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Canadian Artists Tribute Concert at Key City Theatre
Fisher Peak Performing Artists Society hosts SummerSounds fundraising initiative Friday, May 31
“We’re continually looking to add more interesting and enjoyable events to our annual production calendar,” said Ferdy Belland, one of the many directors-at-large of the Fisher Peak Performing Artists Society (FPPAS).
“We’ve spent the past decade developing and improving the SummerSounds concert series in Rotary Park, as well as the Winter Ale series and PeakFest, but there’s always room to test the waters and experiment with new ideas!”
And the current experiment happens to be the 2024 Canadian Artists Tribute concert, an ambitious revue of classic Canadian songs from across the decades, featuring a wide variety of strong local talent from the combined musical communities of Cranbrook and Kimberley.
Slated for Friday, May 31Ā at the Key City Theatre, the Canadian Artists Tribute features live performances from (in alphabetical order) the Confluentials, Heather Gemmell, Jamie Neve, Phaeton, Pretty For the People, Dave Prinn, Jack Spring, the Tunesmiths, Two Ticks, and the Voodoo Rhythm Kings.
They will be paying loving cover-version tribute to the music of a long list of beloved Canadian heroes: the Band, Barenaked Ladies, Blue Rodeo, Tom Cochrane, Bruce Cockburn, Leonard Cohen, Stompin’ Tom Connors, Stephen Fearing, Celine Dion, David Francey, the Guess Who, Jeff Healey, Colin James, Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, Murray MacLachlan, Alanis Morissette, Anne Murray, Stan Rogers, Rush, the Stampeders, the Tragically Hip, Shania Twain, Ian Tyson, and Neil Young. An impressive undertaking, to say the least.
“It was our fellow board member Murray Hayward who hatched the idea,” said Belland. “And I thought it was brilliant – yes, of course! Why haven’t we thought of it before? We hoped that our fellow local musicians thought the same way, but any worries we might have had vanished right away. Everyone we approached was instantly enthusiastic about the idea, and before we knew it we had an overnight mini-festival on our hands! So exciting!”
Belland explains the myriad reasons why the Canadian Artists Tribute means something.
“The bottom line is that the event is a self-contained fundraising effort to bolster up the society’s budget for the upcoming SummerSounds series, and as anyone who’s ever been involved in nonprofit organizations can tell you – every little bit helps! But the theme of the event is very important, and very dear to the hearts of all of us at FPPAS.
“Canada has a very rich musical quotient to the national culture, and for every Canadian musician who broke into the big times and enjoyed a worldwide audience, there were 20 or 30 other Canadian musicians who were just as talented who either remained known only inside Canadian borders…or who never were known at all.
“One of the reasons FPPAS exists in the first place is to nurture and encourage local talent, so to have a platoon’s worth of our local best and brightest onstage at one of the finest live-performance venues in southeastern British Columbia, gathered together and paying tribute to the Canadian legends they love? That draws a very real connection from the Kootenays to the country at large, and that is important, and significant. We’re aiming to sell out the theatre, because we wish to make this an annual event.”
The Confluentials is the folk-music duo of vocalist-guitarist-bouzouki-what’s-he-playing-now Barry Coulter and his partner Christina, she of the vocals and the guitar.
Heather Gemmell stands tall as one of the Kootenay’s best all-around singer-songwriters and performers, one half Jennifer Jason Leigh and one half Larkin Poe.
Jamie Neve has enjoyed over a half-century in the musical sun, proving himself time and again as the Stephen Stills of the East Kootenay.
Phaeton (guitarist Kevin Thiessen, guitarist Daniel Airth, drummer Colin Righton, and Belland on bass) are Cranbrook’s great prog-rock hope…so they’re handling the Rush songs.
Pretty For the People (vocalist Sarah Turk, guitarist Graham Barnes, guitarist Mark Rosini, bassist Janice Nicli, drummer Ward Morton) have spent several years building a solid reputation as a reliable all-purpose cover band with an enjoyable repertoire, delivered with high energy and winning smiles all around.
Dave Prinn is a regular presence at most musical this and that around the Cranbrook-Kimberley area, belting out songs with a strong baritone voice.
Jack Spring is a welcome fresh face to the local music scene.
Two Ticks are the latest incarnation of the Tick Magnets, a whimsically beloved country-folk duo whose loving devotion to providing delightful entertainment to the local seniors’ centers is much respected.
And, last but certainly not least, the Voodoo Rhythm Kings is the power-trio vehicle of powerhouse blues-rocking guitarist-vocalist Keith Larsen (featuring PFTP’s drummer Ward Morton and Belland again on bass).
“We’re all looking forward to rocking the house,” said Belland. “No better way to kick in the summertime fun than celebrating so many worthy Canadian legends by collecting up some of the best musicians around. And we hope the local community supports this.”
The Fisher Peak Performing Artists Society proudly presents the 2024 Canadian Artists Tribute, to be held Friday, May 31 at the Key City Theatre in Downtown Cranbrook.
For more information, please visitĀ www.fisherpeakperformingartists.comĀ orĀ www.keycitytheatre.comĀ
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