Saturday, July 30, 8:00 pm

Noodle Connection

A pan-Asian stir-fry of music, memories and more featuring Kokuho Rose Prohibited and Inalienable Rice Revisited.

Joyce Chong: vocals
Sean Gunn: bass
John Endo Greenaway: guitar
Linda Uyehara Hoffman: vocals
Rick Shiomi: mandolin

Kokuho Rose Prohibited was formed in 1977 by a group of Japanese and Chinese Canadians with a shared love of folk and blues music. It was a seminal period for Asian Canadian culture and cross-pollination was rife. Shakuhachi master Takeo Yamashiro co-founded Tonari Gumi. Mandolin player Rick Shiomi coordinated the inaugural Powell Street Festival in 1977. He, along with Linda Uyehara Hoffman, Sean Gunn and others, edited Inalienable Rice, a Chinese & Japanese Canadian Anthology, featuring many important artists including Terry Watada, Joy Kogawa, the late Jim Wong Chu, Tamio Wakayama, and Roy Kiyooka. John Endo Greenaway later became the longest serving editor of The Bulletin, a Journal of Japanese Canadian Community, History and Culture. Members of the group went on to found Katari Taiko, Canada’s first taiko group, and a number of other taiko groups across North America. Noodle Connection reunites five members of the band for an intimate evening of memories shared through songs, stories, poetry, visuals, special guests, and of course food.

For more information and tickets: www.firehallartscentre.ca or call the Firehall Box Office at 604.689.0926

Sunday, July 31, 7:30 pm

Niho, Fito, Y Marlin

High-energy Latin music and culture.

Niho Takase: piano
Fito Garcia: bass
Marlin Ramazzini: vocals, percussion

JUNO nominated pianist Niho Takase instantly fell in love with Cuban music when pianist Kathy Kidd introduced her to Latin music in college. Niho played in the Latin Jazz Ensemble led by renowned percussionist Sal Ferreras, later led by composer/trumpeter John Korsrud. Those experiences help her achieve her goal of studying music in Cuba and Spain. Marlin Ramazzini, JUNO Award nominee and recipient of the Vancouver Inspirational Latin Awards and Guatemalan Cultural Association Award, is one of the most versatile and accomplished Latin singers on the West Coast with a warm and sensuous voice that can tease out the essence of any song. She studied with Omara Portuondo, one of the greatest Cuban singers. Fito Garcia received a JUNO Award for his participation in El Camino Real by Ancient Cultures.  He has been nominated twice for West Coast Music Awards for Best World Music Album. Fito produced a new album Life is For Doing Things by The Tommy Kae Band and Marlin Ramazzini’s second album Amandote.

nihotakase.com

For more information and tickets: www.firehallartscentre.ca or call the Firehall Box Office at 604.689.0926

Friday, August 5, 7:30 pm

Don McGlashan

Thoughtful, literate songs about love, distance and homeware.

Don McGlashan: vocals, guitar

Don McGlashan is one of New Zealand’s most highly regarded songwriters and musicians. He has five entries in APRA’s 100 Best Ever NZ Songs and has won many awards, including two APRA Silver Scrolls (for NZ’s top songwriter.) He has a long-standing working relationship with Neil Finn, and has toured as both a member of, and opening act for Crowded House, as well as collaborating with the likes of Paul Kelly and the Violent Femmes. The UK’ s Q Magazine described Don’s band The Mutton Birds as coming “from the same cerebral power-pop mother lode as Big Star and early REM”. In 1997 The Mutton Birds were  selected by The Tragically Hip to tour across Canada as part of their “Another Roadside Attraction”  extravaganza, and they also opened for The Hip several times in the UK and the Netherlands during that period. McGlashan currently divides his time between Auckland and Vancouver, where he performs regularly, including acclaimed sets at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival in 2019.

