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Calgary Folk Club
Newsletter




Highlights in this edition:
■ October Concerts
■ November Concerts
■ Songwriting Workshop with Steve Seskin
■ Backstage with the Steel Wheels and Joe Nolan
■ Canadian Folk Music Awards coming in November

Be Sure to Get Your Tickets! 
 
There is still time to get your hands on a coveted Season Pass for the 2015-2016 season! This pass grants you a fixed-rate admission to all of our shows through to the end of April 2016 - a great value for die-hard folks fans. For those of you who prefer to pick and choose, tickets for every individual show can now be purchased at calgaryfolkclub.com, or by calling  1-888-655-9090.
  
SEASON PASSES: Only 8 remaining! CLICK HERE to get yours!
 
Invite a Friend! 

Make the beginning of fall something to look forward to! Invite your friends to join you at one of the awesome concerts we have lined up for Season 44 of the Calgary Folk Club. 
   
 


October 30 is our HALLOWE'EN NIGHT!

Attend the Club in costume for a chance to win tickets to Evans and Doherty on November 27th!


COMING ON OCTOBER 30:

Steve Seskin

Steve Seskin is one of the most successful writers in Nashville today, with a boatload of songs recorded by such artists as Tim McGraw, Peter Frampton, Waylo n Jennings, Alabama, and Peter Paul and Mary. A Steve Seskin concert will have you wipin g away a tear one minute and laughing out loud the next. His songs all have messages that touch the hearts of everyone: from the feelings of a little boy missing his father, to growing up and being true to yourself, to being considerate to and respectful of one another. His song "Don't Laugh At Me", a finalist for CMA "Song of the Year" in 1999, has spurred an entire tolerance movement, launched by the Don't Laugh at Me Project.  Be sure to check out the songwriting workshop, hosted by Steve Seskin himself, on the Saturday following his Club performance!   steveseskin.com


With guests: Rosie and the Riveters

This band's name, inspired by the WWII-era icon of confidence and pride immortalizes the strength and power that is inside every woman. Their compelling performance boasts enthralling vocal arrangements, acoustic instrumentation, percussion, scintillating choreography, inviting humour, and a whole lot of charm!   rosieandtheriveters.com


NOVEMBER 13:

The Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra

The acoustic ensemble,Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra, has wandered from   underground of bohemian Victoria, BC, to  a new, refined sound crafte d by years of constant performing and touring together. Though drawing on flamenco flourishes learned in Spain, on African percussion, on bluegrass and other roots  music from across the Americas,  TMO  has cycled through far-flung influences and youthful f orays into  sounds from all over. They discover new vistas of creativity that bring them closer to their own beginnings, to the people and places that have shaped them. Friends and family, ancestors and wild characters are all honoured on " Follow My Lead, Lead Me to Follow" , the band's third and most mature studio effort, with a sound that's distinct, earthy, and solid. 


With Guest: Sarah MacDougall

WesternCanadian Music Award-winning artist Sarah MacDougall is earning renown for her honest and poetic songs, passionate performances, and unique voice. In addition to becoming the #1 most played artist on Canadian Galaxie Folk/Roots radio, she has been described by the magazine Rootstime in Belgium as "one of the greatest talents of our era", and listed as the "second best gig" by the major UK newspaper The Independent. Swedish magazine Nöjesguiden declared Swedish-born MacDougall to be "One of Sweden's best singer/songwriters."


AND ON NOVEMBER 27:

Evans and Doherty

Kevin Evans & Brian Doherty have been an integral part of the East Coast music scene for thirty years. They have been together as Evans & Doherty for twenty six years. To capture the essence of an Evans & Doherty performance, take a lively blend of traditional, original, and contemporary songs, add a liberal sprinkling of stories and humour, then sit back and enjoy these fine entertainers. Deeply involved in the business of making music, both on-stage and off, these two consummate performers are involved in bringing music to listening ears across Canada. Among other ventures, Evans & Doherty have produced recordings for a number of East coast groups, as well as three compilation recordings (A Taste Of The Maritimes, A Taste Of Atlantic Canada and An East Coast Christmas) for national labels.      


With Guest: Lizzy Hoyt

Lizzy Hoyt is an award-winning Canadian vocalist and songwriter who also happens to rank among the top Celtic instrumentalists in the country. Her angelic voice delivers music and stories with soaring melodies rooted in Celtic and folk traditions.  Hoyt's music has been recognized on both the national and international level. She won "Best
 Female Artist" at the 8th International Acoustic Music Awards,  was a Canadian Folk Music Award Nominee for "Traditional Singer of the Year," and has been named a finalist in both the John Lennon Songwriting Contest and the USA Songwriting Competition. On top of all of this, Hoyt was awarded the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal by the Governor General of Canada for her outstanding contribution to commemorating Canadian veterans and history through music.



