Blues

NOTE TO TICKET PURCHASERS: CLICK HERE FOR CURRENT AEOLIAN COVID POLICY BEFORE PURCHASING TICKETS The pandemic emerged as Blackie and The Rodeo Kings marked their 25th anniversary as a band with the release of King of This Town. They plan to pick up right where they left off, writing and releasing more music and hitting the performance stage as often as possible. Originally, Colin Linden, Stephen Fearing and Tom Wilson came together to record what was supposed to be a one-off tribute album to the great Canadian songwriter Willie P. Bennett. The result was High or Hurtin’: The Songs of Willie P. Bennett. The band had no plans to make a subsequent album but something unanticipated happened. “When we play together and sing together as Blackie and the Rodeo Kings. Something magical happens. We haven’t asked ourselves what it is all these years and we’re not going to start now” as Stephen Fearing describes it. Recognizing this special chemistry and the resulting joy of creating music together has brought Blackie and The Rodeo Kings back to stage and studio again and again. King of This Town is the band’s ninth release. “After each album, we are never certain we will get together to make another, but then something will happen and we are reminded of the joyride that is Blackie,” explains Tom Wilson. Twenty-five years in, while they still spend most of each year working on their individual projects, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings has organically evolved into one of the finest roots-oriented bands in North America. Tom Wilson sums up the Blackie and The Rodeo Kings journey. “25 years later, we’re still digging in for the sweet spots. Making friends with the ghosts of poets and harmonizing with the voices in fields and swinging for the fences”

COLIN LINDEN

Including every Blackie and The Rodeo Kings album, Colin Linden has produced over 100 albums. He has played as a guest musician on countless recording sessions. There are 159 pages of album credits that feature Colin Linden contributions listed at the collector site discogs.com He has played an integral role in the contributing songs and music direction to film and television. Colin served as the musical director for the live touring the cast of Nashville that featured the stellar Blackie and The Rodeo Kings rhythm section of John Dymond (bass) and Gary Craig (drums). His latest solo work was actual a duo release with Luther Dickenson entitled “Amour” on Stony Plain Records. Colin lives in Nashville. Colinlinden.com

STEPHEN FEARING

Stephen Fearing has been doing what he does best - Travelling. In 2016, Fearing moved back to Victoria BC where his career began on the West Coast in 1988 with the release of “Out To Sea”. Aside from moving across the country, has been a busy year with solo shows across Canada and quietly building a solid following in Europe and The UK. He has completed his 13th solo album “The Unconquerable Past” Stephenfearing.com

TOM WILSON

Last year Tom Wilson released his 4th album under his nom de plume LEE HARVEY OSMOND. The Album titled Mohawk references his journey and the story of his best selling memoir “Beautiful Scars” (Penguin Random House). He is focused on a follow up book and painting for his next art show. TomWilsononline.com  

NOTE TO TICKET PURCHASERS:

CLICK HERE FOR CURRENT AEOLIAN COVID POLICY BEFORE PURCHASING TICKETS The pandemic emerged as Blackie and The Rodeo Kings marked their 25th anniversary as a band with the release of King of This Town. They plan to pick up right where they left off, writing and releasing more music and hitting the performance stage as often as possible. Originally, Colin Linden, Stephen Fearing and Tom Wilson came together to record what was supposed to be a one-off tribute album to the great Canadian songwriter Willie P. Bennett. The result was High or Hurtin’: The Songs of Willie P. Bennett. The band had no plans to make a subsequent album but something unanticipated happened. “When we play together and sing together as Blackie and the Rodeo Kings. Something magical happens. We haven’t asked ourselves what it is all these years and we’re not going to start now” as Stephen Fearing describes it. Recognizing this special chemistry and the resulting joy of creating music together has brought Blackie and The Rodeo Kings back to stage and studio again and again. King of This Town is the band’s ninth release. “After each album, we are never certain we will get together to make another, but then something will happen and we are reminded of the joyride that is Blackie,” explains Tom Wilson. Twenty-five years in, while they still spend most of each year working on their individual projects, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings has organically evolved into one of the finest roots-oriented bands in North America. Tom Wilson sums up the Blackie and The Rodeo Kings journey. “25 years later, we’re still digging in for the sweet spots. Making friends with the ghosts of poets and harmonizing with the voices in fields and swinging for the fences”

