The Pearl Company

Dala: Friday, May 10. 8:00pm.  Tickets: $20 Advance and $25 Door. Juno nominees and winners of the 2010 Canadian Folk Music Award for Vocal Group of the Year, Amanda Walther and Sheila Carabine of Dala write and sing in harmony best described as angelic. Darlings of the Canadian music scene, Dala are poised to bring their fresh brand of acoustic pop music to the world. Drawing upon influences like The Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Bob Dylan, Dala write songs that are both catchy and insightful. Amanda’s ethereal soprano voice blends seamlessly with Sheila’s velvety alto, creating the lush harmonies that have become their trademark. The sheer joy with which they perform is infectious; they are equally entertaining between songs, telling funny and down to earth stories that make every show unique. Dala have opened for artists such as Tom Cochrane, Richie Havens, Arlo Guthrie, and joined Stuart McLean on the CBC’s Vinyl Café. They have performed at The New Orleans Jazz Festival, The Edmonton Folk Festival, California’s Strawberry Festival and Mariposa. In 2009, they were the only Canadian act invited to play at the 50th Anniversary of the Newport Folk Festival.
“There’s nothing pretentious about Dala’s music; it’s stripped down and laid bare. That’s not to say it is without polish – far from it. Sheila Carabine and Amanda Walther have worked hard to exploit every facet of their extraordinary musical blend, and it would be just as at home in a 1960s coffeehouse as it is now on the contemporary concert stage”. -Andrew Craig, Host of CBC “Canada Live” www.dalagirls.com Read the rest of this entry »

Michelle Titian w Mimi Shaw & The Highnote Ramblers: Saturday, May 11. Doors: 8:00 p.m. $15.00/$10.00 students/all arts workers. Michelle Titian’s style cannot be classified as one single genre; it is a blend of Country and Soulful Roots music. She uses country music as a base and layers it with undertones of 60s soul and bluegrass. With a voice reminiscent of the great pioneers of female vocal legends such as Patsy Cline, Emmylou Harris, and K.D Lang, It’s easy to lose yourself in her songs. Seasoning her material with honest folk & bluegrass influences and blessed with that rare, marriage-made-in-heaven of strong vocals AND strong material, she is a force to be reckoned with.   Here’s a clip from her performance here for the Ladybird Fundraiser (using the camera’s rather limited recording mic) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJpHyoq0gok  https://www.facebook.com/michelle.titian.9
Mimi Shaw is that down-home, angel-voiced, crowd pleaser who sings with the Highnote Ramblers, an alt-country quartet whose roots music ranges from slow-burning torch songs to train-chasing rockabilly paying tribute to the sounds of old school country and rock. Mimi’s voice can be both intimate and raucous as she leads the band through numbers that mix up retro twang ‘n grit to create a sound all their own. The Ramblers vintage stylings create songs that infuse the soul with elemental rhythms of a bygone era. http://www.reverbnation.com/thehighnoteramblers

2nd Annual Ladybird Spring Fair! Sunday, May 5. 1 to 5pm.  Admission: “Pay What You Can”. Come on out and enjoy: Music, vendors, food and fun to benefit Ladybird Animal Sanctuary and the rescued animals in their care!  The fair was great fun last year and absolutely packed with people, happenings, food, crafts, and entertainment.

Live music: Michelle Titian, Mary Simon, Kim Koren, Dawn & Marra, and more!

Vendors include: Striped Aardvark, BLove, Marsha Z, The Button Pushers, and more to be announced!

Activities for kids and yoga demos too!

Bring your family to the fair and help Ladybird rescue animals in your community! www.ladybirdanimalsanctuary.com

Ambre McLean: Friday, May 3: 8:00. Admission: $15.00/$10.00 students/artists. When she was here in March, Ambre McLean (Busted Flat Records) was so much fun and impressed us so much that we invited her back immediately.  In the meantime, she made it through to round 3 of the CBC Music Searchlight competition which surprised no one unless it was that she did not finish by winning! “Ambre’s voice – is an instrument itself: gorgeous, sometimes with a rich, bluesy feel, other times a sweet mellow sound, alternatively soft and ferocious, always carrying these tunes straight to your musical heart.?” (David Yazbeck, CKCU FM).  Ambre can seem small on stage, but it doesn’t take long for her talent to make her seem larger than life, filling the room with the kind of songs that make you remember lost loves and abandoned dreams. www.ambremclean.com  Local singer/songwriter Jesse Macrae will open for Ambre .

