The Wallaceburg & District Council For The Arts will kick off 2013 in a big way.
The newly re-vamped charitable organization recently announced their next event, slated for February 9th at the Jeanne Gordon Theatre in Wallaceburg, will feature Canadian blues mastermind Rick Fines.
Fines, one of the country’s leading blues, roots musicians and slide guitarists, will bring his highly touted Rick Fines Trio to the ‘Burg along with Rob Phillips on piano and Richard Simpkins on upright bass.
Tickets are now available from the Wallaceburg Museum for $25. Group and table reservations can be taken care of by calling 519-627-5978.
Rick’s name is familiar to the local audience, as he’s spent some time in Wallaceburg and Chatham-Kent during his nearly 30-year career with stops along the way including local venues on behalf of the Green Onion Folk Club and the former Council For The Arts.
“Rick is one of the finest musicians I have seen on a local stage, or any stage for that matter,” said Council For The Arts board member John Gardiner, a long-standing co-ordinator of local events, including the ever-popular Green Onion shows. Gardiner added that Fines is making his return to the area “by popular demand” from the listening audience.
His journey has been ripe with accolades along the way, including several MapleBlues Awards with multiple nods for Acoustic Act Of The Year. One of his biggest moments, Fines’ work and 15 years with Jackson Delta won him a Juno Award and several Thomas Handy awards along the way.
The Wallaceburg & District Council For The Arts, a 30-year-old institution devoted to stimulating awareness and appreciation for the arts in Wallaceburg and area, made its triumphant return at the tail end of 2012 with a highly successful Songwriter’s Showcase involving CCMA Hall of Famer and ‘Burg native Ralph Murphy, Jay Allan and Richard Knechtel.
The re-debut for the group was met by a packed house at the Jeanne Gordon Theatre and huge ovations and smiles from faces old and new among the crowd.
As Gardiner told his fellow board members following the show, “what you couldn’t really see that night, was me at the back of the room with a tear in my eye. Just knowing that we’d done something really good for our community and knowing that the Arts Council was coming back to life.”
The electric atmosphere of the event was echoed by the entertainers themselves. Jay Allan, a Bothwell resident who grew up in Glencoe and has become known as one of the best emerging country music songwriters in Canada, said he was blown away by the energy, the crowd and the Council For The Arts.
“If I could have a show like that once a week, my life as a songwriter would be more than perfect. Complete magic,” said Allan.
The magic continues with Rick Fines on Saturday, February 9th. Get your tickets now at the Wallaceburg Museum. Call 519-627-5978.
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