Sara Marreiros, Victoria’s master of Portuguese fado will be back in town this weekend performing with pianist Ron Hadley at the Old Dutch Inn.
Her music has been described as evocative and soulful, and when she sings in Portuguese she embodies the music she grew up listening to.
Marreiros takes the audience from delight to despair and back again when she sings the traditional folk music.
Portuguese fado is best heard in a small venue and The Old Dutch Inn is the perfect setting to enjoy the Victoria vocalist.
Marreiros will be performing at the Qualicum Beach restaurant accompanied by pianist Ron Hadley on May 18 and 19
She sings in both English and Portuguese; everything from fado to bossa nova/samba and jazz to country and western.
The remarkable vocalist has been discovering her own voice by merging the music of her roots and the music she came of age with.
Fado is to Portugal what flamenco is to Spain and what the blues are to the American South.
Marrieros grew up spending time in her father’s village in Portugal. Her mother’s love of improvisational music led her to study jazz in high school where she discovered that singing, not flute or saxophone, was her passion.
She began performing with Djole, sang jazz in clubs, turned up at local improv nights, and started working in electronica.
She could always hear the siren song of fado, but it wasn’t until her heart had its own cruel experiences with life that she felt ready to sing the music she had heard since she was a girl. Her father helped her find her way into the many layers of meaning that are so much a part of fado and a whole new musical world began to open.
She studied the history of the music and traced its roots back to the influences from which different styles evolved.
Marreiros said although she was born with musical talent, she has done plenty of training and she is constantly learning, pushing her voice and herself to try new things.
“There has been a lot of training and welcoming other sounds and embracing other ways to sing…but it has evolved in an organic way. I like to challenge myself by learning different languages to sing.”
She said she learned Portuguese when she learned English but having that second language growing up helped her wrap her mouth around the words of other languages.
She admitted that she still finds singing to a Brazilian crowd challenging sometimes.
“I stumble occasionally but if your heart is in the moment you improvise and you embrace those moments and have fun with them because often wonderful things come out of mistakes,” she admitted.
Marreiros said she loves singing in all venues and enjoys coming to Qualicum Beach to perform with Hadley.
“I do my best to be centered in whatever space I am in. It doesn’t matter what the space is if you are connecting with the people in the room.”
If you are looking for outstanding music and a great food you should check out Marreiros at The Old Dutch Inn. The Friday and Saturday night entertainment gets going at 6 p.m.
For reservations call 250-752-6914 or visit www.olddutchiin.com.