Welcome to the Acoustic Harvest – Live Music East Newsletter.
This is our first newsletter and since the club is embarking on its 22nd season you might well ask “why now?”. Well, there are a couple of reasons, one being that some changes are coming to Acoustic Harvest. The biggest change was forced upon us but as we met to discuss how to move forward, or even if we should, we embraced the change and found ourselves energized and excited for a new chapter in the AH story and we want to share that renewed sense of purpose with you. So, our big news…
We are moving!
June 4th, the final concert of the season was also our last concert at Robinson Hall in St. Nicholas Anglican Church. The church is undergoing extensive renovations and let us know that we’d have to relocate, but thankfully they gave us plenty of notice because it was quite a search to find our new home. We’ve landed at St. Paul’s United Church (SPU) www.stpaulsscarborough.org. We’ve received a great welcome from the church and are looking forward to a long and happy relationship.
We’d been at St.Nicks for over ten years so there was a little sadness that night but opening act Over The Moon www.overthemoonband.com and headliners Steel Rail www.steelrail.com made for a great farewell.
Now, just to confuse things a bit, the first two concerts of the season will be in the Great Hall at the Beach United Church as SPU wasn’t available for those dates.
Our New Concert Season begins on September 5th with a special concert by the Zimbabwean group Black Umfolosi www.blackumfolosimusic.com Check them out on Youtube for a taste of what promises to be a memorable event.
“Their performances are energy driven and completely engaging, mixing a great gentleness of spirit and song with an exuberance in dance. Their trademark harmonies mixed with intricate rhythms clicking and clapping are highlighted during their brilliantly choreographed shows with a full range of movements from subtle to vibrant stomping and leaping. Their famous Gumboot Dances showcase the traditional styles and rituals of the South African mining regions and are a particular crowd pleaser” _ www.jproductions.com
Please note: September 5th is a Wednesday.
Coming up next, on September 22nd we present A Cabaret Evening with John Sheard and Mary Kelly.
Maybe the word cabaret to describe an Acoustic Harvest concert will raise a few eyebrows but I can promise you that this opportunity to see Mary Kelly in concert is not to be missed, it happens all too rarely as her acting career takes up more and more of her time. Coming from Nova Scotia Mary was thrilled to find a rich, vibrant folk music community in Toronto, one which she says was “full of talent, big generous personalities and magical stories”. That’s actually a pretty good description of Mary herself, a bubbly outgoing personality and a voice to die for, Mary is from a long line of storytellers and believes no story is too big or too fantastic if it’s told with grace and wit. A song interpreter of great depth and subtlety Mary’s repertoire ranges from traditional to modern classics and hymns, all of them chosen because they mean something special to her and, as she so beautifully puts it, “express the spirit of life’s truth, if not always its facts”
John Sheard is a household name for many folkies and fans of Vinyl Café where he was Stuart McLean’s music director and, with Chris Whiteley, pretty much the house band. As a pianist, composer and producer he’s performed and recorded with Ron Hynes, Jackie Washington, Ian Tyson and many, many more; you can find out who (some may surprise you) at www.johnsheardmusic.com
Steve Pritchard has been a fixture on the bluegrass and folk music scene for many years now and is a stalwart supporter of Acoustic Harvest. He’s also the host of Radio Boogie on Wednesdays from 4-6 on CIUT 89.5fm. On August 29th his guests will be Lillian Wauthier and Heather Fielding so please tune in to find out more about our upcoming season.
A word about sponsorship. We always knew we had a good deal at St. Nicholas but we didn’t realize how good until we started looking at other venues. We’re happy with our move and think we’ve negotiated a deal that’s fair for both parties, but still, our costs will be going up considerably. Acoustic Harvest has always been organized by volunteers with all proceeds, minus expenses, going to the artist and this is something we won’t change, so we will not raise the ticket price. We are looking for sponsorships to offset the increased costs and if you’d like to know more or have any suggestions, please contact [email protected] or Judy Fink at: [email protected].
