Stunning Fiddle Lines, Lively Mandolin Melodies, and Clear, Crisp Vocals

Catch Alberta’s 2013 Country Music Group of the Year, PEAR, at Horizon Stage on November 2.

Born under blue Alberta skies, PEAR knows there’s nothing quite like driving down an old dirt road and chasing your dreams. Husband and wife team Lynae and Denis Dufresne’s individual careers have been peppered by numerous accolades and multiple award nominations.  In 2006 they joined forces to create PEAR and seven busy years later they had the distinction of being named 2013 Group of the Year by the Alberta Association of Country Music. This fall you can catch this charming country duo as they tour Alberta, making a much anticipated stop at Horizon Stage in Spruce Grove on Saturday, November 2 at 7:30 p.m.

In 1997, Lynae and Denis began their touring careers as cast members in the successful fiddle show Barrage. Their production of 'Barrage: The World on Stage' was broadcast across the United States on PBS. The CD of the same name rose to the Top 5 on the Billboard World Music chart. They toured extensively with Barrage in Canada, USA, Scandinavia, England, Scotland and China and gave command performances for The Prince of Wales, the Saudi Royal Family, and the Prime Minister of Canada.

After finishing with Barrage in 2003, the Dufresne’s lent their individual fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and vocal abilities to a host of top country, folk, and rock music acts, quickly becoming two of the most sought after live and session players in Canada. Lynae and Denis settled in Calgary but quickly became restless. Realizing that they wanted to work together again, they created PEAR. The fledgling duo was awarded a New Artist Showcase at the 2006 Canadian Country Music Awards and their performance so impressed CMT Canada that they were asked to be part of ‘Plucked’, a documentary-style television show the network was filming.

In 2011 PEAR’s single, “Take Me With You”, hit #43 on the Canadian country chart and Denis won the Canadian Country Music Association’s Fiddle Player of the Year award.  Their 2012 single “This Ain't a Love Song”, won the International Songwriting Competition in the country music genre and was included in the Alberta Music Industry Association’s Music Sampler, Volume 3. Stunningly, Denis and Lynae were both nominated for the CCMA’s 2012 Fiddle Player of the Year Award —marking the first time that spouses were nominated against each other. The win went to Denis who also won CCMA Mandolin Player of the Year, a distinction that he proceeded to win again in 2013.

Lynae and Denis have opened for a truly diverse group of performers including Alanis Morrisette, Alan Jackson, Moby, Barenaked Ladies, Tim McGraw, Martina McBride, Tammy Wynette, Paul Brandt and Counting Crows. They have built their fan-base at numerous festivals in the US, UK, and Canada, including Country Music Week, the Merritt Mountain Music Festival, and Big Valley Jamboree.

PEAR plays the kind of music that wins your heart and leaves you in love. Laced with Denis’ stunning fiddle lines and lively mandolin melodies, and carried by Lynae’s clear, crisp vocals, PEAR is a sweet treat with a fresh sound bound for country music stardom. Tickets to see them Up Close and Personal at Horizon Stage on November 2 are $35 for adults and $30 for students and seniors. Tickets may be purchased at the City Hall Ticket Centre (315 Jespersen Ave), by phone at 780-962-8995, or online at Ticketpro. 

Enjoy an Afternoon Filled With Old Fashioned “Jazz from the Saddle”

Don’t Miss Woody Holler and his Western Swing Orchestra at Horizon Stage on October 27

Winnipeg based singer Woody Holler has been yodeling since he was a little shaver. Influenced by the crooning styles of Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, as well as the rustic blue yodeling of Jimmy Rodgers and danceable swing of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, Woody Holler plays dusty, down-home cowboy music. With a smooth, pitch-perfect voice that rises and falls like that big prairie moon and a lyrical yodel that dances around the jingle-jangle of that old guitar, Holler feels a real sense of nostalgia for the Western genre. Holler's orchestra consists of Manitoba's finest folk/jazz musicians and together they create a western swing style that Woody defines as "jazz from the saddle.”

