Celebrating 25th anniversary
with The Edge on Folk
By STEVE EDGE
 WAKE THE DEAD with Kevin Carr (uilleann pipes, fiddle, whistle), Maureen Brennan (Celtic harp), Danny Carnahan (guitar, vocals), Paul Kotapish (mandolin, bouzouki etc.), Sylvia Herold (vocals, guitar), Cindy Browne (bass), and Brian Rice (percussion).
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VANCOUVER How many of you can remember where you were each Saturday for the past 25 years? Well, I've made the trek up to CiTR at UBC pretty much every Saturday since June 1, 1985 to host The Edge On Folk.
To mark the 25th anniversary, The Rogue is presenting a celebratory concert at St. James Hall (3214 West 10th Avenue) on June 4 with Wake The Dead, the world's first all-star Celtic Grateful Dead Jam Band!
This California septet first blended the songs of the late Jerry Garcia and his writing partner Robert Hunter with joyous jigs, rollicking reels, and alluring airs on their eponymous debut CD in 2000.
They have since released two more CDs, and mostly play gigs and festivals in Northern California and Oregon.
We have been able to entice them north of the border for this special show, and it's a must for devotees of the most tuneful songs in The Dead's repertoire, for fans of Celtic music, for fans of my radio show, and for the musically adventurous in general.
Wake The Dead comprises Kevin Carr (uilleann pipes, fiddle, whistle), Maureen Brennan (Celtic harp), Danny Carnahan (guitar, vocals), Paul Kotapish (mandolin, bouzouki etc.), Sylvia Herold (vocals, guitar), Cindy Browne (bass), and Brian Rice (percussion).
Perhaps the best known in these parts is Paul Kotapish, from his years touring with Kevin Burke's Open House, while Kevin Carr is a regular visitor to Seattle's NW Folklife Festival.
Their music ranges from the gorgeous alliance of Sugaree with O'Carolan's Lord Inchiquin to powerhouse acoustic folk rockin' versions of Bertha and China Cat Sunflower set amongst reels like Christmas Eve and the Cliffs of Moher (sped up to a jerky Balkan rhythm and renamed Cliffs of Mostar!).
The rambling psychedelic imagery of The Other One is brought back to this green earth with the old Bothy Band classic The Pipe On The Hob.
Friend of the Devil finds its way out of the desert and into the greenery of the Banks of Lough Gowna, and Prodigal Town pairs sublimely with another Carolan classic, Planxty Hewlett.
Some of the Dead's songs were pretty much acoustic in the first place, and many are replicated faithfully by this fine band with added spring and brightness added by their fully acoustic sound and the expert bodhran and Latin percussion of Brian Rice.
The vocal blend of Sylvia Herold and Danny Carnahan adds an extra dimension and appeal. For more information, visit their website www.wakethedead.org.
Another must for fans of Celtic and acoustic music is the rearranged gig by Quebec's Le Vent du Nord on May 30. They were on tour in Europe when the Icelandic volcano shut down the airways, and we had to postpone their April show.
Fortunately, we have been able to find them another date at St. James Hall. This is a really fine band, with fiddle, vielle a roue, accordion, guitar, piano, and four-part harmony vocals plus, of course, the trademark Quebecois sound of pounding feet! www.leventudnord.com.
Emma Beaton is an award-winning young singer and cellist from Vancouver Island. She played here last year with the Folk Arts Quartet, and this year she's bringing her latest project, Joy Kills Sorrow, all the way from her adopted home at Boston's Berklee College of Music.
She is the singer in this band, which also boasts the youngest American finger-style guitar champion and a very fine banjo player. The music is a sublime blend of old time and bluegrass influences with songs mostly penned by bassist Bridget Kearney.
Their new CD, Darkness Sure Becomes This City, has just been released on Signature Sounds. I saw them showcasing at the recent Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis and was totally blown away!
For more testimonials, and to hear some of their music, check out their website www.joykillssorrow.com. They are playing The Rogue on May 14, the start of the Rogue's 23rd birthday weekend three concerts in three nights at St. James Hall.
For full details of all Rogue Folk concerts, visit www.roguefolk.bc.ca, where you can also purchase tickets, listen to music samples, watch clips of bands on YouTube, and check out the Rogue's gallery section for concert photos, Edge On Folk playlists, and a complete list of Rogue performers since 1987.
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