Two excellent musicians are lighting an emotional fire under the Firehall in East Sooke on Saturday, April 9.
Singer/songwriter Adian Knight is in concert at the unique East Sooke Community Hall starting at 7:30 p.m. doors at 7 p.m.
Knight is an melodic observer of life and a fine guitarist. Also on the bill is Paul O’Brien whose strong, warm voice and British working-man roots rouse emotions with powerful songs about social injustice.
Tickets at Bill’s Store in East Sooke or by calling 250- 642-7282
Aidan Knight’s Friendly Fire’s EP follows his acclaimed debut Versicolour, an eight song collection of haunted chamber-folk and orchestral pop that saw him turning heads and gaining momentum throughout 2010. The 24-year-old Victoria native has appeared in numerous jacket credits, playing everything from spacey electric mandolin to violent, pounding hardcore drums. Knight’s ability to play with instrumentation is in top form on Friendly Fires’ playful structures and beautiful final notes.
Knight has recorded and performed with Maurice, Counting Heartbeats, Hannah Georgas, David Vertesi, and The Zolas and has shared stages with Patrick Watson, Frank Black (The Pixies), Matthew Barber, The Acorn, Valdy, Bahamas, Tegan & Sara, and Dan Mangan amongst many others. Playing his distinct brand of orchestral folk-pop in theatres, festivals, house concerts and even touring his home province by bicycle.
O’Brien is a singer/songwriter with deep roots and broad horizons. Born and raised Irish Catholic in an English inner city, he spent the first twenty-odd years of his professional life playing traditional Celtic music for pub gigs, folk festivals, folk clubs and private concerts throughout the U.K., Europe, the U.S. and the Middle East.
At age 38, finding himself burned out, creatively stifled and desperately unhappy, he turned off and checked out. In 2004 he left the U.K. and his music career behind, moving with his family to Canada’s Pacific coast for a fresh start as a classroom teacher in Victoria, BC.
In the long tradition of folk/roots artists everywhere, he honours his musical roots by teaching guitar, mandolin and bodhran, the traditional Irish drum. (In fact, he is a virtuoso bodhran player, and will sometimes treat audiences to a hypnotic interlude of drumming.) In the space of one song, he can take his audience from foot stomping energy to the absolute stillness of choked-back tears.
Paul O’Brien has made four solo albums: Walk Back Home, Plastic, Sacred Line and Take a Chance. His 11 children’s albums recorded in the UK have sold over 90,000 copies collectively.