 

Woody Holler grew up hearing the songs of the cowboy. Although he was later trained in opera, a sense of belonging and nostalgia held him close to the early Western genre. In 2009 he hooked up with Richard Mood (violin), Greg Lowe (guitar) and Daniel Koulack (double bass) and the rest, as they say, is history. Woody Holler and his Western Swing Orchestra is not your average country western band. Their clever arrangements are rich with virtuosity and style and their repertoire is eclectic, fun, and fascinating. Their concerts feature everything from finger-snapping  swing beats, to honey-slowed love croons, to show-stopping "extreme" yodeling. 

 

Nominated for a 2010 Canadian Folk Music Award, an afternoon with Holler and his orchestra will have you longing for a simpler time. Tickets to see them Up Close and Personal at Horizon Stage on Sunday, October 27 at 2 p.m. are $35 for adults and $30 for students and seniors. Tickets may be purchased at the City Hall Ticket Centre (315 Jespersen Ave), by phone at 780-962-8995, or online at Ticketpro.

Serious Spiritual Sounds will ‘Shake the Rafters’ at Horizon Stage

Juno Nominated Gospel Trio, The Sojourners, to perform in Spruce Grove on October 12. 

Vancouver based gospel group, The Sojourners, summon a power and passion at their performances that rises up and shakes the rafters. Recognized for their strength and spirit, this trio spices up cool vocal harmonies with flourishes of doo-wop, R&B, country, and blues, to create a stirring sound that celebrates the soul. Horizon Stage is thrilled to be presenting these incredible artists on Saturday, October 12 at 7:30 p.m.

When Canadian blues icon Jim Byrnes called Marcus Mosely in 2006, and asked him to round up a couple of friends to record back-up vocals for House of Refuge, no one could have guessed what would happen next. From the moment Mosely and his pals stepped up to the microphone and began to sing, they realized that they had found something very special. When Byrnes dubbed the trio The Sojourners the name stuck and – as they say – the rest is history.

Hot on the tail of their session with Byrnes, the Sojourners went into the studio with roots music whiz Steve Dawson and recorded Hold On in 2007. The song ‘Eyes on the Prize’ from that CD was then included on Let Freedom Sing, a Time-Life compilation box set honouring the music of the American civil rights era. The Sojourners recorded their self-titled sophomore CD in 2010, which promptly earned them a Canadian Folk Music Award nomination for Traditional Album of the Year and a Juno nomination for Blues Album of the Year. Their third CD, Sing and Never Get Tired, is scheduled for release on October 15 and they are looking forward to performing selections from it at their Spruce Grove concert.

After spending their formative years singing in their hometown churches, The Sojourners have an authentic sound with an edge that only comes from experience. Their gospel is real gospel - blessed with a soul that can’t be faked. Mosely, Will Sanders, and newest trio member Khari McClelland’s, songs reflect on the world that we all live in. They don't sing about some removed perfect place or distant plains of glory. Their music expresses the old adage that God does his best work on the streets and in the gutters, not in the houses of power or the mansions of the rich. According to Mosely, "[Our new] album is grittier and has more of an edge than anything we've done before. These new songs have a groove to them. We're doing dance music, and if you come to see us, you should come ready to have a good time."

The Sojourners raise their collective voices to offer new hope for people living in desperate times. Their songs of faith, struggle, and the promise of redemption, have the power to soothe the hurts brought by modern life. Theirs is a gospel that can take a punch and remain standing, and the guys feel just as at home in a roadhouse bar as they do in a revival tent. They have also performed at numerous folk music festivals, including Edmonton’s. The Sojourners are rock solid; proof positive that faith can move mountains. But that shouldn’t scare anyone away. Sinner or saved, true believer or lover of great roots music, wherever you stand on your own personal journey you should see The Sojourners perform. You’ll feel better for it.


Let The Sojourners soothe your soul and shake-up your Saturday night. Tickets to see them Up Close and Personal at Horizon Stage on October 12 are $35 for adults and $30 for students and seniors. Tickets may be purchased at the City Hall Ticket Centre (315 Jespersen Ave), by phone at 780-962-8995, or online at Ticketpro.  