Heather Fielding
This is our first newsletter and since the club is embarking on its 22nd season you might well ask “why now?”. Well, there are a couple of reasons, one being that some changes are coming to Acoustic Harvest. The biggest change was forced upon us but as we met to discuss how to move forward, or even if we should, we embraced the change and found ourselves energized and excited for a new chapter in the AH story and we want to share that renewed sense of purpose with you. So, our big news…
We are moving!
June 4th, the final concert of the season was also our last concert at Robinson Hall in St. Nicholas Anglican Church. The church is undergoing extensive renovations and let us know that we’d have to relocate, but thankfully they gave us plenty of notice because it was quite a search to find our new home. We’ve landed at St. Paul’s United Church (SPU) www.stpaulsscarborough.org. We’ve received a great welcome from the church and are looking forward to a long and happy relationship.
We’d been at St.Nicks for over ten years so there was a little sadness that night but opening act Over The Moon www.overthemoonband.com and headliners Steel Rail www.steelrail.com made for a great farewell.
Now, just to confuse things a bit, the first two concerts of the season will be in the Great Hall at the Beach United Church as SPU wasn’t available for those dates.
Our New Concert Season begins on September 5th with a special concert by the Zimbabwean group Black Umfolosi www.blackumfolosimusic.com Check them out on Youtube for a taste of what promises to be a memorable event.
“Their performances are energy driven and completely engaging, mixing a great gentleness of spirit and song with an exuberance in dance. Their trademark harmonies mixed with intricate rhythms clicking and clapping are highlighted during their brilliantly choreographed shows with a full range of movements from subtle to vibrant stomping and leaping. Their famous Gumboot Dances showcase the traditional styles and rituals of the South African mining regions and are a particular crowd pleaser” _ www.jproductions.com
Please note: September 5th is a Wednesday.
Coming up next, on September 22nd we present A Cabaret Evening with John Sheard and Mary Kelly.
Maybe the word cabaret to describe an Acoustic Harvest concert will raise a few eyebrows but I can promise you that this opportunity to see Mary Kelly in concert is not to be missed, it happens all too rarely as her acting career takes up more and more of her time. Coming from Nova Scotia Mary was thrilled to find a rich, vibrant folk music community in Toronto, one which she says was “full of talent, big generous personalities and magical stories”. That’s actually a pretty good description of Mary herself, a bubbly outgoing personality and a voice to die for, Mary is from a long line of storytellers and believes no story is too big or too fantastic if it’s told with grace and wit. A song interpreter of great depth and subtlety Mary’s repertoire ranges from traditional to modern classics and hymns, all of them chosen because they mean something special to her and, as she so beautifully puts it, “express the spirit of life’s truth, if not always its facts”
John Sheard is a household name for many folkies and fans of Vinyl Café where he was Stuart McLean’s music director and, with Chris Whiteley, pretty much the house band. As a pianist, composer and producer he’s performed and recorded with Ron Hynes, Jackie Washington, Ian Tyson and many, many more; you can find out who (some may surprise you) at www.johnsheardmusic.com
Steve Pritchard has been a fixture on the bluegrass and folk music scene for many years now and is a stalwart supporter of Acoustic Harvest. He’s also the host of Radio Boogie on Wednesdays from 4-6 on CIUT 89.5fm. On August 29th his guests will be Lillian Wauthier and Heather Fielding so please tune in to find out more about our upcoming season.
A word about sponsorship. We always knew we had a good deal at St. Nicholas but we didn’t realize how good until we started looking at other venues. We’re happy with our move and think we’ve negotiated a deal that’s fair for both parties, but still, our costs will be going up considerably. Acoustic Harvest has always been organized by volunteers with all proceeds, minus expenses, going to the artist and this is something we won’t change, so we will not raise the ticket price. We are looking for sponsorships to offset the increased costs and if you’d like to know more or have any suggestions, please contact [email protected] or Judy Fink at: [email protected].
Heather Fielding
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