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Bryan Adams Brings The Bare Bones Show to St. John’s

Herald Staff — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 14:20:29 +0000

Press Release: Platinum-selling and Grammy Award winning musician Bryan Adams returns to St. John’s on September 5 for an intimate, acoustic “Bare Bones” show. Critics have called it an outstanding tour de force.

Widely considered one of the most iconic rock musicians in the world, Bryan Adams has countless accolades and awards including three Academy Award nominations, five Golden Globe nominations and a Grammy Award. The singer / songwriter wanted to make sure that this tour hit every province in Canada.

Adams continues to tour somewhere in the world ten days every month intertwining arena concerts with special, intimate solo acoustic dates. His live concerts have established him as one of the world’s best rock singers of our time.

Tickets go on sale tomorrow, Thursday, June 30 at 11 30 a.m. local time.

Tickets for the show will be available at the Arts and Culture Centre Box Office
(95 Allandale Road), by calling (709) 729-3900 and online at artsandculturecentre.com, evenko.ca and livenation.com.

For more information, visit: bryanadams.com.

CONCERTS | Blue Rodeo Announce St. John’s Return

Herald Staff — Tue, 14 Dec 2021 18:22:01 +0000

Canadian rock legends Blue Rodeo will return to St. John’s at the Mary Brown’s Centre on March 19th. The east coast stop is part of the Many A Mile Tour.

The tour is in response to the 16th studio album of the same name, which was released on December 3rd, 2021.

Presale tickets are available now with public on sale kicking off December 17th at 10 am NST.

Visit tour.bluerodeo.com for more information.

CONCERTS | Dave Whitty Announces Tibb’s Eve at The Rockhouse

Herald Staff — Wed, 24 Nov 2021 18:29:50 +0000

Tireless, multi-talented musician Dave Whitty is hitting The Rockhouse for a sure-to-be unmatched night of music and fellowship for his annual Tibb’s Eve Celebration!

“We’re back for Tibbs Eve at The Rockhouse,” Whitty shared via social media. “A Christmas tradition now. Backing band featuring Nick Earle, Daniel George and Peter Green. Opening set by Andrew Rodgers.”

Tickets just $20 and are available at this link: https://www.eventbrite.ca/…/dave-whitty-tibbs-eve-at…

Official Bio: Dave Whitty has been a member of the music scene in St. John’s, Newfoundland since age seventeen. He got his start playing solo sets of original music and recording a couple small demos, while trying to learn how the music community worked.

As Dave’s talent developed, so did his focus. After three years of solo work, Dave formed At Ships End with a couple friends. The Celtic/Folk/Rock group soon gained notoriety in the St. John’s music scene, playing everything from Christmas kitchen parties to the infamous George Street Festival. Although At Ships End is still present in the St. John’s music scene, Dave decided after three years with the band to move on and pursue something different.

Since then, Dave has been playing gigs around St. John’s, building his already loyal following, including a few weekly George Street residencies–one affectionately being called Quidi Whitty Tuesday at the historic Trapper John’s pub. During the other days of the week, Dave can be found in other venues, booked to open for touring acts as well as booking and promoting his own shows.

LOCAL ARTS | Rising Tide’s Revue Rides On

Herald Staff — Fri, 29 Oct 2021 13:33:22 +0000

Rising Tide’s Revue is back! If COVID couldn’t stop provincial and federal elections then it certainly can’t stop Revue. The old gang is all set. There’s no shortage of material with 2020 and most of 2021! Come out for a hilarious and safe experience

Formed in 1978, Rising Tide in Trinity has been writing and producing political satire for decades. Now founder, executive and artistic director Donna Butt proves that even COVID-19 can’t contain the creative process, proving the show must go on.

Butt is filled with joy, even as she and others like her in the arts community face some harrowing challenges in the shadow of a pandemic.

“We had a great (theatre) season in Trinity. We had really large numbers of people – the numbers we were allowed to get in under the guidelines. But, overall, we had a very, very successful season and that was a relief. But we don’t know what’s going to happen. I mean, you don’t know from one day to the next,” Butt opened. In spite of the current COVID climate, Butt remained positive.

Lick’n the Carts!?