American Rock and Country Legend Coming to Horizon Stage

Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen Will Revisit Their Contributions to Music History on September 19.

Horizon Stage is excited to start its 2013/2014 season with an American musical legend. Chris Hillman is a Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame inductee, a 4-time Grammy Award nominee, and a pioneer of the country-rock genre. Joined onstage by legendary vocalist and all-star multi-instrumentalist Herb Pedersen, Hillman will take his audience on a tour through 50 years of music history in a single evening—history that he helped make!  Country and rock music fans are invited to get Up Close and Personal with Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen at Horizon Stage Performing Arts Centre in Spruce Grove on Thursday, September 19, at 7:30 p.m.

 With a background in bluegrass, Chris Hillman put down his mandolin in the summer of 1964 when he was recruited to play electric bass for a new band called The Byrds. Through hits like “Mr. Tambourine Man”, “So You Want to be a Rock & Roll Star”, and “Turn! Turn! Turn!”, The Byrds quickly became a cornerstone of the 1960s cultural and musical movement. In 1967, Chris established himself as a songwriter with “Time Between” which was noted by many as being the first country-rock song. After his tenure with The Byrds he and Gram Parsons formed The Flying Burrito Brothers, a band that is considered to have been forerunners of the alternative country-rock style.

Herb Pedersen was the number one session singer and instrumentalist in the Los Angeles area for decades, performing on many notable artists’ albums and collaborating with the likes of Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, John Prine, John Denver, and Kris Kristofferson. He is the front man for The Laurel Canyon Ramblers and has worked on soundtracks or television (The Rockford Files, The Simpsons) and motion pictures (Smokey and The Bandit, Maverick) since the 1970s.

Chris and Herb’s musical friendship has spanned over forty five years since their initial meeting in Los Angeles during the early folk and bluegrass movement.  In 1980s they joined with John Jorgenson to form the critically acclaimed DesertRose Band. That group enjoyed numerous number one country singles including “One Step Forward”, “Summer Wind”, and “He’s Back and I’m Blue”. By the mid-nineties, Hillman and Pedersen began performing as an acoustic duo and have since recorded several successful albums together. Their latest release, “At Edward’s Barn,” continues their long-running love for the music they embraced so passionately years ago.

 

Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen’s concert playlist shines with the strength of Chris’ writing, bluegrass, roots, country and, of course, some classic rock ‘n’ roll. Tickets to see them perform live at Horizon Stage on Thursday, September 19 are $40 for adults, and $35 for students and seniors. Tickets may be purchased at the City Hall Ticket Centre (315 Jespersen Ave), by phone at 780-962-8995, or online at www.ticketpro.ca.  

                                                

Country Music Star George Canyon to Perform Twice in Spruce Grove

After Selling Out his September 28 Concert Horizon Stage Adds a Second Show on September 29

It only took two weeks for all 300 seats at George Canyon’s Horizon Stage concert on Saturday, September 28 to sell. Now the theatre is pleased to announce that the popular and personable country music singer has agreed to add a second show for eager fans. Tickets are now on sale for his Spruce Grove concert on Sunday, September 29 at 7:30 p.m.

With a voice as rich and robust as a strong cup of coffee, George Canyon is a Canadian country music treasure. Though he can melt hearts with just a tip of his hat, Canyon sings with the kind of integrity and dedication that makes him a hero to his fans on and off the stage. So much so, that he was recognized for his philanthropic work in support of the Canadian troops in 2008 by being appointed Honorary Colonel for the Canadian Air Force at 14 Wing Greenwood in Nova Scotia. He is also a tireless advocate for juvenile diabetes awareness and research and  most recently he has been working hard both on the ground in High River, and on stage, cleaning up and raising funds for southern Alberta flood relief.