COLIN LINDEN

Including every Blackie and The Rodeo Kings album, Colin Linden has produced over 100 albums. He has played as a guest musician on countless recording sessions. There are 159 pages of album credits that feature Colin Linden contributions listed at the collector site discogs.com He has played an integral role in the contributing songs and music direction to film and television. Colin served as the musical director for the live touring the cast of Nashville that featured the stellar Blackie and The Rodeo Kings rhythm section of John Dymond (bass) and Gary Craig (drums). His latest solo work was actual a duo release with Luther Dickenson entitled “Amour” on Stony Plain Records. Colin lives in Nashville. Colinlinden.com

STEPHEN FEARING

Stephen Fearing has been doing what he does best - Travelling. In 2016, Fearing moved back to Victoria BC where his career began on the West Coast in 1988 with the release of “Out To Sea”. Aside from moving across the country, has been a busy year with solo shows across Canada and quietly building a solid following in Europe and The UK. He has completed his 13th solo album “The Unconquerable Past” Stephenfearing.com

TOM WILSON

Last year Tom Wilson released his 4th album under his nom de plume LEE HARVEY OSMOND. The Album titled Mohawk references his journey and the story of his best selling memoir “Beautiful Scars” (Penguin Random House). He is focused on a follow up book and painting for his next art show. TomWilsononline.com  

The Aeolian Phoenix Sessions take centre stage... in the comfort of your own home. Each month we premier at least four artists' recordings from the Aeolian stage. Membership to the Phoenix Sessions is $20 per month (recurring) and you select the productions you want to watch.

Aeolian’s Phoenix Sessions are proud to produce four outstanding performances in March. For just $20 you have access to all four digitally streamed productions anytime, anywhere. One new show will be released every Friday including: Marty Kolls, Andrew Collins, Luke McMaster, and Fraser Teeple. Subscribe once, enjoy live music all month long!

You will receive a confirmation email including a link that you will use each time you wish to view a March performance. Save that link… or follow instructions at www.aeolianhall.ca/phoenix.

Fraser Teeple has slowly built a catalogue of musical work that stands as an underground gem in the Canadian music scene. His economy and sensitivity as a songwriter evoke a young northern Springsteen, with a textured voice that can cut through an east end dive bar or soulfully creak out a heart-breaker to a still concert hall. Fraser approaches his songwriting craft like a tradesman: he respects the strong tradition he stands within, and works carefully and with dedication to master the simple skills of telling a story, creating an image, or crafting a melody. He has apprenticed in bars, coffee shops, and concert halls across Canada and Europe — and has become a soundtrack for driving down a dirt road, renovating a house, and burning driftwood on a northern beach.

