Fairy tale
Tickets are available now for a special New Year’s treat for all ages – Flamenco del Mar founder Jill Tunbridge‘s live presentation of her original whimsical fantasy fairy tale, Fairy of the Night and Still – which returns to White Rock Playhouse (1532 Johnston Rd.) in two performances only (at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m.) this Saturday (Jan. 4). Suitable for children and imaginative adults, the two-hour show, created by White Rock writer/dancer/producer Tunbridge, was successfully launched last January at the playhouse.
The reading of this “out-of-this-world” poetry and prose fantasy is enhanced by and interspersed with both atmospheric music and creative multi-idiom dance performances by artists from the B.C. dance community, including members of Tunbridge’s own Flamenco del Mar Spanish Dance Studio.
Dancers include Vancouver-based flamenco performer Maria Avila, lately returned from Spain after finishing her master’s degree in dance at York University in Toronto.
Also featured will be special guests Kat Siemens (as the Fairy); Diana Perry (as the Golden Falcon); belly dance troupe Shimmy for the Soul; and tango duo Patricia and Bobbi Lusic – with added magic supplied by ballerinas from Just for Kicks Dance.
Narration is by yours truly, Alex Browne.
For more information on the book – and some of Tunbridge’s other works – visit jilltunbridge.com
For tickets and other information, call Tunbridge at 604-542-2096 or email her at jilltunbridge@hotmail.com
Tickets ($24, seniors $20, children $15) are also available at the theatre box office (604-536-7535) or at whiterockplayers.ca
Blue Frog
White Rock’s popular intimate recording studio/live concert venue Blue Frog Studios (1328 Johnston Rd.) continues to promote concerts by world-class touring talents – including local and Lower Mainland-based acts.
Coming up is Randy Hansen‘s Tribute to Jimi Hendrix (Saturday, Jan. 11; tickets still available for the second show at 9:15 p.m.).
Born in Seattle – like Hendrix – Hansen has been honing his tribute to the legend during a long and internationally renowned career as a master guitarist.
His guitar pyrotechnics, featured on the soundtrack of the 1980 Academy Award winner Apocalypse Now, led to a recording contract with Capitol Records, and numerous CD’s in Europe.
Over the years, Hansen has worked with such artists as Steve Miller, Paul Rodgers (Free, Bad Company, The Firm, Queen), Buddy Miles, Don Wilson (The Ventures), Alan White (YES, John Lennon), Sammy Hagar, Herbie Hancock, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Robert Cray, Roger Fisher (Heart), Bob Seger and Hendrix alumni Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell.
Continuing the exploration of the possibilities of the guitar, Just Me and My Guitars (Sunday, Jan. 12, 7 p.m.), is an extravaganza by highly creative looping guitarist Johnny A.
A Boston Hall of Fame inductee, Johnny A. is a Gibson and now Epiphone signature guitarist (the Johnny A. Gibson is one of their most popular selling signature models), as well as a spectacular performer guaranteed to mesmerize an audience from his first riff.
Having shared the stage with artists ranging from BB King to Steve Vai – and performed at such prestigious festivals as Eric Clapton’s Crossroads, the Montreal Jazz Festival and Tokyo’s Fuji Rock Festival – he’s coming back to his roots, with an intimate solo performance at Blue Frog.
The evening celebrates some of the greatest, and most influential, guitar work in history, highlighting melodies and arrangements from the British songbook of the ’60s.
For tickets and more information on these and other upcoming shows, visit bluefrogstudios.ca
Club 240
Total Music Group presents regular Live at Club 240 Friday-night dances starting in February with a wide variety of bands at the Crescent Legion Branch 240 (2643 128 St.).
Dances resume Feb. 7 with George Cameron‘s Southbound.
Virginia-born vocalist/mandolinist Cameron’s mission, since 2014, has been to bring the authentic Southern Rock sound north of the 49th Parallel.
Mixing in a bit of Texas blues, a splash of classic rock and a dash of contemporary country, Southbound revisits everything from the Allman Brothers Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd to Chris Stapleton and ZZ Top, featuring Jim Cassidy (guitar and vocals), Steve Kulusic (guitar and vocals) and Dave Young (bass and vocals).
Tickets ($20) are also on sale at brownpapertickets.com
For info on other Club 240 events, including a regular Wednesday night bluegrass jam (at 8 p.m.) and special Saturday night shows and dances, call the legion box office (604-535-1043).