Attend a Songwriting Workshop with Steve Seskin!
Join this award-winning writer to learn the art of soulful songcraft.

Over the past two decades, songwriter and musician Steve Seskin has written for some of the biggest names in Nashville, including Tim McGraw, Neal McCoy, Kenney Chesney, and Waylon Jennings. His songs are so affecting that Peter Yarrow once said; " Steve Seskin leads the cutting edge of American songwriting that, in this dark period of our history, leads us back to our humanity and our light."

Not only is Seskin a talented writer and performer, he has been teaching the art of songwriting to students and professionals alike for nearly 30 years. His workshops are wellsprings of creativity that are known for deeply inspiring all who attend. Now, for one day only, Steve Seskin brings his fierce talent and involving, compelling teaching style to Calgary. Find out why people are raving about these workshops, and feel the exhilaration of setting your very own heart to music. See more of Steve's impressive credentials, and read about the experiences of others who have attended his workshops, at  steveseskin.com.

Longtime friend of the Calgary Folk Club, Dan St.Yves, has a wonderful writeup of Steve Seskin's forthcoming visit at the Calgary Herald.

Registration fee: $104.50
Date: Saturday, October 31
Time: 9:00am to 4:00pm, breaking for lunch from 12:00pm-1:30pm.
Location: Dallyn Street Building, 4448 Dallyn Street, Calgary AB (located behind the Dalhousie Elementary School parking lot).

Register for this workshop online through TicketPro! CLICK HERE, or visit the Tickets page at calgaryfolkclub.com  and scroll down to the listing for Steve Seskin's workshop. 


Backstage with Joe Nolan
First-time CFC performer and songsmith shares his thoughts.

Joe Nolan was just as energetic and enthusiastic talking to Club patrons at the merch table as he was on stage, just a few hours prior. He was just as enthusiastic when we asked if he would share his thoughts on his first performance at the Calgary Folk Club.

Calgary Folk Club: What are your first impressions of playing the Folk Club?

Joe Nolan: Amazing, I'm blown away by tonight. ... The operation here is amazing, I was treated amazingly, the crowd was incredible. And the [Steel Wheels] - it was a real, real treat getting to share the bill with them.

CFC: What's a more traditional Joe Nolan venue?

JN: I've done all sorts, from house concerts to rowdy punk bars to festivals. I've done a whole range of different types of gigs, but these are my favourites, because I really get to engage, and share tunes, and have a really nice response from the audience. ... A lot of the time people don't get that.

CFC: It seems like it would feel better as a performer, being the focus of folks' attention, instead of accompaniment, like playing a bar.

JN: Bars can be really really fun, but the ones where you feel like you're wallpaper in a hotel hallway are kinda weird.

CFC: Your blues sound is really strongly developed - where did that come from?

JN: Blues related it'd definitely be guys like Muddy Waters, Dylan's blues stuff, there's blues in all of that. ... The blues is sort of an undeniable thing to me, I don't know anybody that can help but tap their foot to blues - good blues. It's affecting type of music, that's for sure.

CFC: Any last thoughts about the show tonight?

JN: I wish I could do shows like this every weekend, because it really was a special treat. I feel lucky I got to do this gig, and it's very very special to me. And thanks to everybody here that just dug in... Clubs like this are so important to people like me.


Backstage with The Steel Wheels
Talking folk music scenes from Appalachia to the Rockies.

While Friday evening's crowd was milling about, purchasing albums, packing their tables, and sharing the electricity of a stellar show, members of the Steel Wheels were sitting in the green room, replenishing their energy with takeout Chinese food. Jay Lapp, mandolin player, and Trent Wagler, lead vocalist, were gracious enough to share a few words about their experience, then only minutes old, of playing on the Calgary Folk Club stage.

Calgary Folk Club: What have been your impressions of playing the Calgary Folk Club, tonight and previously?

Jay Lapp: It's a very rich scene just in the way that it's so focused toward the music, and the embrace of culture within the folk club scene up here. To have a 400-seat folk club, packed with people, it seems very vibrant here.

CFC: Do you find that varies from place to place, or do you not see that by virtue of choosing folk venues?

JL: We've been playing for 10 years, so we've seen a wide swath of concert venues, and I think by and large, we get in front of people, and generally they have a good time. We've sort of gotten used to not knowing how the crowd is going to take the music. ... I'll pass the slate over to Trent.

Trent Wagler: I'd say that Alberta seems very unique, overall, in the vibrancy of the folk music scene, through the folk clubs - that's something that's very unique, regionally speaking. I don't know that there's any other place we go that's quite got the same kind of situation. There's plenty of places that have a vibrant scene of one kind or another, but to have so many clubs in one city, in Calgary...