 In addition to his singing career, Canyon has performed as an actor in movies and television where he had re-occurring roles on both the Trailer Park Boys and Heartland. But it’s his amazing ability to pen both poignant ballads and night-on-the-town tunes that has won him countless Junos, East Coast Music Awards, and Canadian Country Music Awards. With hits like “Just Like You”, “In Your Arms Again”, “My Name”, and “I Believe In Angels”, it’s easy to see why he was recently recognized as the most played Canadian artist on Canadian country radio. George is currently in the running for the CCMA Fan’s Choice of the Year Award and was recently added to their awards night artist performance list.

 When George Canyon is performing onstage, he is most at home. He has the entire audience in the palm of his hand and you just can’t help but want to be a part of his unique family. He is respected, well-loved and one of the most successful entertainers in Canada today. So shine up your boots and get ready to enjoy country music at its finest!

 Tickets for George Canyon at Horizon Stage on Sunday, September 29 are $45 for adults, and $40 for students and seniors. Tickets may be purchased at the City Hall Ticket Centre (315 Jespersen Ave), by phone at 780-962-8995, or online at www.ticketpro.ca.  To find out more about Mr. Canyon visit  www.georgecanyon.com and join his fan club.

Horizon Stage 2013/2014 Season Artists

Chris Hillman & Herb Pedersen - Thurs, Sept 19 - www.chrishillman.com & www.herbpedersen.com
George Canyon - Sat, Sept. 28 - www.georgecanyon.com
The Sojourners - Sat, Oct. 12 – www.thesojourners.ca
Woody Holler & his Western Swing Orchestra - Sun, Oct. 27 @ 2pm -  www.woodyholler.ca
PEAR - Sat, Nov 2 –  www.pearband.com
DuffleBag Theatre: Cinderella - Sat, Nov.  16 @ 2 pm - www.dufflebag.com
The Bills - Sun, Nov. 17 - thebills.ca
Chris Gibbs: Like Father, Like Son? Sorry - Fri, Nov. 22 - www.chrisgibbs.ca
Jimmy Rankin - Sat, Dec. 14 - jimmyrankin.com
The McDades - Sat, Dec 21 – themcdades.com
Hotel California:  The Original Eagles Tribute Band - Thurs, Jan. 9 – www.hotelcalifornia.ca
Ian Tyson - Fri, Jan. 17 &   Sat, Jan. 18 - www.iantyson.com
BAM! Percussion - Sat, Jan. 25@ 4 p.m. - www.bampercussion.com          
Munchkin Matinee: Artist  TBD - Tues, Jan. 28 @ 11 a.m.                  
The Rodeo Riders - Wed, Jan. 29 @ 2 p.m. - www.therodeoriders.ca
Sarah Hagen: Classical Piano - Thurs, Jan 30 @10:30 a.m. -  www.sarahhagen.com
Joe Sealy: Africville Stories -  Sat. Feb 8 - www.joesealy.com
Feelin’ Groovy – Starring Jim Witter - Fri, March 7- 7:30 p.m. - thepianomen.net
The Long and Winding Road  – Staring Jim Witter - Sat, March 8 – thepianomen.net
Evalyn Parry’s SPIN - Sun, March 9 – www.evalynparry.com
Norman Foote - Sat, March 15@ 2 p.m.  -  www.normanfoote.com
Good Lovelies w/Beth Portman  - Sat, April 26 – www.goodlovelies.com  & bethportman.com

* Performances are the 7:30 pm unless otherwise marked.

2013 Summer Drama Programs

2013 Artstrek Scholarship Poster

Experience an Entertaining, Out of the Ordinary, Musical Adventure with Sagapool!

Are you looking to discover something new and fun in the world of music? Search no further than the Sagapool concert at Horizon Stage on Friday, April 5 at 7:30 p.m. The winners of a 2012 Canadian Folk Music Award for ‘Pushing the Boundaries’ this Francophone/Gypsy klezmer band mixes good-natured shenanigans with striking musical skill for a concert-going experience that is truly one-of-a-kind.

With members who origins can be traced to Hungary and Italy and links to Quebec’s remote, stunning Magdalen Islands and the culturally vibrant northern reaches of the St. Lawrence River, Sagapool knows exactly how to capture the sparse outlines and rich textures of frost-bound places and people. Each of their songs has evolved into a little story of its own. Their wild and swirling songs tell tales from the cosmopolitan hub of Montreal to the outer edges of northeastern Canada, while their calmer, gentler pieces reflect on Quebec’s remote and windswept reaches and quiet winter mornings.

