Canadian music legend Stephen Fearing is returning to Errington for a show tomorrow night with songwriter and author Andy White. Fearing has a number of Juno awards under his belt, turning heads in his solo performances as well as with his celebrated group Blackie and the Rodeo Kings.
White is originally from Belfast, N. Ireland and has received a number of prestigious songwriting awards over the years. He has also collaborated with artists like Peter Gabriel, Sinead O’Connor and Tim Finn.
Fearing met White backstage at the Winnipeg Folk Festival in 1998. The two were fast friends and began a series of co-writing sessions at Fearing’s home in Guelph, Ontario. After a decade of these informal sessions, they bit the bullet and recorded their acclaimed 2011 debut, Fearing & White.
For their follow-up, Tea and Confidences (LowdenProud Records), Fearing and White decided to take a different approach to the creative process. With Fearing having recently relocated to Nova Scotia, and Andy living in Melbourne, Australia, it was going to require planning.
The new album started with an intense songwriting session one Halifax New Year. They reconvened later that summer and wrote the bulk of the new album in one incredible four-day sprint of inspiration between two west-coast festival weekends in Vancouver and Salt Spring Island.
Six months later, they booked back into The Cottage studio in Guelph, with veteran drummer/percussionist Gary Craig (Bruce Cockburn), and special guests Jeff Bird (Cowboy Junkies) on harmonica and Ray Farrugia (Junkhouse) on drums.
With over twenty albums between them, Fearing & White have little to prove to anybody. But Tea and Confidences has been recognized as a strong statement from both artists, rich with big tones and filled with the pure excitement of creation.
The show at the Errington Hall begins at 8 p.m. Tickets $20 at Cranky Dog Music in Parksville, Heaven on Earth in Qualicum Beach, and the Errington Store. Youth 12 and under are $5 at the door and children under five are free.
For more on Fearing and White visit their website at www.fearingandwhite.com.
—News Staff/Submitted by Val Dare