2016 was a fun-filled musical year for us. Here's a quick recap...
The biggest news was that we released our third CD, For A Moment. We had the good fortune to record at Revolution Recording studio and to work with two different producers on the project. Kevin Quain, who co-produced our first two CDs, and Mike Elmer who joined us for the first time. They were both wonderful to work with and we were thrilled with the outcome. Our CD Launch Party in June at the Tranzac Club’s main hall was a great, SRO night as we transformed the big room into an intimate coffeehouse. We were joined on stage by many of the fab musicians who played on the CD...Wendell Ferguson on guitar, Dave Lang on double bass, Adam Warner on drums, and Kevin Quain on piano and electric bass. The CD has been distributed to radio stations within Canada and has had great support from DJ's here.
'Sue and Dwight' forged some new ground this year, in addition to our monthly Tranzac Club Sunday matinee with Dave Lang on bass and our 10th year performing at Winterfolk. New to us venues included The Station Coffee House in Brantford, where on a warm Autumn day we played outdoors beside the tracks. A well timed train rumbled by midway through the performance of 'Last Village Waltz', which has lyrics that reference the railway. We enjoyed playing outdoors so much that we were very pleased to be part of the new 'Music In The Park' series at Barbara Hall Park in the Village. We also were thrilled to perform at the 120 Diner on Church Street for the first time, where Kevin Quain joined us on piano and bass. And we must mention the wonderful experience we had being part of Michael Wrycraft's James Taylor Tribute show at Hugh's Room last January...what a way to kick off the year!
As part of the group 'Where Have All The Folk Songs Gone' we had some major highlights as well. We performed our monthly show at the Free Times right through the Summer this year to mostly full houses and capped off the year with a special New Years Eve show. The club was jam packed and owner, Judy Perly tells us she had to turn away 100 people who called in for reservations. Yikes! The Folk Revival also took us to Hamilton’s Artbar, Niagara on the Lake, and some special private and festival shows. Hard to believe, but we just wrapped up 4 years of doing this show together.
An entirely new and very fulfilling venture for us in 2016 was a collaboration with SMILE Theatre. SMILE brings small theatrical productions to senior's residences and other venues across Canada, where people may not be able to get out to attend live productions. We created a special two person edition of 'Where Have All the Folk Songs Gone' for SMILE and have performed for a number of appreciative audiences.
We are looking forward to 2017 and all the exciting new adventures ahead!