Rick Taylor made his first major appearance as a singer, songwriter and guitarist at the famed Mariposa Folk Festival in 1971 and went on to become a regular at many Canadian festivals and clubs.  Blues, jazz, country, rock, roots, world, and contemporary music all influenced Rick's early years on the club and festival circuits and he established himself firmly in the 1970’s southern Ontario roots music scene.  As a singer-songwriter and guitarist, Rick has been featured on CBC television and radio programs Touch The Earth with host Sylvia Tyson, The Entertainers with host Bill Garrett , Peter Gzowski's 90 Minutes Live, City TV's Music City and Intimate Evenings with Songwriters on Rogers Cable TV. Other highlights of Rick's career include opening act for Bruce Cockburn and appearing in New York City as a multi-instrumentalist in Leonard Cohen's musical production The Sisters of Mercy, as well as lead guitarist in the Vancouver production of Hank Williams, The Show He Never Gave. Rick's dynamism on guitar has led to session and sideman work with Willie P. Bennett (guitarist on “Hobos Taunt” album), Stan Rogers, Doug MacArthur, and a highly acclaimed tour with Colleen Peterson, which culminated in a nine evening engagement as opening act for Gordon Lightfoot at Massey Hall in Toronto. He also fronted his own band The Torpedoes with legendary brother Steve Taylor on drums in Southern Ontario, as well as the Rick Taylor Band which featured some of the finest blues and jazz musicians in Vancouver, and a 3 year run with Vancouver’s HARD 8; a roots-acoustic trio featuring guitar virtuoso Paul Pigat and harmonica legend Monte. Rick Taylor is well know for his high energy live performances, rich, expressive baritone voice, and his quirky and novel song writing styles such as the cult classics "Black Leather Diaper" and "Drunkards Lullaby", as well as his delicately, haunting, well crafted ballads, and unforgettable "guitarnastics". Rick's early chart hit classics "Letters From Jane" and "Soldier in the Rain", released internationally in 1989 on Volunteer Records, remained in "gold rotation" on many radio stations around the world for several years. Rick’s international CD release entitled Clown River contains 13 original solo guitar compositions. It is a beautifully woven instrumental story where Rick has reached deeply into his influences of the great finger style guitar traditions. Clown River caught the attention of Borealis Records and Rick was invited to be a featured artist on their guitar compilation CD - Six Strings North of the Border Volume 3, released internationally in Feb. 2006 and now available as a 3 CD boxed set. This compilation includes many of Canada’s finger style guitar greats such as Bruce Cockburn, Colin Linden, Amos Garrett, Stephen Fearing, Don Ross, Kevin Breit, Harry Manx and more. After living 23 years in Vancouver where Rick performed, recorded and produced, he relocated back to his home province of Ontario in 2007 and released his long awaited and critically acclaimed CD “The Wonky Years” in 2008. This raucous 10 song collection was recorded over a 10 year period with his band and runs the range of blues, roots rock, bluegrass, rockabilly, country swing and folk - displaying the immense breadth of Rick’s song writing, guitar playing, vocal abilities and styles. Rick Taylor returns to his blues roots with his definitive CD release of “Lucky Room”. This solo collection of 11 songs covers the road from Mississippi to Chicago, paying homage to the blues masters from the late 1920’s to the early 1950’s that have helped shape Rick’s music over a 40 plus year career. This critically acclaimed work has garnered heavy rotation achieving radio chart hit status -  reaching #3 on Roots Music Report charts - Canada and #10 on the U.S.A. Roots Music Report - Blues charts. In early 2021 as the lead up to his upcoming solo acoustic album, Rick revisits his folk roots heritage with the single release of Moonlight, with studio back up by iconic musicians Emily Bindiger, Robbie Kondor, Ed Michael Roth, and Daniel Plane. As well as being an active record producer and in demand session player, Rick is also a member of the original blues-roots-rock & roll band DASHBOARD RATTLE, and the folk-rock band Essig Taylor Gifford and Miron. With the global pandemic easing, live shows are currently being booked into late summer and fall of 2021. Rick is a recipient of The Jimmy Lewis "Life Time of the Blues Award", 3X winner of The Great Lakes Blues Society "Road To Memphis" award, and the 2020 winner of The Forest City London Music Award for Blues. According to Rick; "I also won $8 at Bingo one night in Muskoka! Poster Photo credit to Katharine McEwen with special guest, Peppy the cat.

Welcome to the Aeolian Phoenix Sessions

The Aeolian Phoenix Sessions take centre stage... in the comfort of your own home. Every month we premier at least four productions recorded at Aeolian's studios or in the artist's home. The Aeolian Phoenix Sessions are intended to provide patrons with a cross-section of the music going experience. From classical to jazz, rock to country, and bluegrass to folk, the Sessions aim to bring music back into your home and heart. Interested in one show only? Trust us: you'll like what you see. Try the Phoenix Sessions all month and experience a few productions that you might never have seen in person. Our goal was to reignite live music and get artists on stage, technicians behind the soundboard and our patrons on their feet listening to extraordinary talent in extraordinary times.

Terms and Conditions

Membership to the Phoenix Sessions is $20 per month (automatically recurring) and you select the productions you wish to enjoy. Cancel anytime by contacting boxoffice@aeolianhall.ca. We do not have a multi-viewer pass. If you plan to safely watch with friends or family, please consider donating to further offset the costs associatedwith these productions. Tickets to individual productions are not available. Upon registration and after monthly validation, you will receive a confirmation email including a link that youx will use each time you wish to view aperformance. Save that link… But we are always here to help. Contact us at boxoffice@aeolianhall.ca if you lose your pass. Shows will be available on the date and time specified on Aeolian's website. Payment is final. No refunds will be offered.

According to the Yuchi Indian Tribe there is a powerful legend of the Tanasi River or “Singing River” in Tennessee. Inside the waterway lives a woman who sings songs to protect those who hear her. Inspired by this mythical folklore, Dione Taylor took an insightful road trip to Nashville Tennessee and found inspiration for her vivid new album, Spirits in the Water. This musical odyssey explores the deep sacred, healing journey back to the self.