Sagapool’s main instrument lineup consists of an accordion, clarinet, piano, violin, acoustic guitar, bass and drums, but they also use banjo, alto sax, mandolin, electric piano, sandpaper, and more. Their musical style is obviously influenced by the gypsy genre but they also touch on classical, jazz and various folk styles. The band has recorded four CDs and won both a Canadian Folk Music Award and a Felix (Association québécoise de l'industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la vidéo) for Best Instrumental Album. Band members Guillaume Bourque, Zoé Dumais, Luzio Altobelli, Alexis Dumais, Marton Madersparch and Dany Nicolas call Montreal their home. They are a gang of good friends, and relatives, sharing long, winding stories, but with stunning musical chops.

Sagapool are bringing their tales of raucous romps and wintry meditations to life during their North American tour this March and April. Their only stop in Alberta will be at Horizon Stage in Spruce Grove on April 5. Tickets are $30 for adults, $25 for students and seniors, and $5 for high school students through the eyeGO program. Tickets may be purchased at the City Hall Ticket Centre (315 Jespersen Ave), by phone at 780-962-8995, or online at www.ticketmaster.ca.  Don’t miss the opportunity to experience an energetic live performance by Sagapool and let your musical taste buds be seasoned by stately, skipping klezmer lines, zesty tomfoolery, deliciously-quirky humour and bittersweet grooves.

www.sagapool.com

Take Your Family on an Enchanting Tour of a Magical Artist’s Studio with Bouge de là at Horizon Stage

Onstage is an artist’s studio, a space for invention and creativity that is full of surprises. Watch, and allow yourself to be charmed, as four dancers treat this fantastical space as a magical treasure chest, playing with everything they find: fabric, frames, paintings and props of all sorts. Inventive and curious, the dancers alter, reshape and transform the objects at hand in a game where there is only one rule – to have fun!  Even the paintings spring to life, becoming enchanting dances that ebb and flow, driven by the whims of the performers. Revealing the creative spirit that lies in each of us, Bouge de là’s The Studio explores colour, line and movement to take audience members on a magical voyage into their own imaginations. Join Bouge de là on an amazing journey as they delight dance and visual arts lovers alike, at Horizon Stage on Saturday, March 16, at 2 p.m.

Bouge de là is one of the rare professional dance companies in Canada that is entirely dedicated to creating work for children and their families. Founded in 2000, this contemporary dance company choreographs performances that draw upon a variety of elements, including video, theatre, and shadow play, to produce varied and playful performances that appeal to children’s curiosity and emotions, and stimulate their imaginations. The company’s newest touring production, The Studio, is a flamboyant encounter between the visual and performing arts. It features four energetic, curious dancers who plunge feet first into the act of creating art. As they play onstage their bodies move like painters brushes on canvas. Each movement is a line, a dab of paint, a shape, a colour and then presto, a painting takes shape before our eyes, cheerfully leading us down paths where art is accessible to one and all.

 

Conceived as an artistic “blind date”, choreographer Hélène Langevin envisioned The Studio as a dialogue between two forms of artistic expression - engaging their differences and similarities. Sensitive to the lines, rhythm and space in painting and sculpture, she plunged into the art of the 20th century, its major themes, and the leading artists of the time. She was attracted to the work of Jean Dubuffet, Sonia Delaunay, Jackson Pollock and René Magritte, as well as Expressionism and Pop Art, and all served as a point of departure for the choreography and sets that were created for this production.

 

The Studio is the third show in Horizon Stage’s 2013 Family Matinee Series. Horizon Stage is pleased to bring back this innovative and inspiring Canadian dance company after presenting their adventurous production, Like the 5 fingers on your hand, in 2008. Bring your children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews to see Bouge de là at Horizon Stage and let them discover new ideas, let their imaginations soar, their creativity be stimulated, and their appreciation for the world of art and all that it holds blossom.