"A masterclass in song craft... with an inner world all his own." (Australian Rolling Stone)

donmcglashan.com

For more information and tickets: www.firehallartscentre.ca or call the Firehall Box Office at 604.689.0926

Saturday, August 6, 7:30 pm

Murray Porter Band

Lead by the legendary Mohawk blues man Murray Porter, this band of seasoned musicians gains new audiences every time they perform their soulful blues.

Murray Porter: lead vocals, keyboard
Helene Duguay: harmonies, bass
Rick Boulter: guitar
Darren Harry: drums

JUNO Award-winning Murray Porter may have a blues soul to the core, but he also grew up on rock and roll, R & B and country music and his recent album Stand Up! reflects these early musical influences. This year, he was nominated for the `Blues With A Feeling’ award for Lifetime Achievement from the Maple Blues Awards, Canada’s national blues awards. Porter’s love of performing comes across clear and strong. He has been compared to Dr. John, Joe Cocker and even Elton John! He captivates audiences wherever he performs and makes new fans that never leave his show disappointed. He’s a proud Mohawk man from Six Nations of the Grand River Territory in southern Ontario, who now lives on Squamish Nation unceded territory in North Vancouver, BC.

“A master bluesman” (Robbie Robertson).

murrayporter.ca

For more information and tickets: www.firehallartscentre.ca or call the Firehall Box Office at 604.689.0926

Sunday, August 7, 3:00 pm

x/o

Experimental, electronic, ambient, industrial, triphop, breakbeat, soundtrack, electroacoustic.

Veron Xio: electronic music producer, vocals

x/o is Veron Xio, the Vietnamese-Canadian electronic music producer, performer, filmmaker and visual artist who spends their time between their native Vancouver and Berlin. Focusing on disrupting gender binaries through audiovisual storytelling, x/o uses hyper-feminine/masculine tropes and butterfly evolution allegories to build new worlds exploring nuances in duality and cyclical emotions. Five years after releasing their debut EP Cocoon Egg, x/o followed up with their groundbreaking sequel, Chaos Butterfly, which is an epic tale of catharsis and self-actualization explored through metamorphosis. It is a free-falling kaleidoscopic journey into a beautiful nightmare, both cataclysmic and tender. x/o has performed internationally including festivals and institutions such as 3HD Festival Berlin, MUTEK Montreal, Palais de Tokyo, House of electronic Arts Basel, and has shared stages with artists such as Chino Amobi, Elysia Crampton, M.E.S.H., and Jlin. x/o is a founding member of s.M.i.L.e, a trail-blazing collective of like-minded artists in Vancouver pushing the boundaries of club experimentation.

“A criss-cross of glitchy textures, grungy 90’s trip-hop beats and heavy metal grit.” – Sonduke Magazine

x-o-xio.bandcamp.com/album/chaos-butterfly

For more information and tickets: www.firehallartscentre.ca or call the Firehall Box Office at 604.689.0926

Saturday, August 13, 7:30 pm

Curtis Clear Sky & Constellationz

Uplifting empowering Indigenous narrative with funky grooves consisting of hip-hop, funk, blues & soul.

Curtis Clear Sky: lead vocals
Tia Taurere-Clear Sky: supporting vocals
Terran Eason: drums
Tai Quinn Whyte: keyboard
Peter Beach: bass
Beaver Thomas: guitar

Curtis Clear Sky and the Constellationz captivate audiences with their funky rhythms, thundering percussion, blasting horns, soulful harmonies, dicing & slicing DJ with empowering lyrics that gratify your soul. Curtis and his band’s highly-engaging performances make you “bump with the booming blasting blare” and you’ll be “moving your feet like you don’t care.”

constellationz.com

For more information and tickets: www.firehallartscentre.ca or call the Firehall Box Office at 604.689.0926

Sunday, August 14, 3 pm

Serenata Mexicana

Featuring the duo of Mexican soprano Lili Nogueras and Cuban guitarist Josué Tacoronte with trombonist Jeremy Berkman.