“Legendary stories and family history travel through us, flow into the waters and down the bloodline,” explains the Regina, Saskatchewan born singer who first made a name for herself as one of this country’s most talented singer/songwriters, “If the water speaks, and if we are still and listen then what fascinating stories do we hear? Perhaps, tales of eternal happiness, brutal hardship, necessary murder, unspeakable love and beautiful pain are buried in the muddy waters.”

Continuing on with her unmistakable ‘Prairie Blues’ sound, Dione’s music is a mixture of Roots, Blues and Americana. She brings us on an intriguing and magical, thematic journey through song with stories of Mystical Truths (“Water”), Race Inequality, (“Working”), Hiraeth or Homesickness (“Where I Belong”), Women’s Rights (“Down the Bloodline”), Heartbreak (“One More Shot”), Omnipresent Energy (“Spirit”), Injustice (“How Many Times”), Nigredo or Transformation (“Darkness”), Freedom (“Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around”) and Perseverance (“Running”). Dione’s sharply honed song writing chops shine through on original songs featuring both intellectual depth and emotional eloquence. This diversity of tones and tempos on Spirits in The Water ensures that the listener’s attention never wavers through the album.

A key creative collaborator on Spirits In The Water is Joel Schwartz , who produced and co-wrote much the album with Taylor, and made potent instrumental contributions on guitar and banjo. “I met Joel around five years ago, when he started playing in my band, the Backsliderz,” Dione recalls. “Then we started writing and developing a sound together that we have been running with ever since.

Dione’s long-time creative collaborator Sandy Mamane produced and co-wrote two songs with Taylor for the album. Other noted songwriters contributing in that role here are James Bryan (Philosopher Kings, Prozzak), Sean Pinchin, and Liz Tansey.

Music has always been an important and integral part of Dione Taylor’s life. A pastor’s daughter, she was born and raised in a family she describes as “really connected to the gift of song. My whole family sings and plays instruments in church,” praises Ms. Taylor, who began playing the organ at age four and by ten was the music director and organist at The Shiloh Assembly Church (Apostolic) in Regina.

Having first burst onto the music scene with her Juno nominated debut album “Open Your Eyes”, Taylor’s career trajectory has been truly remarkable. With performances at festivals and concert theatres across the United States, Canada and Asia for audiences that have included the President of the United States and Queen Elizabeth II, Taylor has made a worthy name for herself as one of this country’s most talented musicians and songstresses. Taylor was nominated for a Gemini Award for her rendition of Oscar Peterson’s “Hymn to Freedom,” which she performed alongside Oliver Jones at the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala. Taylor is also the recipient of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award Mentorship Program. With performances at Folk, Blues, Jazz and Rock Festivals across North America, Dione is a seasoned and electrifying performer who constantly energizes her audiences. She has also become a familiar face at music conferences like Folk Alliance International, Folk Music Canada, Folk Music Ontario, Contact East, Women’s Blues Revue and the Blues Summit.

This project has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada.

Welcome to the Aeolian Phoenix Sessions

The Aeolian Phoenix Sessions take centre stage... in the comfort of your own home. Every month we premier at least four productions recorded at Aeolian's studios or in the artist's home. The Aeolian Phoenix Sessions are intended to provide patrons with a cross-section of the music going experience. From classical to jazz, rock to country, and bluegrass to folk, the Sessions aim to bring music back into your home and heart. Interested in one show only? Trust us: you'll like what you see. Try the Phoenix Sessions all month and experience a few productions that you might never have seen in person. Our goal was to reignite live music and get artists on stage, technicians behind the soundboard and our patrons on their feet listening to extraordinary talent in extraordinary times.

Terms and Conditions

Membership to the Phoenix Sessions is $20 per month (automatically recurring) and you select the productions you wish to enjoy. Cancel anytime by contacting boxoffice@aeolianhall.ca. We do not have a multi-viewer pass. If you plan to safely watch with friends or family, please consider donating to further offset the costs associatedwith these productions. Tickets to individual productions are not available. Upon registration and after monthly validation, you will receive a confirmation email including a link that youx will use each time you wish to view aperformance. Save that link… But we are always here to help. Contact us at boxoffice@aeolianhall.ca if you lose your pass. Shows will be available on the date and time specified on Aeolian’s website. Payment is final. No refunds will be offered.

Cheryl Lescom and Chuckee Zehr have been collaborating musically for many years. Although individually they are both well established performers, they more recently started performing as a duo, resulting in stellar harmonies alongside Chuckee’s keyboard stylings, and injecting a little humour along the way.   