“There’s so much anxiety and stress around now for everyone, but we’ve never stopped. You have to remain positive, I mean, this is our third shot at Revue,” she shared with her recognizable what-can-you-do-about-it chuckle.

“We couldn’t do it in the winter as that’s when we usually hold Revue. We usually start writing it in November and then we start performing it in January. Well, the last time we did it was Snowmageddon year. One day after we opened, the storm hit and that was that. We got to have the show for a couple nights, but we only got the one night in St. John’s.”

The merry crew of enthusiastic actors and musicians waited to reopen the show, but then the pandemic struck.

“The funny thing is when that finished, I said to everybody after we finished the tour, ‘well, guys, I guess we all know what the opening scene of the next Review is. We have so got our opening for next year because nothing worse can happen.’ And then a pandemic came. How wrong I was.”

Of course, while she can’t give everything away, Butt is too enthusiastic to remain totally closed-lipped.

Chief Medial Officer Dr. Janice Fitzgerald has got to be in the show, she shared, as does the province’s new premier, Dr. Andrew Furey. Dr Haggie, the Minister of Health and his “don’t let them lick the carts” line, to name but one, is also in there.

From one liners to facial expressions, those daily COVID briefings are sure to make a satirical appearance, she offered.

“The thing about COVID is this – obviously it’s been very disturbing and very hard on everybody. But we also try to find the fun side of it all and that’s really how we all came through it, with funny bones intact. But we clearly recognize that it’s been hard for everybody, of course. People suffered and they passed away. It’s been a nightmare.”

Butt shared that finding the humour in the hard is truly the Newfoundland and Labrador way.

“For anybody trying to work through it – as we had to, as have many, many others – it’s been very difficult because you never know from one day to the next. But there’s celebration too. We can do it, and we can still laugh and share and smile.”

Comedy/Musical

While this year’s Revue tour will be smaller – all the more reason to get those tickets fast and to not wait – it will still be the same quality comedy/musical show audiences have come to expect.

“In February, I got everybody out here to Trinity and we started writing the show and the plan was that we were going to open the show the middle of March.”

Then, the plan was for the end of April, right before the start of the summer season in Trinity, she added. “The very week we started, it was the week that the cluster hit during election week – we all remember that – and I had to send everybody home. I wasn’t allowed to keep them here so we couldn’t carry on. We had to cancel the whole thing.”

They just kept keeping on, she added with a chuckle. “I just got everybody back out to start again when we could. All we could do was keep writing, keep trying to find the joy where we can and the fun where we can and hope that someone’s going to get to see it eventually.”

What can folks expect in the show? “Obviously we’ve got lots of cool political stuff because politics have sort of permeated all our lives – it’s just been such a major part of our lives. The provincial election – we are definitely delving into the election and all the goings on around that.

“Obviously, we’re looking at Andrew Furey. He wasn’t there the last time we did Revue. (Ches) Crosbie’s now gone so we’re trying to figure out all of that as some new characters have found their way into politics since last we were on the stage. We’re also looking at the federal election, but that just happened so we’re still working through our material on that, but we’re definitely looking at that. We’re taking a bit of a swipe at the Greene Report, we’re trying to bring our own sort of take on that.”

The Media Circus

The media themselves “became famous” during the briefings – or at least their voices did, she added, so expect some of that to appear. “That whole set up was so bizarre. It was a strange set up, it was such a totally controlled environment. And we all tuned in.”

So much material captured on camera, she added almost gleefully.

“The new premier, Andrew Furey, looked a bit like a scared rabbit for a while and (Dr.) Haggie, well he’s always like a bull in a china shop anyway, so he didn’t care about how he came across. It was pretty clear (Dr. Fitzgerald) did not think that an election should have happened, so the way that she would try to avoid that question, but her body language was always really clear. That’s material for us of course.”

Jim Payne and Tina Randell return. As do Michael Power and Rick Boland, just to name a few. “We got a great crowd that people are used to. I really hope that audiences come out. I think everybody needs to laugh and smile and just have some collective time together in a room where we’re feeling good. I think that in itself is an exciting event.”

Everyone will be safe, she stressed, and they will follow each and every protocol for each and every show.