Prom at The Pearl: A Fundraiser for Colin Macdonald Community School: Saturday, April 27 at 8:00pm. Pricing: $30 single / $50 couple / $80 for four.  Music by Voodoo Chicken (Great band for dancing; great fun for listening!).  Come on out, support this unique, friendly, child-centred school, and enjoy a fun evening with lots of entertainment, dancing, and good conversation. 50/50 draw; silent auction; finger foods and appetizers; prom photo booth.  Have you still got your prom dress/suit? Wear it! But if you can’t, (for whatever reason…) dress for a fab evening out!  www.colinmacdonald.ca

The Jazz Connection Big Band: Friday, April 26. Doors 8:00 / Jazz at 8:30. $15 /$10 students/all artists: Featuring 
Trombone Great, Rob Somerville (He’s played with Peter Appleyard, Phil Nimmons, Paul Anka, and Manhattan Transfer and many more!)  The JCBB is a powerful, well-established 17-piece jazz ensemble comprised of professional and semi-professional musicians from the Hamilton/Toronto area, performing only the best modern big band charts from the books of Goodwin, Martin, Menza, Rich, Basie, and many other great contemporary composers. Jazz Connection delivers high energy, uncompromising, straight ahead jazz performances combining the highest level of musicianship and great charts in an entertaining show that equally engages the jazz enthusiast and the casual listener. The incredible acoustics at The Pearl easily accommodate their very cool (but strangely hot…) surround-sound. Always a great evening!  http://www.jazzconnection.ca

Larra Skye: LIVE in Hamilton with Mary Stewart: Thursday, April 25, 8:00 p.m. $10 advance, $15 at the door. Canadian jazz darling-turned-cinematic indie folk rocker Larra Skye is excited to release the long-awaited follow-up to her critically acclaimed 2006 debut. Skye’s second album Wishing Tree makes its worldwide debut this April. Friends and fans in Hamilton will have an opportunity to hear the full record performed live for the first time when Skye takes the stage with her band. “A girl and her guitar; those are my roots and it’s at the core of most of Wishing Tree.” Working with her producers, Skye created a synthesis of pop, rock, and folk, anchored by her strong songwriting and winsome voice, which ranges from a lush alto to a crystalline soprano. http://www.larraskye.com Hamilton’s own Mary Stewart will join her, celebrating the release of her album, “Chances Are I Like You”. Hailing originally from Nova Scotia, Mary grew up consuming an incredible range of genres from folk and pop to opera and hair metal – true story. Before her pop days, Mary was classically trained in opera. Her mother sang in hair metal bands and her dad was a sound engineer. The tunes have that gritty and wonderfully natural feel, but still rely heavily on Mary’s pop sensibilities that make her immediately a treat to listen to. http://marystewartmusic.com

Perspective: Monday, April 22 to Wednesday 24. 7:00 pm. $8 at the door. Four students are being interrogated one week after a school shooting. The second shooting suspect has gone missing and they are the only ones who know where he is. They each take turns telling their stories and in the process discover the shooter’s motive, and one shocking revelation. This play, written and directed by student Jamie Kasiama, an aspiring writer, spoken-word artist, and former co-op student at The Pearl, is a labour of love and determination against some unexpected odds. She has overcome, and is proudly presenting a work that will, you can be sure, cause us to rethink a few attitudes toward the multinational, multiply-challenged students of today. ” Jamie blew me away with her spoken-word presentations; I expect to have the same reaction to her play.” Barbara

