Canada’s most inventive Cellists today.” CBC Radio 2. Kirk has pursued a unique career as cellist, composer and sound artist. Kirk’s solo recordings Little Gidding (2011), Songs of Sudbury (2016) showcase his original style of integrating extended cello techniques and digital processing into a compelling and accessible medium. In the role of Producer, Kirk Starkey specializes in the capture and production of acoustic music. Recent clients include in the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Duo Gelato, and Valerie Tryon! Kirk performs on a newly restored Vogtland cello (c.1775) on generous loan from Hildegard Battista.
Hamilton native Hanna Bech is a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, choral composer, conductor, and teacher(!)  Bech’s sound combines piano and playful vocals to create classically influenced folk-pop with swagger. She’s performed with the HPO’s Indie Series and been recognized as 2017’s emerging music artist by the Hamilton Arts Council. She uses her love of play to transform her feelings into music and fantasy-filled stories. Hanna is also cultivating Queens of Quirk, a celebration of (un)conventional coolness through music, silks, comedy, and crimps.  Hanna dreams of helping everyone find and embrace their unique voice. www.hannabechmusic.com  www.kirkstarkey.com  Tickets: https://www.bruha.com/event/1961

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/