‘A Good Time’

“Everything is controlled. Everything is being done by the rules and so it limits the number of people that are allowed in. So the only thing I would say to that is, if you want to come, go get your tickets.”

Butt says she and her merry crew are excited, in spite of the many setbacks.

“We’re really hoping that people are going to want to come out even in spite of what’s going on. Get your mask, come out, social distance and have a good time. See Revue because we won’t be doing it this winter. We’re doing it now. We’re collapsing ‘20 and ‘21 into the one show, so if you want to come and see us all and spend some time with us and hopefully have a good time, then please do come out and see the show.” The show, she added, must go on and it will all be there – comedy and music and fun for all.

“We still want to share the show and we want people to come and see it and hopefully enjoy it. I won’t be able to give everybody a hug. I suppose that’s the only thing I find that’s really hard. But, I’ll be able to wear a mask and smile at them from a distance. That’s worth something to me.”

Butt added that even a mask can’t totally hide familiar faces or the joy felt at sharing humour with others. “There’s so many faces that we see every year. We’ve been doing this show since 1984. That kind of tells how old Rick (Boland) and I are. So we hope that people will come and share time with us. We are just going to be happy to see people.”

For more, including show times, visit www.risingtidetheatre.com

CONCERT | Shanneyganock Announces Arts and Culture Centre Tour

Herald Staff — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 12:53:03 +0000

The b’ys are back on the road! Shanneyganock are set to hit the road this fall for a series of all-age engagements across the province at Arts and Culture Centres.

The tour kicks off on October 30th in St. John’s and includes stops in Gander, Grand Falls-Windsor, Stephenville, Corner Brook and includes a pair of performances in Labrador West on November 30th and December 1st.

TICKETS: $35 Full Price ( HST & Service Charge Included)

DATES/ LOCATION/ BOX OFFICE NUMBERS:
Click a date below to buy tickets to that location. At this time only pairs of tickets are available online. For single or group tickets please call the box office.

October 30, 2021
ST. JOHN’S, Arts & Culture Centre
709-729-3900
sjboxoffice@artsandculturecentre.com

November 4, 2021
GANDER, Joseph R Smallwood Arts & Culture Centre
709-256-1081
gaboxoffice@artsandculturecentre.com

November 5, 2021
GRAND FALLS-WINDSOR, Gordon Pinsent Centre for the Arts
709-292-4518
gfwboxoffice@artsandculturecentre.com

November 6, 2021
STEPHENVILLE, Arts & Culture Centre
709-643-4553
svboxoffice@artsandculturecentre.com

November 7, 2021
CORNER BROOK, Arts & Culture Centre
709-637-2580
cbboxoffice@artsandculturecentre.com

November 30 & December 1, 2021
Labrador West, Arts & Culture Centre
709-944-7132
lwboxoffice@artsandculturecentre.com

Shanneyganock’s Chris Andrews recently caught up with The Herald for a deep-dive on the band and return to live performance. Check out that in-depth one on one here!

EVENTS | Iceberg Alley Performance Tent Returns this September

Herald Staff — Tue, 06 Jul 2021 13:30:16 +0000

It’s back! The Iceberg Alley Performance Tent is returning after a year hiatus due to COVID-19. Officials for the annual concert event at Quidi Vidi announced the return of the festival in an anticipated video launch today.

“Iceberg Alley Performance Tent Set to Return September 2021! The Iceberg Alley Performance Tent has been working closely with public health officials to ensure a safe and enjoyable event for all,” the event’s social medias shared. We are excited to announce this year’s event will once again take place on the banks of Quidi Vidi in St. John’s from September 8-18, 2021.

RETURN TO THE STAGE

“The safety of concertgoers and our employees is our main priority; therefore, enhanced safety measures and contingency plans are in place. Remember being fully vaccinated is the safest way for everyone to enjoy a concert. Featured performers and ticketing information will be announced in the coming days.

Previous instalments of the now must-attend September-music-extravaganza have included industry greats Our Lady Peace, Billy Talent, Big Wreck, Serena Ryder, Bret Michaels, Steve Earle and Metric alongside fantastic rising and established locals, from Alan Doyle to Shanneyganock and more.

