Ian Sherwood and Coco Love Alcorn are bringing their unique blend of folk, pop and soul to the Charlie White next month, a concert that’s sure to be as much fun for the duo as it is for the audience.
First meeting in 2007 when Sherwood opened for Alcorn in Halifax, the pair quickly hit it off.
“We immediately started touring together,” said Sherwood. “Eventually it became a melded set, and it very organically became the ‘Ian and Coco’ show, rather than each of us individually.”
Melding Sherwood’s award-winning folksy stylings with Alcorn’s smooth, soulful vocals, the duo took their combined wealth of musical experience and talents and unearthed a sound that audiences loved.
Winning Best Male Artist at the 2012 International Acoustic Music Awards and Contemporary Singer of the Year at the 2013 Canadian Folk Music Awards, Sherwood has proven his mettle in the folk world.
Alcorn has a handful of nominations from the East Coast Music Awards and Nova Scotia Music Awards, including Female Album of the Year, Jazz Album of the Year and Songwriter of the Year.
And with a band’s worth of instruments between them, the sound is certainly never stale.
“She dabbles in trumpet, and I play saxophone,” said Sherwood. “There’s a big sound for just two people.”
The duo use that fullness of sound to make sure every show they perform is exactly what their audience wants.
“We share our sense of humour as well, so there’s a lot of laughter onstage. We do a professional show, but we like it to be very loose,” he said.
“The audience is really important to us, so when we do a show, we really want to make sure the audience is having a good time,” said Sherwood.
Good times are sure to be had all around, as Sherwood and Alcorn only get to play together a few times a year due to their packed schedules.
“This will be the first show that we’ve done in about a half a year, so we’re very excited,” said Sherwood. “It’s a ton of fun.”
Ian and Coco take the stage at 8 p.m. Saturday, May 9 at the Charlie White Theatre at the Mary Winspear Centre, 2243 Beacon Avenue.
Tickets are $26.25, available at the box office, at marywinspear.ca or by calling 250-656-0275.
For more information, visit iansherwood.com or cocolovealcorn.com.
Ticket Giveaway!
Enter by May 1 for a chance to win one of two pairs of tickets to see Ian and Coco, May 9 at the Mary Winspear Centre.
Simply email your name, phone number, and the name of the society presenting the show to reporter@peninsulanewsreview.com.
Winners will be drawn randomly and notified May 4.