Cheryl Lescom - vocalist/songwriter

Cheryl Lescom has been part of the Canadian music scene for over 45 years. Starting off in 1975 with several of her own bands before becoming a back up singer for Ronnie Hawkins and touring with Long John Baldry.  To date, Cheryl has released 6 CD's. Cheryl's newest release with the Tucson Choir Boys, 'Well Played'  was released in October 2020 on Busted Flat Records.  As the late, great Long John Baldry once said, "Cheryl Lescom has one of the best and biggest voices in Canada. I've had many great singers with me over the years and Cheryl is by far one of my favorites!" 

Chuckee Zehr - pianist/vocalist/songstress/musical director 

From blues to rock, with a taste of R&B, gospel, and classical, Chuckee’s musical character has been influenced by many. She has performed in many bands, theatre productions, and studio works. Whether in a small, intimate solo/duo setting, or with a full band in large venues, Chuckee likes a personal connection with the audience, delivering her songs with passion and emotion, as well as humour and fun. Chuckee has just released her fourth original album in December of 2020 “Laugh Lines and Crows Feet”. Currently she is the Musical Director of  “Inspired By Janis” and “The Woodstock Experience”; two successful musical productions. 

Welcome to the Aeolian Phoenix Sessions

The Aeolian Phoenix Sessions take centre stage... in the comfort of your own home. Every month we premier at least four productions recorded at Aeolian's studios or in the artist's home. The Aeolian Phoenix Sessions are intended to provide patrons with a cross-section of the music going experience. From classical to jazz, rock to country, and bluegrass to folk, the Sessions aim to bring music back into your home and heart. Interested in one show only? Trust us: you'll like what you see. Try the Phoenix Sessions all month and experience a few productions that you might never have seen in person. Our goal was to reignite live music and get artists on stage, technicians behind the soundboard and our patrons on their feet listening to extraordinary talent in extraordinary times.

Terms and Conditions

Membership to the Phoenix Sessions is $20 per month (automatically recurring) and you select the productions you wish to enjoy. Though membership renews automatically, patrons must validate their membership number every month to receive an access code for each new set of productions by email. This process is not automatic. Patrons will receive their first access code immediately upon registration. An access code is only good for one calendar month. Validation instructions are contained in the Membership tab on this page, in our weekly newsletter and in the monthly rollover announcement sent by the Aeolian Box Office. We do not have a multi-viewer pass. If you plan to safely watch with friends or family, please consider donating to further offset the costs associated with these productions. Tickets to individual productions are not available. If you do not intend to subscribe for longer than one month, refunds will not be provided to patrons who forget to cancel their membership or who have not read the terms and conditions: membership renewal is automatic every 30 days. This information is noted on every ticketing page, on event pages and marketing, on event posters and in our weekly newsletter. It is important to read information carefully before joining so as to not misunderstand how membership works. Upon registration and after monthly validation, you will receive a confirmation email including a link that you will use each time you wish to view a performance. Save that link… or follow instructions at www.aeolianhall.ca/phoenix to receive it again. Shows will be available on the date and time specified on Aeolian's website. PRODUCTIONS ARE AVAILABLE FOR A MAXIMUM OF TWO WEEKS AFTER PREMIER. IF YOU ARE PURCHASING MORE THAN 30 DAYS BEFORE THE MONTH BEGINS, YOU WILL BE BILLED EVERY 30 DAYS AS A RECURRING MEMBER. IF YOU ARE SPECIFICALLY INTERESTED IN AN INDIVIDUAL MONTH, PLEASE PURCHASE  YOUR PASS ON FIRST OF THE MONTH. Payment is final. No refunds will be offered.

The Aeolian Phoenix Sessions take centre stage... in the comfort of your own home. Every month we premier at least four productions recorded at Aeolian's studios or in the artist's home. The Aeolian Phoenix Sessions are intended to provide patrons with a cross-section of the music going experience. From classical to jazz, rock to country, and bluegrass to folk, the Sessions aim to bring music back into your home and heart. Interested in one show only? Trust us: you'll like what you see. Try the Phoenix Sessions all month and experience a few productions that you might never have seen in person. Our goal was to reignite live music and get artists on stage, technicians behind the soundboard and our patrons on their feet listening to extraordinary talent in extraordinary times.