For further updates on this year’s event visit icebergalleyconcerts.com and stay tuned to The Newfoundland Herald for artist announcements and ticket information on the annual Iceberg Alley Performance Tent.

Artist Spotlight: Nico Paulo’s Lockdown Lyrics

Herald Staff — Mon, 19 Apr 2021 12:30:27 +0000

Portuguese-Canadian singer-songwriter Nico Paulo dives into her intimate new EP and a newfound love of this province and its people

The COVID-19 pandemic has, and continues to, make for strange, metaphoric bedfellows.

Reflecting on the past year of largely lockdown-living and I’m sure the bulk of us can confidently say everything has not gone according to plan. But for those rare few, silver linings have emerged from the fog, and just maybe life has lined up just as it should.

FOG’S SILVER LINING

Nico Paulo can count herself in that category.

A rising singer-songwriter originally hailing from Portugal who called Ontario home for seven years, it was love and lockdown-life that brought her to Newfoundland and Labrador in the summer of 2020. Yet it is a newfound affection for this place and people that keeps her here.

“I remember the first times I came here, I would think to myself, I wish that all my friends in Toronto could see this side of Canada,” Paulo shares in a one-on-one with The Herald.

“I think, especially within the Portuguese communities in Toronto or in Montreal, it’s like super close,” Paulo says. “People don’t really go outside.”

“They might go to warmer destinations in The States or a beach island vibe to travel to because it’s a different lifestyle. I feel like people don’t travel that much within Canada,… from what I know, and I feel like this is such a shame, because this is so beautiful.

“…I connected with it from the first time I came here — I feel like so many people would. In a way… I like to preserve that a little bit more.”

Nico Paulo

Safe harbour in St. John’s SAFE HARBOUR IN ST. JOHN’S

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Paulo and her partner, Juno nominated singer-songwriter Tim Baker, relocated to St. John’s in the summer of 2020, escaping the close-quarters and claustrophobic state of Toronto-quarantine for the freedoms afforded through a more small-city style of living.

Summer turned to fall and then winter. Now, flying through the first quarter of 2021, the pair is showing no signs of island fatigue. In fact, quite the opposite.

Paulo, who began writing original material in 2014, recently released her new EP: Live At First Light, her first release since 2020’s celebrated Wave Call.

Recorded for the Lawnya Vawnya residency program in St. John’s, the three-song collection features ace collaborators Tim Baker, Adam Hogan, Steve Maloney and Mary Beth Waldram, with Michelle LaCour and Heather Kirby on recording, mixing, and mastering duties, respectively.

WATCH: Nico Paulo - "Wild Mountain Thyme" (feat: Tim Baker, Adam Hogan & Steve Maloney)

“They are so good, they’re so professional, like 100 times better than I am,” Paulo laughs of her ‘dream team’ assembled for Live At First Light.

“Everything rolled out so smoothly and we were all happy and it felt so good to be there that day. It was just really something just hanging out in such a beautiful space. The vibe, the sound. It was just like everything was like a dream, really.”

Nico Paulo

ST. JOHN’S NEWEST ARTIST TO WATCH

A rising star in the visual arts community to couple with her ever-growing profile as a singer-songwriter, Paulo aims to get back in the studio sooner rather than later for her next full-length —provided pandemic restrictions remain eased, of course.

“I do have the itch. I do have a lot of songs I had already last summer,” Paulo admits, “but I don’t know. I feel like I had different expectations for the next time I recorded a record. Like, I really wanted to have a band with me and be in a room with people.”

“And now we’re all in lockdown and nothing is normal. So I have been a little bit let down about that, I’m not going to lie. And I think pushing this EP out is helping me to at least complete something and have something out. But the plan is to start organizing the songs that I already had last summer and the songs that I’ve been writing since I moved here and have a full length.”

A SENSE OF COMMUNITY

One thing is for certain in a period of looming uncertainties, Paulo has a newfound home-away-from-home on The Rock, supported wholeheartedly by her partner, peers, and the community at large.

“I feel very supported by every single person. I mean, I’ve been very happy with how friendly and how open everyone is and has been with musicians and artists. I just don’t know how to describe it,” she says thoughtfully.

