Singer-songwriter Bill Bourne has been called a “national treasure” and a “master folk musician.” The three-time Juno Award winner will perform in concert Sunday, March 27 at the Shuswap Theatre.
The great-grandson of Icelandic poet laureate Stefan Stefansson, Bourne was raised in a musical family in rural Alberta. He says that his musical education began at the age of two, when nighttime would often find him sleeping behind the piano at country dances while his parents were on-stage performing. His music is as diverse as it is rich, with traditional elements from around the world. Bourne plays guitar and sings with a deep and soulful sound. His songs convey rhythms and stories that are both poetic and life- affirming.
Bourne also loves to collaborate with friends, the most recent being with Jasmine Ohlhauser and Wyckham Porteous in the band Bop Ensemble. Over the years Bourne has teamed up with, recorded and toured with such notable musicians as Alan MacLeod, Eivør Pálsdóttir from the Faroe Islands and Madagascar Slim.
Travelling the highway, both paved and metaphysical, runs through Bourne’s music. He has seen more of this country (as well as a fair number of others) than most people ever will. You can hear it in his music and Bourne has become a mainstay on the international roots scene.
Life on the road is reflected in Bourne’s music – powerful rhythms and soulful songs, steeped in world beat, blues, Cajun, Celtic, folk, flamenco and funk.
“Music is a dance – a happy heart,” says Bourne. “Music is the great teacher. The life in music is its power of transcendence. Music is a healing force that benefits all living things.”
Shuswap Theatre doors open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7. Tickets are $20 and are available at Acorn Music and the SAGA Public Art Gallery.
