Celtic, flamenco, folk, roots, world, blues, African rhythms and more – that’s what Tri-Continental will be serving up in Parksville on Saturday, Oct. 12.
The trio composed of Bill Bourne, Lester Quitzau and Madagascar Slim formed in 1999. Individually and collectively the group has received four Juno awards and ten nominations.
Their debut self-titled album won the 2001 Juno for Best Roots & Traditional album by a group.
“Together as Tri-Continental, something very special and magical happens with Bourne – the grand improviser, Quitzau – kidnapper of the blues taking it to new dimensions, and Madagascar Slim – his fascination with tradition and evolution found him on the leading edge as promoter of a new sound – the Malagasy blues,” said the group in a release.
In the past 20 years, the group has released five albums and toured across Canada and Europe. They took a seven year hiatus between 2009 and 2016 before returning for a tour across southern B.C.
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“They all have their own individual solo careers, blues world music and folk – that they kind of cross-over boundaries. That’s the big thing about Tri-Continental,” said Doug Pickard, owner of Ground Zero Acoustic Lounge.
“You’re gonna hear blues, but you’ll hear all this African influence because of Madagascar Slim.”
Pickard first heard their sound while visiting a record store on Salt Spring Island. He was immediately captivated by the tunes.
“I thought ‘what is that?’ It just caught me,” said Pickard.
He wanted to buy the record, but the record store employee wouldn’t sell it until he had finished listening to the album in its entirety.
“So when these guys approached me about playing here years later, I thought ‘oh my gosh.’ I never thought in a million years they’d come around. So it’s kind of a big deal to get them – they don’t tour very often,” said Pickard.
Tickets are available at the door at the Bayside Resort. Doors are at 7 p.m., and the show starts at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 12.