Terms and Conditions

Membership to the Phoenix Sessions is $20 per month (automatically recurring) and you select the productions you wish to enjoy. Though membership renews automatically, patrons must validate their membership number every month to receive an access code for each new set of productions by email. This process is not automatic. Patrons will receive their first access code immediately upon registration. An access code is only good for one calendar month. Validation instructions are contained in the Membership tab on this page, in our weekly newsletter and in the monthly rollover announcement sent by the Aeolian Box Office. We do not have a multi-viewer pass. If you plan to safely watch with friends or family, please consider donating to further offset the costs associated with these productions. Tickets to individual productions are not available. If you do not intend to subscribe for longer than one month, refunds will not be provided to patrons who forget to cancel their membership or who have not read the terms and conditions: membership renewal is automatic every 30 days. This information is noted on every ticketing page, on event pages and marketing, on event posters and in our weekly newsletter. It is important to read information carefully before joining so as to not misunderstand how membership works. Upon registration and after monthly validation, you will receive a confirmation email including a link that you will use each time you wish to view a performance. Save that link… or follow instructions at www.aeolianhall.ca/phoenix to receive it again. Shows will be available on the date and time specified on Aeolian's website. PRODUCTIONS ARE AVAILABLE FOR A MAXIMUM OF TWO WEEKS AFTER PREMIER. IF YOU ARE PURCHASING MORE THAN 30 DAYS BEFORE THE MONTH BEGINS, YOU WILL BE BILLED EVERY 30 DAYS AS A RECURRING MEMBER. IF YOU ARE SPECIFICALLY INTERESTED IN AN INDIVIDUAL MONTH, PLEASE PURCHASE  YOUR PASS ON FIRST OF THE MONTH. Payment is final. No refunds will be offered.

London’s own Heartaches Stringband make a joyful ruckus. The band features the close harmony singing by husband and wife duo Amanda Lynn Stubley and Martin Horak, joined by London’s reigning master of the mandolin, James Cummins. Horak’s driving fiddle is occasionally switched up for cello, and when the time is right, Stubley puts down her guitar and digs deep to her roots with clawhammer banjo.

Friends in life, pros on the stage, the Heartaches romp their way through lost Canadian classics, bluegrass instrumentals, and songs of love and regret, combining rarely heard oldtime gems and inspired original tunes.  You'd be crying in your beer if your toes weren't tapping!

The Aeolian Phoenix Sessions take centre stage... in the comfort of your own home. Each month we premier at least four artists' recordings from the Aeolian stage. Membership to the Phoenix Sessions is $20 per month (recurring) and you select the productions you want to watch.

Aeolian’s Phoenix Sessions are proud to produce four outstanding performances in February. For just $20 you have access to all four digitally streamed productions anytime, anywhere. One new show will be released every Friday including: Lewington & Downie (of Enter the Haggis), Colin Linden... Live from Nashville, Jully Black... Live from Toronto, and Nocturne Romantique featuring Clark Bryan, pianist.

Subscribe once, enjoy live music all month long!

You will receive a confirmation email including a link that you will use each time you wish to view a February performance. Save that link… or follow instructions at www.aeolianhall.ca/phoenix.

For more information, please scroll down to the ticketing information below. Read the

This performance is part of the Aeolian’s Phoenix Sessions. To view, purchase the FEBRUARY pass or become a recurring monthly member.

Colin Linden is a genuine renaissance man of roots music. He’s a member of the highly successful trio, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, a singer and songwriter, an in-demand and prolific record producer, musical director on the hit TV show Nashville and sideman to the stars as guitarist for the likes of Bob Dylan, Bruce Cockburn, Emmylou Harris, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss.

Of how many artists can it be said that they’re getting better, 33 years into their recording career? Colin Linden can certainly be considered a member of that select club based on From The Water, the 11th solo album in a storied career that has also featured his work on literally hundreds of other records. At last count, the total of albums on which he has played stood at over 300, while at least 70 albums bear the ‘Produced by Colin Linden’ credit.

Linden is a genuine renaissance man of roots music. He’s a singer and songwriter of great skill, an in-demand and prolific record producer ( Bruce Cockburn, Tom Wilson, Colin James), a sideman to the stars as guitarist for the likes of Bruce Cockburn, Emmylou Harris, and Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, and, for the past decade, a member of the highly successful trio, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings.

