The Shuswap is home to a great deal of talent.
That is the reason singer-songwriter- musician Kelly Hopkins is bringing back the Songwriters Showcase Series she first introduced in Vernon in 2002.
“Because of all the talented musicians and songwriters heard in the area, I wanted to have a stage where people could hear it,” says Hopkins. “It was Okanagan-wide and also featured artists from Kelowna and Kamloops.”
After the success of the showcase series in Vernon, Kelly brought it to Salmon Arm, hosting a fall and spring series of three acts at the Salmon Arm Centre.
As well as hosting the first of the new series in September, Kelly and Blu, acoustic musicians and songwriters, will perform their folk, roots and bluegrass music.
Focusing on original material, their extensive repertoire allows them to blend traditional and contemporary tunes with a dash of humour, charming their audiences with a mellow brew of good times and good tunes.
A true troubadour, Blu’s influences span the likes of Bill Monroe and Woody Guthrie, Gordon Lightfoot and Stan Rogers. His storytelling songwriting style reflects his experiences working and performing across Canada.
In addition to the two BCIMA awards, Blu is a 16-time nominee for Okanagan Music Awards and BC Music Awards in both songwriter and folk artist categories and, with Kelly, as Folk Roots/Bluegrass band of the year.
The duo have shared the bill with many well known artists including, Kelly Joe Phelps, Allen Dobb, Bill Henderson, Ben Mink, Veda Hille, Jim Byrnes, Roy Forbes, Todd Butler, Valdy, Ken Hamm and Gary Fjellgaard.
An accomplished songwriter, Kelly’s songs vary from rollicking good fun to heartfelt and poignant ballads.
Her acoustic bass and mandolin compositions combine traditional with a touch of the new, and her harmonies combine well with Blu’s smokey baritone voice.
The duo will play host to two other talented musicians to the mix – Megan Abel and Jesse Mast and, for the first time, will be taking the showcase on the road, touring Kamloops, Calgary and Edmonton.
Music has been a huge part of Abel’s life since she was about 14 years old, when her father introduced her to the guitar.
“Playing the guitar always felt natural to me, even when my fingertips were aching at the beginning,” she says. “It was something I truly felt, enjoyed and was passionate about, even at a young age.”
Abel began songwriting and says her music has been heavily influenced by such artists as Alanis Morissette and Stevie Nicks, with a touch of her own more acoustic and slightly folky sound.
“My music is so special to me because it is something I carry with me always, never failing to understand my deepest emotions,” she says.
A backpacking, music-making trip throughout Southeast Asia, changed her journey and life forever.
Abel wrote songs about her adventures along the way and enjoyed jams on the beach with other musicians.
Music aside, Abel says the most memorable part of the adventure was the connections she made with other people from around the world.
“When I play my music for strangers for the first time, it breaks down a barrier that is naturally there,” she says. “I love having a positive impact on other people’s lives.
Also able to move an audience – often onto the dance floor, talented Jesse Mast has been spending a lot of time in Nashville, writing and recording and “working with great producers.”
His new single, Somewhere South, a great summer ride, dropped on June 21. It was written by Terry McBride of McBride and the Ride and is doing well on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
“Fingers crossed; we’re definitely off to a good start,” says the accomplished guitar player, who is signed to Gord Bamford’s Cache Entertainment. “We cut it about a year ago when we were looking for new material for singles and reworked it.”
Mast has a new CD, which is being kept on the back burner for now.
Born in Edmonton, Mast is involved with a new charitable effort to raise funds for families suffering because of the downturn in the Alberta oilfields.
The young talent was excited by the rebooting of the songwriters showcase.
“I love to do it in our hometown, to get artists together to play some tunes,” he says, pointing out he’s an impromptu kind of guy, who likes to play to the moment. “However it goes, it’s always lots of fun, which is why we look forward to doing these showcases.”
The first of the series of Songwriters Showcase plays on Sept. 30, with the next two to take place in October in Kamloops, and another in Salmon Arm in November, with a new lineup.
