The intimate venue at The Soundgarden in Coombs will be the setting for an unplugged concert featuring local vocalist Shelley Beeston on Saturday night.
Beeston, who has been the lead singer for the rock band Baby Jane for 15 years, will perform original tunes unplugged with Vancouver musician Robert Pegg.
For those who attended the March 10 grand opening at the Soundgarden and enjoyed the performance by Beeston and Pegg, the concert will offer another opportunity to check out the talented duo when they take to the stage May 26 at 9 p.m.
Beeston and Pegg have been playing and managing bands together for over 20 years …their latest collaboration being Baby Jane.
Baby Jane has been recognized as one of the top club bands in Canada. Recently, after many years of writing together and separately, Beeston and Pegg decided to be a duo for an unplugged show that showcases songs they have written, expanding on the ever transforming talents they both possess.
Tickets for the show are $15 and can be purchased at the Coombs General Store, and at The Shoe Inn in Qualicum Beach.
The Soundgarden is located in a former church annex turned music hall on the Coombs fairground property and since it opened back in March it has been a popular place for musicians to hang out and connect with other music lovers in District 69.
Several stellar concerts have occurred at the venue and there is quite a list of talent lined up for future performances.
The Soundgarden is presenting Up-Close and Personal with Wil on Saturday, June 2.
Wil is the consummate touring musician, developing his expansive roots-rock sound while building a dedicated following for his famously intense live shows.
His live show has earned him a nomination for Western Canada Music Awards’ entertainer of the year and his star continues to rise as a celebrated songwriter and composer.
His song Roam has become the flagship anthem for Travel Alberta’s wildly popular Remember to Breathe ad campaign. Most recently, Wil was commissioned to write the theme song Ride for this years’ 100th anniversary of the Calgary Stampede.
Wil is also in the line-up for the second annual Kulth Festival, which runs July 20 to 22 at the Coombs Rodeo Grounds.
Early festival tickets are $65 plus HST for Saturday and Sunday. Tickets go up to $75 for the month of July and will cost more at the gate. For information on where to purchase tickets visit www.thekulth.ca.
When the Kulth returns for its second year it will showcase the very best in British Columbian talent, bringing together electronic, folk, reggae and Island music.
Popular acts The Boom Booms and Kumbana Marimba will be flanked by the honorable supporting cast of Acres of Lions and multi Juno award winner Phil Dwyer.
Dwyer has played with almost everyone on the jazz scene and his current sextet, hand-picked from the west coast jazz scene will be performing music from his CBC Radio 2 commissioned Canadian Songbook Project.
Asked to re-imagine his favourite Canadian songs, Dwyer turned to the music of Joni Mitchell, The Guess Who and Ian Tyson among others to create an innovative new suite of compositions.
Dwyer, who recently won the 2012 Juno for contemporary jazz album of the year, said the group has about 10 gigs lined up for the summer and will be performing at festivals around Canada including Kulth.
He said their arrangements of pop music is a good fit for the local festival and he is looking forward to it.
“It’s going to be a good summer for the group. The Kulth festival is a decent gig … it will be fun,” he admitted and added he wanted to support the event because it is something different for the area and takes a lot of work to get going.
Dwyer’s sextet will also be performing in the upcoming Vancouver International Jazz Festival next month.