The Pearl Company

Ben Caplan & The Casual Smokers with Charlotte Cornfield: Saturday, November 19: 8:00. $15 door. $10 artists/students. (Charlotte and Ben have just received a “Best Bet” from Graham Rockingham at the Spec!) Rugged, raspy, and roaring with charisma, former Hamiltonian, now living in Halifax, Ben Caplan delivers it all from poetic ballads to frenetic gypsy anthems.  Expressive percussion, upright bass, violin, sax, clarinet, flute, and terrific use of call and response sing-along choruses all help Caplan & The Casual Smokers stand out from the masses. In pace with the gypsy-inspired strings, amid the sultry tones of clarinet and saxophone, Caplan has marked his place in the Canadian music landscape with a growling spirit similar to that of Tom Waits. His tours have extended throughout the Commonwealth, the energy of his live show gaining attention around the world. www.bencaplan.ca Charlotte Cornfield writes some of the most emotionally raw, beautiful songs this country has heard in years. She has mastered her potent blend of soulful vocals and stylish guitar playing; (The Montreal Mirror has named her “The next it-girl of folk-rock.”). Her pop sensibility makes her tunes catchier than the new Justin Bieber single, always in the most surprising of ways. “Cornfield’s got something luminous about her,”: Maisonneuve Magazine. Seeing her perform or listening to her recordings, it’s hard to miss. Her latest album, ‘Two Horses’, just released, is a fleshed-out, conceptual tour de force, reflecting the duality of Cornfield’s musical influences: the deep lyricism and raw emotion of Mitchell, Dylan, and Young, mixed with the intense energy and hookiness of late-70’s New York rock and roll. www.charlottecornfield.com