Parksville will be the latest stop for blues piano player David Vest in his life as a travelling musician.
Presented by the Oceanside Community Arts Council, Vest’s Parksville concert will be held on Friday, April 24 at St. Anne St. Edmunds Church in Parksville.
Onstage with Big Joe Turner and opening for Roy Orbison before he was old enough to vote, Vest has also played with blues giants like Bo Diddley, Jimmy “T99” Nelson, and Hubert Sumlin. He also wrote the first songs recorded by Tammy Wynette.
More recently, Vest has played piano on Bill Johnson’s JUNO-nominated album Still Blue and on David Gogo’s 2014 JUNO-nominated record Come On Down.
He’s also been nominated for a few awards himself. Vest has received five Muddy Awards from the Cascade Blues Association, including one for best keyboard player. He won the 2012 Maple Blues Award for keyboard/piano player of the year and his 2012 album East Meets Vest was also nominated for best recording of the year by the same organization.
He has also been credited with keeping an important part of Americana alive, and his new release Roadhouse Revelation is already receiving accolades.
While Alabama-born Vest is currently signed to the Canadian independent label Cordova Bay Records and lives in Victoria, he continues to tour extensively. He can be found from small blues joints to large blues festivals across North America, where he regales crowds with his authentic blues sound and stories about the fascinating life of music on the road.
Vest’s local performance will starts at 7 p.m., with doors opening at 6:30p.m.
Tickets are $12 for OCAC members and $15 general admission and can be purchased in advance from St. Anne & St. Edmunds Church or the McMillan Arts Centre.
For more info, contact the MAC at 250-248-8185 or info@mcmillanartscentre.com.
—NEWS Staff/OCAC