The Barrie Folk Society’s April concert series features Canadian music from coast-to-coast. Multiple award-winner East Coast Lennie Gallant will perform in concert at the Barrie Public Library on April 13 at 7 p.m. Salt Spring Island’s Valdy – a Canadian folk icon, will cap off the month with a performance at the Library on April 27 (7 p.m.). Corey Heuvel, winner of the Barrie Folk Society’s first annual youth song competition, will open the Valdy show.
Recognized by his peers as one of Canada’s best performing songwriters, Lennie Gallant has won thirteen East Coast Music Awards and has received multiple JUNO nominations for his many recordings. An Acadian from Prince Edward Island and now living in Nova Scotia, Gallant’s music has appeared in many feature films, as well as in theatre productions, documentaries and television series, including Dawson’s Creek and Joan of Arcadia. He co-wrote the theme song for the first World Acadian Congress, and for Pier 21, Canada’s immigration gateway. He was also asked to write a song for Halifax’s 250th anniversary, which was then performed with a choir of 2,000 voices on one of the two bridges spanning the harbour. Lennie is a storyteller, and on his new recording When We Get There, he takes the listener on a literary and musical adventure that is sure to guarantee repeated listening.
Valdy is best remembered for “Play Me a Rock and Roll Song,” his bitter-sweet memory of finding himself, a relaxed and amiable story-teller, facing a rambunctious audience at the Aldergrove Rock Festival circa 1968. He has sold almost half a million copies of his 13 albums, has two Juno Awards, a total of seven Juno nominations, and four Gold albums to his credit. Macleans magazine has said that Valdy is “unquestionably the most public performer in Canada today, and the most loved.”
Valdy tours close to two hundred days each year performing in theatres, community halls, school auditoriums and a string of festivals and clubs. He plays from coast-to-coast in Canada and continues to be an effective musical ambassador abroad.
Advance tickets for both shows are now on sale and can be purchased from the Barrie Public Library (60 Worsley St.); advance tickets are $20 ($25 at the door). Tickets can also be purchased with a Visa card by calling (705) 728-1010.