JL: Well yeah, we never play two nights in one place. To two sold-out crowds! That's crazy.

TW: They're usually so concerned, first of all that they won't get enough people to the first show, so they're not going to let you do a second show. It says a lot about the culture here. The first time we came up here was the Calgary Folk Club, and we didn't understand... "Oh, the Calgary Folk Club, that sounds like a venue, Oh, interesting, it's a folk club..." You don't hear "folk club" that often in the States, and this whole idea of having members, and it being this sought-after thing that's gonna sell out, so you'd better get your tickets quick, and it's got this social element that's very important - I don't know, it's very unique.

CFC: Moving to and coming from Virginia, that place is one of the birthplaces of roots music - how would you compare the vibrancy of that scene and this?

JL: It's vibrant in a different way, in that it's always been there... These folk club experiences are more akin to the movement of the '60s where you have all these people gathering to come and do this, rather than traditional music where that exists down there in Appalachia.

TW: And there are still places where they've got some old jam that goes on - it's been at this general store for ten, fifteen, fifty years, but it's getting harder and harder to find. ... There's definitely the fiddlers' culture, and old-time culture, and I feel like in our part of Virginia it's one of those things you have to look a little harder to find and it's taken for granted, I think, in many ways. Unfortunately. ... I moved from the midwest in Kansas, and there wasn't that kind of music culture happening, so when I saw young people in a circle playing these bluegrass tunes, I was just, like, "whoah, where did this come from?"

CFC: Anything else come to mind about your experiences playing our Club?

TW: WHatever it is that creates the appreciation for that music, and the respect for not only live music in general, which is important ... I mean, when we came in the first time nobody knew who we were! It was our first time in Canada, and we'd just released an album, and toured slightly - in the US, even - nobody knew who we were, and this place was packed, and they were so receptive. It is so hard to get a group of 400, let alone 100 people, to a band that's never been heard, almost anywhere you go. That trust that people have in it... it's important that you keep investing in it, because that peace, that trust that comes only from that community of saying, like, "Okay, we know that whenever we go there, we're going to be fed by this music, this is going to be great. I have no idea who they are, I've never even heard of them but I'm going to go anyway."

CFC: "Trust" seems like exactly the right word for it. After so many seasons people know that they can come here for a great show every time.

JL: I like how the openers, in my experience, have always had really good receptions as well. Sometimes in the States, I feel like openers are sort of the sideshows, but up here... The crowd is just really into promoting people playing music.

TW: It helps that the openers have been good, too.

JL: Tonight, with the opener, I loved the completely different styles, I liked what Joe was doing, and it was a good show all the way around.

Calgary Folk Club Tickets: A Great Gift Idea!
For any occasion, for the music-lovers in your life.

Looking for a unique gift idea for a birthday, an anniversary, or a thank-you? Are you the sort of person who likes to get all of their Christmas shopping done early? Why not give the gift of live music at the Calgary Folk Club? A night out at the CFC is a night of guaranteed fun and treasured memories among other devotees of live music - not to mention the tempting snacks! For a great gift that never spoils, wears out, or goes out of style, think about concert tickets for your friends and family. Individual tickets for all of this season's shows can be found on our ticket page at calgaryfolkclub.com.

 
Congratulations to the 2015 CFMA Nominees!
The Canadian Folk Music Awards honour our brightest stars.

As a proud sponsor of the Canadian Folk Music Awards, the Calgary Folk Club would like to extend its congratulations to all of the 2015 nominees. It's an illustrious group that any musician would be honoured to call peers, and contains quite a few faces that will be familiar to our regular patrons. CFC alumni being recognized for their musicianship this year are: Amelia Curran  and Catherine MacLellan with 3 nominations, The Once and Michael Jerome Browne , each with two, the Crooked Brothers , Le Vent du Nord , The Sweet Lowdown, Lizzy Hoyt, and Buffy Sainte-Marie, who also brought home a Polaris prize this month. The Young Novelists, recipients of two nominations, will be coming to our stage later this year. 

Each and every nominee is talented and deserving, and we wish them all well when the CFMAs are presented on November 6-8 in Edmonton. For the full list of nominees, event details, tickets, and a wealth of other information, visit folkawards.ca. And if you're looking for a great weekend outing, consider attending the awards Gala itself, on Sunday, November 8th. The Gala was a phenomenal night when it was hosted in Calgary in 2013, and this year's show in Edmonton promises to be just as wonderful, with performances by John Wort Hannam, the Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra, Jeffery Straker, and many more. Don't miss out on this collection of Canadian folk's best and brightest!


Connect with Us!
Tune in to Alberta's vibrant folk music scene!

For concert videos, interviews with your favourite artists, and a wealth of information about your favourite Calgary Folk Club alumni and upcoming performers, come join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube


Contact
403-286-5651