Colin’s songs have been covered by The Band, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Keb’ Mo’, and Colin James, and his well-stocked trophy case includes seven Juno, multiple Maple Blues Awards, and a Toronto Arts Award. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for the star-studded A Tribute to Howlin’ Wolf CD, and was involved in the ground-breaking O Brother Where Art Thou phenomenon. Linden has a well-deserved reputation as a slide guitar virtuoso of real originality, and his riveting slide work can be heard both on albums from such artists as Cassandra Wilson, The Rankin Family and Whitey Johnson and on his own sizeable solo catalogue.

NOTE TO TICKET PURCHASERS:

CLICK HERE FOR CURRENT AEOLIAN COVID POLICY BEFORE PURCHASING TICKETS

"This is music of the highest order, playing and paying proper tribute to these Texas Blues/Rock Legends. Not to be missed"...Q 107 Radio, Toronto

Thousands of hours has been put into this project by band leader Dave Ryan and band. Concentrating on delivering the music and tone identical to the original artists, this is a show for musicians and fans alike. His abiliity to lock into the video track identically with his vocals and guitar, it will blow your mind leaving you saying "how the heck did he do that!"

Zapp! Productions has worked with some of the biggest names in the Blues and Rock world and this show is guaranteed to please on a music, performance and visual level.

2018 has proven to be the break-out year so long deserved by Samantha Martin and Delta Sugar. In November 2018, it was announced that “Run To Me” has been nominated for 4 Maple Blues Awards at the 2019 edition (Album of The Year, Songwriter of The Year, Entertainer of The Year, and Female Vocalist of The Year). The group’s latest recording, entitled Run to Me, was released in April 2018. Produced by Darcy Yates, the album is a massive step forward for both Martin and Delta Sugar. Over the course of the project’s ten tracks, everyone written by Martin solo or in tandem with Curtis Chaffey or Suzie Vinnick, the album explores the full range of the vicissitudes of love: desire, betrayal and, at times, emotional and sexual satisfaction. As a collective, the songs reflect remarkable growth on Martin’s part as a songwriter. The lyrics are incisive, the melodies are constantly arresting and the harmonies and arrangements call up the best of the soul and blues sounds of Stax Records and such contemporary artists as Leon Bridges, Sharon Jones and Lee Fields. The record is has received massive airplay in North America reaching #2 on Earshot, #1 on Roots Music Report, and #1 on Stingray’s Blues channel radio charts. The album has also crossed overseas and managed to sneak into the UK Blues Radio Top40 charts as well as receiving dozens of rave reviews. With over 500 shows under their belt in the last 4 years, Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA) has honored Samantha Martin and Delta Sugar with the certification “Road Gold.” CIMA certifies Canadian artists as “Road Gold” when they have sold over 25 thousand tickets to Canadian fans over a twelve-month period.

Samantha Martin and Delta Sugar’s debut release, 2015’s Send the Nightingale, was a stripped down affair consisting of Martin, her two co-singers, and guitarist Mikey McCallum. For Run to Me, Martin elected to record her emotionally wrought material with an expanded band, augmenting the core of Delta Sugar’s gospel-infused harmonies with a full rhythm section, piano, organ and an ever-so- soulful horn section.

Send the Nightingale was a stunning achievement which garnered four Maple Blues nominations in 2016, was regularly featured on the CBC, topped the blues charts on Stingray radio and propelled the group onto the stages of all the major Canadian festivals and clubs coast to coast. Subsequent to the album’s release, Martin has been nominated three years in a row as Female Vocalist of the Year at the Maple Blues Awards. Continuing to build on the group’s steam rolling momentum, in the fall of 2017, Samantha Martin and Delta Sugar were selected by a panel of blues experts to represent Toronto at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, a platform that has served to launch any number of careers in both Europe and the United States.

Martin is the lead singer, songwriter and focal point of the group. A dynamic front woman, she possesses a stunning voice that is capable of summoning up tidal waves of spine-tingling emotion in one instance while delicately bringing out the nuances of a gut wrenching lyric in the next. A torrid force of nature, night after night she takes audiences to emotional peaks while leaving them stunned with her sheer pin-you-against-the-wall power.

While Martin is a powerhouse unto herself, the vocal alchemy of Delta Sugar is not the work of a single talent. In combination with what she likes to term her “co-vocalists,” Sherie Marshall and Mwansa Mwansa, the vocal blend Delta Sugar produces is pure, unadulterated gospel-tinged, neuron-tingling magic where the sum is even richer than the already soul-melting parts.