The People’s Music Series continues in Cumberland this month with another great show February 23 with Raghu Lokanathan and Corwin Fox at the Cumberland United Church.
Having spent the better part of a decade honing his craft of songwriting (featuring casts of off-beat characters), and mastering many an instrument (guitar, banjo, accordion, and more), Raghu Lokanathan has taken the many lessons he’s learned, mixed with a handful of the friends he’s made along the way, and crafted some very beautiful music.
His songs are regular requests on CBC programs like the Vinyl Café and Richardson’s Roundup, whose host Bill Richardson called the song Ramona “genius”.
When Lokanathan played at the Vancouver Folk Festival, the late great Utah Phillips heard him, and said he “writes songs like they used to a long time ago.”
Lokanathan and his friend, folk scene veteran and indie producer Corwin Fox, began to collaborate musically, putting together a snappy little EP called Petal Press which they toured British Columbia to support.
The two clicked beautifully, laying the foundations for the recording of the Fox-produced Blue Girl, an album which abandons the solo singer-songwriter model for something far more suited to the quirk and nuance of his songs. And the rest isn’t history yet, but they’re working on it.
Whether you’re living in small town misery crying “God help me, I think I wanna kill somebody” (Theme Song), an old school folkie seeking something new, or somewhere (or nowhere) in between, Lokanathan’s warm welcoming voice and whip smart turns of phrase are sure to draw you into the world he’s created that is far more colourful than the surface level blue.
Corwin Fox is well-known for his masterful lyric and melody writing and his unique style of highly contagious personal and political folk songs will have you singing along before you even realize it. In addition to his own musical career, fox is a sought after music producer, spending much of his time over the last few years recording and producing independent musicians.
Tickets for this concert are $15 in advance and $18 at the door. Once again, the People’s Museum of Cumberland is holding 20 youth tickets (18 and under) for free but these tickets must be reserved in advance as they will be released for sale at the door.
Doors at the United Church will open at 7:30 p.m.; the concert starts at 8 p.m. sharp.
Proceeds from this concert event go towards the Cumberland Museum’s 2012 Workers History Project. To book tickets call 250-336-2445 or email info@cumberlandmuseum.ca.