Jon Brooks: Saturday, April 20; 8:00pm, $15 door/$10 artists/students. A songwriter dedicated to uniting folk song tradition with today’s stories, with an honest, gritty delivery and straight-shooting songwriting which honours the tradition of folk music. “I expect I owe today’s listener some hopeful argument – some legitimate reason – as to why we should believe our present world could be improved, or healed. The highest aim of song is to invoke empathy – to offer that rare sight of ourselves in others. In this sense, the folk singer is simply trying to politicize love, hence, my contention that today’s songwriter should be a lobbyist for compassion to be our principle representative in government office.” [Amen, says Barbara!]  Brooks’ songs are underscored throughout by his gently weather-beaten voice, the singularly beautiful sound of hand on guitar, and his uncanny ability to press his ear against the heartbeat and the soul of the times we live in. http://www.jonbrooks.ca

Stephen Fearing with Erin Costelo: Friday, April 19. 8:00pm. $20 at the door. Fearing is well known within the international folk and roots music community as one of its most accomplished songsmiths, storytellers and guitarists. A double Juno award winner, he has experienced commercial and critical success, both in his solo career and with roots/rock supergroup Blackie and The Rodeo Kings. Fearing is touring to promote his latest album, Between Hurricanes, appearing seven years after his Juno Award-winning tour de force Yellowjacket. Much like John Hiatt before him, Fearing can get away with wearing many musical hats and come out sounding like a winner. His newest record leans heavily upon the folk music realm, every song anchored by his earthy, baritone vocals. Fearing proudly wears his influences while still maintaining a truly original voice. http://www.stephenfearing.com Erin Costelo overthrows genre on her latest album, We Can Get Over, and her unmistakable vocals take centre stage. Inspired by her love of old soul, 60s vocal groups and classic arranging, Costelo takes listeners on a journey of heart, soul, and transcendence. Based in Halifax, the accomplished musician and arranger has toured North America, scored performances with Symphony Nova Scotia and the Blue Engine String Quartet. www.erincostelo.com Here’s a tantalizing taste of Erin and Stephen in concert:  http://music.cbc.ca/#/concerts/Erin-Costelo-and-Stephen-Fearing-2012-03-30

Graydon James & The Young Novelists w Ben Somer: How To Combine An Evening Of Original Music With A Book Launch For A Debut Novel: Thursday April 18. 8:00. $15 / $10 students/all artists.  Singer and songwriter Graydon James called his band The Young Novelists when he started it four years ago. And now he’s launching his first novel, a darkly comic satire titled ‘The Mall of Small Frustrations’. The show will be a celebration of songwriting of course, but yes, I think we can expect that Graydon James will read a passage from the new book…  Here’s a musical opinion from the silver (and usually accurate) tongue of Richard Flohil:  “Apart from having one of the best band names at CMW (Canadian Music Week) this time around, this band has a super singer (Laura Spink, aka Mrs. Graydon James) and the band sounds like a rootsier version of Arcade Fire. They knows how to rock, they do…” http://www.theyoungnovelists.com/ Ben Somer is a gifted songwriter, who shares his tales of love and faith with soulful charm and despair. Although his songs have various angles and attitudes, storytelling is always their essence and their aim – particularly on The Last One, Ben’s new sophomore release. His writing blends a heart-wrenching earnestness with his tongue-in-cheek wit, evoking comparisons to Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen. www.myspace.com/bensomer

The HamilTEN Festival: April 12 & 13, 14.  $15 / $10 students/all artists.  HamilTEN is a festival of ten minute plays by playwrights from Hamilton and surrounding areas. A ten minute play is a streak of theatrical lightning. It doesn’t last long but it should hit its mark! The festival is now in its second year and they are back at The Pearl Company with something for everyone; a little drama, some comedy, with a bit of improv to spice things up. Tickets can be ordered at 416-524-0606 or info@thepearlcompany.ca (or you can show up and pay cash at the door…). See Gary Smith’s write-up in the Spec: http://www.thespec.com/whatson/article/915250–hamilten-play-festival-explores-10-minute-genre-in-second-season Questions? Email,  hamiltenfestival@gmail.com hamiltenfestival.blogspot.ca

