After three years under our belts here at Streaming Café, we’ve covered a lot of musical territory. Though primarily an indie-folk-acoustic-pop-alternative venue (okay, you try classifying the artists we bring in around here…), we’ve had full-on pop artists and bands, deep country and true folk singer/songwriters, wailing blues harp artists, intelligent jazz, straight-ahead rock and roll and Juno-award winning gospel artists, to list some of the genres we’ve enjoyed. We even hosted a heavy metal band one night, although there is no record of that because the producer forgot to hit the record button… (not naming names, but it was neither Joel nor Martin that forgot).
Every once in a while our enthusiasm for the music gets the best of us, and hosting a single amazing artist becomes not enough; on those nights we break out of the confines of “two sets joined by a break” and head into the territory of booking multiple artists for the same event. Following hard after the tradition of our Valentines Day Jazz Night and our Fall Blues Fest, and gleaning everything we could learn from our Breakout West host-venue experiences, we’ve pulled together this Music Fest for the end of April to feature some of our favourite artists.
No, this time around there is no holiday theme around which we’ve grouped these artists, and our lack of confidence in the weather lately left us unwilling to call this our “Spring” music fest (one must actually have warm weather to feel one is enjoying Spring). We just like each of these performers, and when it turned out they were all in the area at roughly the same time we thought, “What a great excuse to have another Music Fest!”
Cara Luft is the one artist at this Music Fest who has never played Streaming Café before. But don’t let that fool you; Cara is anything but a newcomer to the music scene. A line in her bio reads: “Cara played with dulcimers and autoharps while her peers played with Barbies and Nintendo” – which is the legacy that comes from being born into a musical family. And if you’ve been awake long enough you’ll know the name “The Wailin’ Jennys”, the Juno-winning group of which Cara was an original founding member. This lady has put in her time!And it shows in her performances; after her time with them, Calgary’s Foothills Acoustic Music Institute said, “Cara Luft was fantastic... the most musical fun we have had in a long long time... [you] would be foolish not to snap her up!”
Cara Luft has been based in Winnipeg for the last few years, which is a good central point for touring in Canada. Cara says she’s been doing a lot more driving than usual, and has even popped down across the line to that other country down there to do a few shows.
We’re privileged to be on Luft’s pre-release tour in support of her new album, Darlingford. The record will be officially released across Canada and Europe in May, but it will debut for the first time at a CD release party on April 13 in Winnipeg. And Cara has promised that folks attending her shows out West here (she will be in Cranbrook and Vernon as well as Kelowna when she’s here in BC this month) will be able to pick up a copy of the CD (as long as they pay for it and promise not to tell anyone they got it early). If you’ve never heard this talented young woman, here’s a link to check out some of her music: http://www.myspace.com/caraluftmusic
Andy Shauf needs no introduction to regular SC fans. Shauf has logged three appearances in front of the wood wall already (November ’09, November ’10, and May ’11), and his local fan base grows by leaps and bounds every time he blows through town. Andy’s name alone on the docket means tickets will move fast for this event, so don’t hesitate if you’re hoping to catch the Shaufster this time around. And if you’ve never seen/heard Andy before, there are lots of examples of his music on our website, ready for your listening pleasure.
James Lamb has already been here twice as the name artist (June ’09 and May ’11) plus other occasions as a supporting cast member for artists such as Sara Ciantar and an integral part of the group Buffaloswans. He’s getting close to setting the all-time attendance record…
James gets regular CBC Radio airplay, and it’s always a treat to have him play. Just like Andy, if you’ve never seen/heard James Lamb perform, check out the vids of his earlier performances here at SC; he’ll be an integral part of this Music Fest on the 28th.
Long-time SC regulars may recall Jordan Klassen, who first played here in August of 2010. And even if you haven’t been an SC regular for that long, chances are you may have heard Klassen’s music elsewhere: “Go To Me”, from Klassen’s EP Kindness, was placed in last year’s movie Catch .44 (starring Bruce Willis and Forrest Whitaker), and other tracks have been part of TV series such as USA Network’s Royal Pains and the upcoming iTunes version of the series Felicity.All in all, this evening should be a great night of old favourites and fresh new faces. Mark your calendar: April 28, 7:00 p.m. Pacific. Catch the music and the action in person at 596 Leon Ave in Kelowna or online at www.streamingcafe.net.
And remember: you’ve got to have a ticket to get into this one, so don’t be disappointed! Online purchases can be had from http://streamingcafeonenightmusicfest.eventbrite.ca/ and physical tickets can be found at the physical café in downtown Kelowna, 596 Leon Ave (which, coincidentally, is where the Music Fest will be! Weird, eh?)
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