Event Info
James Keelaghan
James Keelaghan
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Hermann's Jazz Club, 753 View St., ...
8:00pm - 11:30pm Doors at: 6:30pm
$25 Advance / $28 Door
Artists
James Keelaghan
singer songwriter from Winnipeg Manitoba
Event Description
James Keelaghan
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Hermann's Jazz Club, 753 View St., Victoria
Doors 6:30pm - Showtime 8pm
Tickets: $25.00 Advance / $28 Door
Available at: Lyle's Place 770 Yates St., Ditch Records 635 Johnson St.
and online at www.hightideconcerts.net
James Keelaghan websites: www.keelaghan.com & www.myspace.com/jameskeelaghan
Folk music tells the stories of people and places, and Canada's James Keelaghan is certainly that kind storyteller.
Seventeen years after his first album, he has established himself as a singer songwriter with an international following-
and a compelling ability to tell the stories of himself and his land.
Growing up in Canada, Keelaghan always knew he'd pursue either music or theatre as a career, but he studied history
at the University of Calgary just in case. Eventually music "just took over."
It's Keelaghan's passion for history that has inspired some of his most celebrated songs, witness 'Jenny Bryce,' Red
River Rising,' or 'Cold Missouri Waters'.
His debut album TIMELINES, released in 1987, was a collection of historically themed ballads with settings ranging
from the early days of the Canadian Pacific Railroad to the 'On to Ottawa Trek' of 1935, to the Second World War.
His follow-up recording, SMALL REBELLIONS, released in 1990, features the audience favourite 'Red River Rising,' set
during Canada's Riel Rebellion of 1870.
In 1993, Keelaghan made his debut on the Green Linnet label with MY SKIES, which won him a Juno award (Canada's
equivalent of a Grammy) for Best Roots Traditional Recording, and was recognized by the Alberta Recording Industry
Association.
A RECENT FUTURE, released in 1995, included some of Keelaghan's most acclaimed works yet. 'Cold Missouri
Waters' is the story of a team of fire fighters who perished in the 1949 Mann Gulch fire in Montana. Keelaghan was
nominated for a second Juno award in 1997 and A RECENT FUTURE spent two months on the Gavin Americana
charts in the U.S.
In 1997, James embarked on a collaborative project-COMPADRES-with Latin guitarist Oscar Lopez, on the
Vancouver-based label Jericho Beach Music. Fusing Latin and Celtic music into a new style they called 'celtino,' the
duo played to excited audiences across North America, including a live performance at the Lincoln Center. The
COMPADRES album earned Keelaghan a third Juno nomination for Best Roots Traditional Recording, and was voted
Album of the Year by the readers of Vancouver's Rogue Folk bulletin.
The release of his fifth solo album, ROAD, in 1999, also on Jericho Beach, marked a turn in Keelaghan's career. He had
been branching out musically, and brought a 'Canadian All Star' line-up to perform on the CD. He also broke new
ground for himself with a deeply personal collection of songs.
Keelaghan's sixth solo release, HOME, is both intimate and historical, a return to folk roots and a pared down sound.
HOME takes James back home, back to his folk roots and a more traditional sound. It includes six new original songs,
two exceptional covers (David Francey & Ian Tamblyn) and a wonderful traditional song "Flower of Magherally".
Violinist Oliver Schroer produced the recording and joins Hugh McMillan (Spirit of the West) to accompany James.
In February 2004, James released THEN AGAIN. On this collection of much-loved Keelaghan songs, James revisits
these tunes to rerecord them, making them more representative of what he shares with his live audiences today. It's
not so much a 'best of', but a 'better than ever'; with 11 new recordings of Keelaghan favourites.
James spearheads a wide range of creative projects. In 1996, he won the Global Visions Artist of the Year award for his
work on the documentary Feeding the Future: The Seeds of Survival. He is also active on the radio-from regular
Canada Day broadcasts on the CBC (Canada's national broadcaster), to two radio series for CKUA radio in Alberta.
Songlines asks songwriters about their favourite songs. In Sense of Place, Keelaghan asks musicians from around
the world the question- "Why do you live where you live?"
While many artists find it dificult to 'break' out of Canada, Keelaghan has simultaneously built a following in the U.S.,
Europe, and Australia. He tours all three regions regularly. He performed at the 30th anniversary of Denmark's Tønder
Festival, and he was the first Canadian to play the Hong Kong Festival in 1995. He was a founding Board member of
the North American Folk Alliance. More recently, his song 'Cold Missouri Waters' was recorded by folk 'super group'
Cry Cry Cry (Dar Williams, Lucy Kaplansky, and Richard Shindell) and in 2002, won first place in the folk category in
the USA Songwriting Competition. The compeition also recognized James this year, yet again, by awarding him .rst
place in the folk category for 'Message To The Future'.
A commanding performer, James Keelaghan develops an intimate rapport with audiences through his stories and
humour - and then leaves them spellbound with passionate renditions of songs that touch on universal emotions and
relate historical events to the present.
As a matter of fact you can look him up in the Canadian Encyclopedia. James is fond of noting that his entry is longer
than the one for the Royal Bank. But shorter than the one for the red squirrel.
Venue
753 View Street
Restaurant / Cafe / Pub
Capacity150
Open / Operational
In-Person Event
Thu. October 29th 2009 + Add to Calendar
Hermann's Jazz Club