Show times:
Friday, April 12 @ 8pm
Saturday, April 13 @ 8pm
Sunday, April 14 @ 2pm

Jesse Winchester: Thursday, April 11. 8:00pm. $32 advance / $35 door. CONCERT PROCEEDING AS PLANNED! A magnetic performer with a powerful tenor voice, Jesse Winchester may be the most self-effacing songwriter on the planet. His homespun arrangements and performances are ethereal to the point of being otherworldly. His songs of distance, and longing for his homeland move us to tears; his songs of home and hearth warm our souls. With his laid-back vocals, gorgeous melodies, and insightful lyrics, his low-key style of blended soul, rockabilly, gospel, folk, R&B, and a hint of Latin music, he remains entrenched as an oft-covered, bonafide songwriter’s songwriter. His creations will be forever sought out by artists (from Joan Baez to Elvis Costello) seeking to add something of depth and insight to their repertoires, especially when it comes to love songs; the classic and majestic “Brand New Tennessee Waltz,” is as wrenchingly beautiful a work of art as ever.
Come absorb, be moved by, and even cry to the songs; songs of beauty and wry humor, songs of startling intimacy and searing poignancy, songs of sepia-tinted nostalgia, rooted both in a time long past and right here and now.  http://www.jessewinchester.com
Jesse Winchester can disarm the most casual listener with his understated grace and virtuosity as evidenced in this video of his “Sham-A-Ling-Dong-Ding” sung on Elvis Costello’s “Spectacle.”  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uKGWpqnS8E
“Have you talked to Jesse Winchester? You can’t talk about the best songwriters and not include him.” ~ Bob Dylan

Frank Rocchi, Investment Advisor at BMO Nesbitt Burns and Freewheelin’ Concerts are sponsors for this event.

Ruth Moody: Wednesday, April 10. 8:00pm. Tickets $15/ $10 students/artists. Ruth is a Juno Award winning songwriter from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founding member of the internationally renowned, Billboard-charting trio The Wailin’ Jennys and former lead singer of the Canadian roots band Scruj MacDuhk.  She has performed in sold-out venues around the world, made numerous critically-acclaimed albums. Although best known for her work with The Wailin’ Jennys, Ruth is an artist of exceptional depth and grace in her own right. Critics have lauded her ethereal vocals, impressive multi-instrumentalism, and her masterful songwriting. Written with a maturity and wisdom that belies her age, her songs are timeless, universal, and exceptionally well-crafted, all sung with an intimacy and honesty that is unmistakably hers.  The discreet modulations in Moody’s silken vocals are seductive enough, but she also plays many of her own instruments, including guitar, piano and accordion.  Ruth has been recognized by the USA Songwriting Competition and the International Songwriting Competition for several of her compositions, including ‘One Voice,’ which has gone on to be a signature song for The Wailin’ Jennys. www.ruthmoody.com Read the rest of this entry »

BeetleBarrow’s Western Hardcover BookBinding Workshop: On Sunday April 7th, we have a different type of offering.  Dynamic bookbinding duo – Lindsay Slavin and Chandra Rice – will be teaching a workshop on how to bind a hardcover book, western style.  This type of bookbinding is the one we are most familiar with.  Find almost any hardcover book in your library and you are looking at a classic western hardcover.  It’s durable and a great traveler.  At this fun-filled workshop, learn how to fold and sew together a series of signatures to create your text block, then create a beautiful cover and spine to house your text block.  The end result is an elegant book that you’ve made from start to finish, ready for dazzling your friends. The workshop runs from 9:30-4:30, costs $90 and includes all materials and a delicious hot lunch!  Visit www.beetlebarrow.ca to see other classes available and to learn more. To register for this workshop, either use our Etsy Store – www.reversestitch.etsy.com (if you wish to pay with paypal) or email makers@beetlebarrow.ca (to pay by cash or cheque). Like BeetleBarrow on facebook www.facebook.com/BeetleBarrow to keep up with all the bookbinding news.