The Mid Island Bluegrass Society (MIBS) has lined up some musical entertainment Sunday, March 11 at the Lighthouse Community Centre in Qualicum Bay for the monthly pancake breakfast.
The dynamic bluegrass duo Chris Stevens and John Milne will be live on stage. If you are not a morning person but love your bluegrass, you can catch the two award winning musicians when they perform at the Coombs Hall the night before (Saturday, March 10) with a show at 7 p.m.
Stevens who has been performing at the Coombs bluegrass festival since 1981, said he is looking forward to returning to Vancouver Island because there is a great appreciation for bluegrass here.
“We are going to tear the house down,” he stated.
As a special treat, Stevens and Milne will be giving workshops after the performance during the pancake breakfast. The workshops are $20 each and will follow the MIBS grand finale. If you want to brush up on your banjo skills, there is a lesson from 12 to 1:15 p.m. in the Nordine room. A guitar course goes from 12 to 1:15 on the stage and harmony singing takes place in the Nordine room from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.
You can sign up for workshops at info@lighthousebluegrass.com or call 250-752-0383.
Stevens is one of the hottest banjo players in the Pacific Northwest and he and Milne play in the Stevens Family Bluegrass Band from Eagle Bay in the interior of B.C. Stevens has recorded for some of the industries most demanding and accomplished jingle houses, producers and artists.
Whether on banjo, acoustic guitar, mandolin, dobro or vocals, his instrumental abilities are in high demand. Stevens who has been teaching for over 30 years has been invited to teach workshops all over the world, helping spread the bluegrass ways.
When Stevens left Ontario in 1981 and showed up on the West Coast he immediately became a driving force in the B. C., Washington and Oregon bluegrass scene. As a sought-after banjo stylist, he provided performance and recording duties for bands like Whistlestop, Border Ride, Southern Sounds, Rural Delivery, Backroads and Dusty Acres.
Nineteen-ninety proved to be the beginning of the ‘Tumbleweed years’. Stevens, along with his sisters Cathy-Anne Whitworth and Trisha Gagnon, stormed the West Coast music scene with the newly formed band Tumbleweed.
The dynamic combo, with the additions of Michael Heiden and Dave Schryver hit the ground running. During the next 10 years, they toured the world playing the leading country/bluegrass festivals and concerts and winning awards for instrument, vocal and album accomplishments including BCCMA album of the year for the album Weedgarden and BCCMA group of the year.
Tickets for the March 10 show at the Coombs Hall on the rodeo grounds are $12 at the door.
The pancake breakfast performance on March 11 is free and runs from 11 a.m. until noon at the Lighthouse Community Hall in Qualicum Bay.