Lili Nogueras: vocals
Josué Tacoronte: guitar
Jeremy Berkman: trombone

Two years ago, Lili Nogueras and Josué Tacoronte began their duo with the project Opera Flamenca and now they perform a program of traditional Mexican songs, with classical/popular voice and flamenco guitar. For this special performance they are joined by guest trombonist Jeremy Berkman who brings a unique and original musical contrast. As a trio they were featured in “Elementos” for Turning Point Ensemble's 1+1+1 film project and were recently invited to contribute to the Victoria Flamenco Festival. Pianist and soprano Lili Nogueras began studying music at the age of 6 and has studied and performed around the world. Acclaimed by critics, guitarist Josué Tacoronte has released three albums and in 2013 he was awarded Best Concert Interpreter at the International Festival CUBADISCO Awards. Trombonist Jeremy Berkman currently performs with the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, Cappella Borealis, and the Vancouver Brass Orchestra and has contributed to over 30 commercial recordings.

For more information and tickets: www.firehallartscentre.ca or call the Firehall Box Office at 604.689.0926

Friday, August 19, 7:30 pm

Kutapira

Zimbabwean marimba with West African and Afro-Cuban percussion.

Sangito Bigelow: marimba, percussion, drums, vocals
Theo Vincent: marimba, percussion, drums
Jeremy Bryant: marimba, percussion, drums
Kai Buchan: marimba, percussion
JeanSe: electric bass

Melding the rhythms of Zimbabwe and West Arica with Reggae, Samba, Afrobeat, Funk, Jazz, Cumbia, Disco and Hip Hop, this fusion of styles is intelligently selected, seamlessly blended and brought to you by Kutapira. ​What started out thirteen years ago as a youth world music initiative has metamorphosized into the crowd-pleasing percussion explosion known today as Kutapira. The name Kutapira means “Sweetness” in the Shona language of Zimbabwe, a fitting title for a band that plays a fusion of Zimbabwean marimba with West African and Afro-Cuban percussion. For years they performed exclusively as a mallet swinging, skin-slapping quintet but now, in their latest evolutionary form, they feature vocals and electric bass. 

kutapira.com

For more information and tickets: www.firehallartscentre.ca or call the Firehall Box Office at 604.689.0926

Saturday, August 20, 7:30 pm

The Fugitives

Modern folk music with big streaks of storytelling.

Brendan McLeod: guitar, vocals
Adrian Glynn: bass, balalaika, lead vocals
Chris Suen: banjo, vocals
Carly Frey: violin, vocals

A folk collective headed by songwriters Adrian Glynn and Brendan McLeod, the band has toured extensively through Canada, Western Europe, and the UK. Over the past twelve years, they’ve earned a reputation for unforgettable live shows, brimming with complex harmonies, infectious storytelling and top-notch musicianship. Trench Songs, The Fugitives' fifth record, was nominated for two Canadian Folk Music Awards and a JUNO Award for Traditional Roots Album of the Year. Their previous album, The Promise of Strangers, won Best Folk Album of 2019 from the German Music Critics' Association and before that, 2013's Everything Will Happen spent ten weeks on the top ten Canadian folk charts and earned them a support slot across Western Canada with Buffy Sainte-Marie and an appearance at UK’s Glastonbury Festival.

 “This show is simply brilliant” (CBC)

fugitives.ca

For more information and tickets: www.firehallartscentre.ca or call the Firehall Box Office at 604.689.0926

Sunday, August 21, 3:00 pm

Public Dreams

Zheng and drums manifest a momentary cross-cultural conversation.

Andrea Wong: zheng
Spencer Schoening: drums
Shruti Ramani: vocals
Nikko Whitworth: bass
Meredith Bates: violin

Public Dreams is an experimental musical group that explores the convergence of different musical traditions and cultures through free improvisation. Drawing on folk, rock, and jazz influences, they meet in a playful space for public dialogue between distant soundscapes. Public Dreams’ exchange of eclectic grooves and vulnerable melodies are driven by the fleeting nature of improvisation with hopes to define a present moment.

For more information and tickets: www.firehallartscentre.ca or call the Firehall Box Office at 604.689.0926