Tickets for The Studio at Horizon Stage in Spruce Grove on Saturday, March 16 are just $18 for adults, $15 for children and seniors. Curtain is at 2 p.m. and there are free craft and colouring pre-show activities in the lobby starting at 1 p.m.  Tickets may be purchased at the City Hall Ticket Centre (315 Jespersen Ave), by phone at 780-962-8995, or online at www.ticketmaster.ca. Find out more about Bouge de là online at www.bougedela.org. 

Two-Time Canadian Country Music Award ‘Group of the Year’ Hey Romeo Coming to Horizon Stage

Since forming in 2002, and cutting their teeth in Alberta’s highly competitive country music scene, Edmonton band Hey Romeo has grown from a hard-touring regional success to a national sensation whose popularity continues to skyrocket.  Their energetic blend of modern and traditional country, vintage folk, and rock and roll has been called a “soundtrack for day-to-day life” and has earned them a wide and diversified fan base.  Now, after ten years in the industry together and multiple CCMA (Canadian Country Music Award) wins, band members Stacie Roper, Rob Shapiro, and Darren Gusnowsky remain as tight on stage as they do off. Their deep personal connection and friendship is evident in their recorded music and when they perform together live. Horizon Stage is excited to present Hey Romeo, Alberta’s fastest rising country music act, Up Close and Personal on Saturday, March 2^nd at 7:30 p.m.

Lead vocalist Stacie Roper is a woman who sings from the heart and shoots from the hip. Stacie draws her inspiration from the harmonies of the Statler Brothers, the feel of The Mavericks, the vocals of Alison Krauss, and the strength of Martina McBride while also taking cues from eighties ladies like Cyndi Lauper and Debbie Harry when making a connection with her audience.

2012 CCMA keyboard player of the year, Rob Shapiro, has one foot in neo-traditional country music and the other in really good rock and roll.  Anyone who has had the opportunity to converse with Rob, a graduate of Grant MacEwan College’s jazz program, understands that this piano-playing singer-songwriter adheres to the Duke Ellington philosophy that “there are only two kinds of music, good and bad.”

Another musician who is in it “for the long run”, guitarist, singer, and tunesmith Darren Gusnowsky loves the country-honk of the Exile On Mainstreet-era Rolling Stones, and the seamless harmonies of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young in their prime. But it was his mother turning him on to Ricky Skaggs that convinced him he should pay more attention to hardcore country sounds.

No strangers to crossing the CCMA stage, Hey Romeo’s 2008 self-titled debut CD garnered them a Top New Talent of the Year – Group or Duo award. Their follow-up, 2010′s That’s What I Am, yielded five singles and a 2011 CCMA for Group or Duo of the Year. Demonstrating the drive and determination that’s been a hallmark of their career from day one, Hey Romeo immediately went back into the studio and recorded their third album, Twist of Fate, which landed the band their second CCMA for Group of the Year in 2012.

Over time, Hey Romeo has shared the stage with big name artists such as The Kentucky Headhunters, Marty Stuart, Sugarland, Darius Rucker, Gord Bamford and Johnny Reid. They have become regular fixtures on stage at Las Vegas’ annual National Finals Rodeo and are currently sailing through the Western Caribbean, performing for fans aboard the Norwegian Star Cruise ship. Together they have earned a reputation as not just Canada’s hardest working country act, but as one of the hardest working bands in the country, period.

Characterized by tight harmonies, the signature interplay between Rob’s keyboards, Darren’s guitar, and Stacie’s powerhouse vocals, Hey Romeo’s sound is a mixture of classic country phrasing and slick, upbeat, urban bounce. Catch them in Spruce Grove at Horizon Stage on Saturday, March 2^nd at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $35 for adults, $30 for students and seniors, and $5 for high school students through the eyeGO program. Tickets may be purchased at the City Hall Ticket Centre (315 Jespersen Ave), by phone at 780-962-8995, or online at www.ticketmaster.ca.

           

Hey Romeo on March 2nd