“Now I can see a little bit more behind what Tim is and understand it better because I’m here.”

For more on Nico Paulo’s work, follow her on Instagram, or click here to shop music!

Battle, Struggle and Victory of Hillsburn

Herald Staff — Fri, 27 May 2016 18:45:53 +0000

Nova Scotia Band’s Busy Year Includes Stops on the rock. Blink and you’ll miss Hillsburn, Nova Scotia, nestled alongside the Bay of Fundy. According to Rosanna Burrill, one of the singers in the five-piece folk group of the same name, it’s a hidden gem worth discovering.

The same can be said of the band Hillsburn—although, if this year is any indication, it’s not likely they’ll be hidden much longer.

“Paul [Aarntzen] lived on a beautiful creek with his dog,” she said, recalling how herself, her brother Clayton, and Jackson Fairfax-Perry spent a weekend there in 2014, playing songs Aarntzen had written. It was the first time the songwriter had allowed his songs to be transformed to a fuller group arrangement, now a defining feature of the band.

“I think that that was a pretty momentous occasion, because it was the start of us spending literally all of our time together. A lot of what we do comes out of bringing all of those elements of ourselves together in that place—when I think of Hillsburn, I think of that house. When I’m on stage, I’m thinking of the creek.”

‘Momentous Occasion’

After only a few sessions in the remote Nova Scotia town, the members of Hillsburn committed entirely to the project.

“Very rarely in your life do you experience something where you’re just completely with a sense that this is the thing that you need to be doing right now,” Burrill said. “When we sat down in Hillsburn, playing for 12 hours straight, we were just like, ‘Oh, this is a real thing.’ It was just a clear picture that presented itself to us. And that’s not to say it hasn’t been hard, but when you do something and it feels that right, right away, you know that you have to just do it and figure out the rest later.”

The rest seems to be figuring itself out pretty well. The group released a self-titled EP in October of that year which led them to a top ten spot in CBC’s national Searchlight competition. Now joined by percussionist Clare Macdonald, Hillsburn released a full length album, In The Battle Years, in March 2016, and are set to embark on their first ever tour, including stops at the Montreal Folk Festival, The Stan Rogers Folk Festival, and five performances across Newfoundland.

The Battle Years

In The Battle Years is immediately a sing-along record of toe-tappers, with the Americana vibes of The Lumineers and the powerful male and female vocal balance of The Civil Wars, yet there’s something just beneath the surface. Take, for example, the despondent resignation in When We Were Young over a lively ukulele and fiddle melody: “I’m pretty sure I will never learn to speak a second language / I’m pretty sure you will never learn what made your father run.”

Or the painfully beautiful Like The Winter, which cuts through the frost of a breakup with stirring harmonies and the simple reassurance in the line: “And daylight comes often / No reason to cry out your eyes.”

It’s the seamless blend of whimsical, raucousness, and sadness that makes this debut album stand out.

“There’s a lot of struggle in living, just in being human,” Burrill said. “But not only is there struggle, there is intense joy and happiness. I think that’s really what Paul is great at—really writing about what is real and what is painful, but in a way that doesn’t make you feel like the world is going to end.”

‘Working for Something’

It’s not surprising then that the band selected In The Battle Years, a line from the surprisingly sparse “Ava,” to title their project. “It speaks to where we’ve all made the decision to put ourselves. We’re in the years where we’re working for something—we really do, wholeheartedly, believe that what we’re doing is the thing that we need to be doing.”

Despite coming into their own as a band, Hillsburn is sticking to their formula of transforming Aarntzen’s songs as they look to a new album in 2017. “He’s just so good. When you have that fountain of words coming out at you, you don’t want to let it go!”

For now, however, this band to watch is looking forward to their first time playing in this province. “I’m really excited to go to Gros Morne—I hiked Gros Morne as a nine-year-old,” Burrill laughed. “Just ridiculous!”

Maybe the battle years cut across all ages after all—but the view from the top is always just as rewarding.

Hillsburn will be performing May 31 to June 4, in Corner Brook, Norris Point, Stephenville, St. John’s & Bonavista.