Opening Act: Brontae Hunter
Desboro Music Hall 2017 Concert Series
All Ages Doors Open: 7pm, Music Starts: 7:30pm
Tickets:Â Advance: $20Â ($17.70 +HST), Regular: $25Â ($22.12 +HST)
*Advance tickets are only available up to the Box Office hours the weekend before the show or we run out (Note: there is a limit of 25 advance price tickets)
James Hill & Anne Janelle
Four strings and a favourite chocolate bar: that’s all James Hill â âpossibly the best ukulele player in the worldâ (Waikato Times) â and Anne Janelle â âa cellist of true beautyâ (Ottawa Citizen) â had in common when they first met. It was more than enough. Today, they’re an award-winning, âutterly world-classâ singer-songwriter-ukulele-cello duo (Paul Symes, The Blacksheep Inn). Itâs true: opposites attract. James grew up playing folk, jazz and blues on his ukulele while Anne was exclusively a classical cellist. But the pairâs differences quickly became their biggest asset. The uke is high, the cello is low; the uke plays short notes, the cello long bow strokes; the uke is all about strumming while the cello radiates melody. Like shadows and light in an old photograph, these contrasts are complementary. âWeâre like a pair of dancers who canât step on each otherâs feet,â jokes James. Flash back to 2008. Anne was working on her Masterâs degree in cello performance at the University of Ottawa while James was wowing crowds with his ukulele wizardry at festivals across North America, on a mission âto prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that in the right hands the uke can be a formidable axeâ (Ann Arbor News). And then, one email changed the course of their musical lives. James and Anne were selected to record a track for a compilation album called Classical Ukulele for release in Japan. âIf it werenât for that recording project,â confides Anne, âI donât think we ever would have started playing together. It just wouldnât have occurred to us.â Often the most obvious thing is the thing thatâs most easily overlooked. âWe chose Schubertâs Ave Maria and arranged it for ukulele and cello. We recorded it in a tiny practise cubicle at the university!â The result? âAbsolutely brilliantâ (The Folk Diary). Naturally the next step was to release a duo album and, so, True Love Donât Weep was born. The album garnered a Canadian Folk Music Award for Best Traditional Album of the Year in 2009. A mixture of traditional tunes with âfresh vitalityâ (Country Music People) and, for the first time, original songs, True Love Donât Weep showcased the duoâs ability âto capture the soul of a song.â (Folk World). By this time, Anne had completed her degree and the pair were performing regularly, bringing their âinstinctive musical interaction and contagious enthusiasmâ (Ottawa Citizen) to audiences across five continents. Since True Love Donât Weep, James and Anne have each released two solo albums each (Jamesâ Man with a Love Song and The Old Silo; Anneâs Beauty Remains and So Long at the Fair) and toured in over 15 countries, making their mark not only as accomplished instrumentalists but also as some of the finest songwriters of their generation. 2016 marks the return of the duo in full force. âWe walked our separate musical paths for a while, but I think we both came to realize, each in our own way, that the duo is our strongest musical offering. There is passion, there is diversity, there are many levels with which an audience can engage with our music when itâs not one or the other but both of us.â reveals Anne. Together, James and Anne craft a sound that is intricate, enchanting and engaging: âa crystal clear sound filled with warmthâ (Bob Mersereau, CBC). In concert, James is âa dazzling performer with a genial, low-key sense of humourâ (Edmonton Journal) and Anne brings her âgorgeous syrupy voiceâ (Acoustic Magazine) to songs that are âinventive, entertaining, beautifully written and brilliantly performedâ (R2 Magazine). In short, a night out with James Hill & Anne Janelle is âthe perfect evening of tunes, stories and musical virtuosityâ (Wellington Dominion-Post).
James & Anne Website
James & Anne Facebook
James & Anne Twitter
James and Anne Photos by Ed Boulter Photography
Brontae Hunter
Brontae Hunter is a performing artist who currently lives in Stratford, Ontario. Although she concentrates on acting, she is passionate about the live arts and what they bring to our quickly evolving culture. Previous projects she is most proud of include directing Innocence Lost: a play about Steven Truscott, producing and performing in The Women of Broadway and Beyond in Stratford’s factory 163, playing at Summerfolk along with the youth discoveries, and curating the performance collective For Our Stolen Sisters to raise funds and awareness for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Woman crisis. In the fall, she plans to attend a conservatory style acting program. She looks forward to pursuing a career, in hopes of enriching the lives of others and starting important conversations through the medium of the performing arts. Check out her video and an original song on Facebook
Opening Act: Rob Elder
Desboro Music Hall 2017 Concert Series
All Ages
Doors Open: 7pm, Music Starts: 7:30pm
Tickets:Â Advance: $20Â ($17.70 +HST), Regular: $25Â ($22.12 +HST)
*Advance tickets are only available up to the Box Office hours the weekend before the show or we run out (Note: there is a limit of 25 advance price tickets)
Ben Kunder
Part carpenter; Part actor; Canadian singer-songwriter Ben Kunder has spent years honing his craft to become a full time musician. On May 26, 2015, Ben ventured closer to making this a reality with the release of his DEBUT solo LP, Golden.With a voice that truly fills your heart and keeps you warm, Ben writes songs that everyone can relate to. His powerful voice is a driving force in his music, guiding his songs by creating impressive and tactful melodies and dynamics.
