West My Friend Album Release with special guest Mike Edel

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Thursday, March 6th, 2014
7:00 PM to 9:30 PM

�This album is a rare gem that brings together the best of so many things... there's echoes of old world klezmer music, anthems that soar like Broadway show tunes, and vocal harmonies that would be envy of the best old-time bluegrass bands. It's all wrapped up with beautiful mandolin and accordion notes that have me hitting the repeat button.�
- Jo-Ann Roberts: Host, All Points West, CBC Radio One

Tickets on sale at Larsen Music and online at Eventbrite.

With Mike Edel (solo) and many, many other special guests.

Pre-order the new album at http://westmyfriend.com/

Described as �quirky and tight� by Canadian folk legend Valdy, West My Friend utilizes an acoustic blend of instruments and four-part harmonies that challenges the conventions of popular music to create a performance that is both engaging and innovative. Songs are created through a collaborative process: well-crafted and clever lyrics, acrobatic mandolin riffs, flawless bass lines, and richly textured accordion combine as every member brings forward their own ideas and experiences.

West My Friend released their first full-length album Place in 2011, and it soon garnered multiple award nominations (including �Roots Album of the Year� and �Song of the Year� at the Vancouver Island Music Awards). Their second album, When The Ink Dries, is being released both nationally and internationally on March 6th 2014, with an accompanying 24-city Western Canada tour.

When The Ink Dries ranges in scope from intimate moments, featuring the four core musicians of the group, to rich orchestral arrangements that showcase the maturity, musicianship, and multi-instrumental abilities of each member. This, combined with guest musicians drawn from everywhere from the Victoria Symphony to Buena Vista Social Club, creates a memorable album that is both personal and compelling. The record is a significant step forward for West My Friend; the group�s collaboration with Grammy award-winning producer Joby Baker (Alex Cuba, Cowboy Junkies) and Juno award-winner David Travers-Smith (The Wailin� Jennys, Oh Susannah) provides a strong underpinning of experience in folk-roots music for this promising young band.

The wealth of musical experience and classical training in the group creates an interesting backdrop for their songwriting, allowing for levels of detail, intricacy, and counterpoint balanced with moments of simplicity. This sonically adventurous approach to music defines West My Friend as a key part of a growing movement of the new generation of grass-roots folk music taking place in Victoria, Vancouver and across British Columbia.

http://www.mikeedel.com/

With his debut The Last Of Our Mountains, Edel has learned that home, love and youthfulness are neither innocent nor simple. Born in rural Alberta, his youth was spent between rocky mountains and vast wheat fields. These landscapes shaped the album; a sharp and urgent collection of 8 songs that give way to the adventurous, compassionate and delicate.

Produced by Vancouver�s Winston Hauschild (Hannah Georgas, Hey Ocean), the making of The Last Of Our Mountains saw, a new human being birthed, the last use of Mushroom Studio�s vintage gear, an emergency trip to the hospital and many passages across the Strait of Georgia. The collection is bookended by Bottom Floor Apartment, in which smiles reassure and The Country Where I Came From where the longing for the idea of home and infinite possibilities of youth and love grow narrow. Mike Edel has since relocated from his family�s wheat farm to the seaside city of Victoria BC, where he has quickly formed a personal and musical home.

Mike Edel is no stranger to touring, he has toured across Western Canada 5 times and the Pacific Coastal States on 3 occasions. Edel has preformed at the Rifflandia Festival, the Tongue on the Post Folk Festival and won Rawlco Radio�s 10K20 grant.