The Andrew Collins Trio, a multiple award winning band are releasing their new album And it was Good at the Merville hall on April 7 and 8.
The mercurial, five times JUNO-nominated and seven times Canadian Folk Music Awards winning mando maestro Andrew Collins finds himself at the epicentre of Canada’s burgeoning acoustic/roots music scene.
He didn’t invent it – but he’s certainly a major contributor, having co-founded Canadian bands like the Creaking String Quartet, the Foggy Hogtown Boys and, more recently, the Andrew Collins Trio.
As Collins gathers up innumerable awards and nominations by these various ensembles, he is zeroing in on the work he does with the trio.
Collins plays the mandolin, fiddle, guitar, mandola and mandocello.
Mike Mezzatesta, whose versatility and mastery shine through on guitar, mandolin, fiddle and mandola, and in-the-pocket James McEleney, holding it down on the bass, mandocello and vocals.
Showcasing a popular collision of bluegrass, folk, jazz, classical and swing, not to mention a dizzying number of instruments on stage, Collins and Co. appear to live by the old adage, “idle hands are the devil’s workshop.”
Their dynamic genre hopping show is further enhanced by Andrew’s captivating lead vocals and James’ soaring harmonies.
On the new offering, the Trio push into new territory, rendering each of the seven days to musical fruition in this new, Chamber Grass disc.
And It Was Good IS good – a labour of love inspired by the late Oliver Schroer, if not overseen by his musical specter.
The result is a lush-sounding, multi-layered composition bringing fresh meaning to an age-old story while demonstrating the depth of musicianship from each of these three players.
Taking musical cues from David Grisman, Andrew, Mike and James have ventured even further down this path of Newgrass and beyond – melding multiple genres after absorbing each of their boundaries – all towards extrapolating brave new musical worlds that can only be thought of as their own ‘creation’. Nothing less will do.
The event takes place at 7 p.m. both evenings. Tickets on April 7 are $15 for adults and $10 for youth. On April 8 they are $10 for adults and $5 for youth.
