Fiddler April Verch is going to raise the roof at the Big Yellow Merville hall on Saturday, March 12th. Best known for playing traditional fiddle styles from her native Ottawa Valley, Verch’s performances extend into old-time American and Appalachian styles and beyond, for a well-rounded tour-de-force of North Americana sounds. She tours with world-class musicians as a trio, featuring acoustic guitar, mandolin, bass and clawhammer banjo.
April Verch, a fiddler, singer, step-dancer and songwriter, grew up living and breathing roots music and she knows how relevant an old tune can be. At the heart of her shows lie Verch’s delicate voice, energetic foot percussion, and shimmering fiddle-work. One might suspect an artist with as many talents as Verch would pause to take a breath, or need to somewhat compartmentalize her skills during a live show. But on stage, Verch is almost superhuman, flawlessly intertwining and overlapping different performance elements. She step-dances while fiddling. She sings while step-dancing. Sometimes she sings, steps and fiddles all at once, with apparent ease and precision. Verch is a triple threat in performance, her live show a beautiful companion to her music: versatile, robust, and masterfully executed.
On tour to promote her 10th album, The Newpart , Verch, with producer Casey Driessen, digs deep into songs and tunes from the era before the often-mined mid-century heyday of bluegrass and folk, harkening back to vaudeville and beyond. “These songs don’t need to be revived,” Verch exclaims. “They are timeless. They are still very much alive and relevant.” All Comox Valley fiddlers will delight in the electrifying show that April and her band will present. And don’t be surprised if some local fiddling talent opens the show and gets those toes atwitchin’.
So, join this dynamic group on Saturday, March 12th, at the Big Yellow Merville Hall as they blow away the fog and rain with their powerful playing.
Doors open 7:00pm, the show starts 7:30pm.
=0D=0A=Tickets $20 adult/$10 youth and will be on sale at The Music Plant in Campbell River, Blue Heron Books in Comox and Long & McQuade in Courtenay.
FMI: Craig 339-4249 or: http://aprilverch.com/