Exclaim! declared, âKunder’s extra special voice, along with gorgeous production, lends the record an almost velvety quality.â While NewCanadianMusic said the album: âfeatures strong and warm vocals, nicely-crafted folk-rock songs, and top-notch production and playing,â and the Toronto Star had this to say about Ben – âheâs got the kind of mellow sincerity in his voice to take it beyond generic country-pop.â
No stranger to the Canadian music community, Ben has been writing and producing his music independently for over 7 years. Through a chance meeting with John Dinsmore (NQ Arbuckle), the pair hunkered down at Johnâs, Lincoln County Social Club studio to co-produce Golden. The album features 9 stunning original songs by Ben, including the first single and title track, Golden. Ben (guitar, vox, and piano) is joined by a group of Canada’s finest musicians for the studio recording, featuring Brian Murphy (Alvvays) on guitar/piano/Wurlitzer, Rich Knox (Dustin Bentall, Danko Jones) on drums/vox, Anna Ruddick (Ladies of the Canyon, Randy Bachman) on bass/vox, and Aaron Goldstein (Cowboy Junkies, Daniel Romano) on pedal steel. Also John Connolly lends his voice, along with Kirty, Maia Davies (Ladies of the Canyon) and Jasmine Bleile (Ladies of the Canyon) for select tracks.
Ben has lived all across the beautiful country of Canada, from his solar powered cabin on Salt Spring Island, BC, where he spent his days chopping wood and chasing deer from the garden, to Charlottetown, PEI, working at the Confederation Centre for the Arts. Now, Ben is back to where he started his journey in his hometown of Toronto. Golden is an album that pushed Ben to new levels, and will surely see him reach new heights in his career.
Sarah MacDougall
Described by the magazine Rootstime in Belgium as âOne of the greatest talents of our eraâ, and listed as the â2nd best gigâ by the major UK newspaper The Independent, becoming the #1 most played artist on Canadian Galaxie Folk/Roots radio, Western Canadian Music Award winning artist Sarah MacDougall is getting known for her honest and poetic songs, passionate performances, and unique voice. Born in Sweden, Swedish magazine Nöjesguiden declared her âOne of Swedenâs best singer/songwritersâ.
Since the release of award-winning The Greatest Ones Alive in 2011, Sarah has been touring Canada and Europe endlessly, taking time to work on songs and record between tours. Last winter, she hunkered down under the Northern Lights in Whitehorse and put the final touches on the sonically rich album which was to become Grand Canyon. The album, co-produced by Sarah and Caleb Stull (Field Study, Dominique Fricot, Language Arts), which was recorded in Toronto and Vancouver, features 8 songs and guest appearances from Erika Angell (Thus:Owls), Rose Cousins, Jesse Zubot (Tanya Tagaq, Dan Mangan), Peggy Lee, and Leah Abramson (Abramson Singers). Stepping outside of traditional folk and flirting with sounds that could have come from The Postal Service or Kate Bush, Grand Canyon keeps the acoustic guitar but infuses the sound with heavier drums and richly textured strings and synths.
The songs are about identity, love, fear, hope, growing up, rootlessness, forgiveness. They are written from the point of view of the hopeful outsider, trying to figure out their place and make sense of the world. Grand Canyon sees Sarah challenging herself and pushing new boundaries musically and sonically, and it is an album that will surely see Sarah reach new levels in her career.
Ben Kunder Website
Ben Kunder Facebook
Ben Kunder Twitter
Sarah MacDougall Website
Sarah MacDougall Facebook
Ben and Sarah’s Photos by Scarlet O’Neill
Rob Elder
Robâs music is real-life-inspired. His energy and stage presence draw people in and keep them like dinner guests at a Muskoka cottage, while his song writing has simmered and aged to a vintage that takes an audience on a vivid trip along his unique perspective of life and love. From smooth acoustic ballads about girls and things, to his âjump out of your seats and danceâ multi-layered, live-looping ⊠the music keeps coming and you canât turn away.
Rob Elder Website
Rob’s Photos by Amber Vee Photography