Two local musicians have been invited to open for Toronto-based singer-songwriter Big Rude Jake, at a concert in Barrie, taking place Saturday, May 10.
The pair, Sandra Ruttan and Paula Terry-Lancaster, were spotted by Jake, whose real name is A. Jacob Hiebert, when they were performing their original work at The Free Times Café on College Street in Toronto recently.
Big Rude Jake is one of the country’s leading proponents of house concerts, or informal gatherings of friends, who come together in private homes to listen to performers.
In this kind of setting, especially popular within folk music circles, ticket prices are lowered because no expensive venue needs to be rented; the artists are guaranteed a packed house and a convivial crowd, and the concert itself becomes very intimate and rewarding for performers and audience alike.
Jake has been a legendary swing performer on the Toronto scene for many years. His music has appeared both in film and television, and he has six albums under his belt. In addition to international touring and regular performances, Jake has created a program called Aqua Vitae, which makes live music accessible to the elderly in nursing homes and hospitals.
His seventh album, Quicksand, is due out this summer. For more information, click the link provided.
Ruttan is the owner of StudioVivo, and will be the guest soloist for a performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto Number 21 in C Major with the Huronia Symphony Orchestra this autumn. She also teaches piano at the Huronia Arts Academy on Toronto Street, and has made regular appearances with Opera Barrie, the Apollo Chamber Orchestra, the New Tecumseth Singers and the Amity Piano Trio.
Selections of Terry-Lancaster’s poetry will be published in the international journal, Labour of Love, this summer. She was one of five judges at the Toronto Slam Poetry finals recently, and won the Audience Choice award at Toronto’s WordJam competition.
Her new CD, Vandals in the Temple, is due to be released this summer.
Tickets for the May 10, concert, which starts at 7:30 p.m., at 10 Lay St, near the Duckworth/Wellington Street intersection, are available by calling 728-3079, or by e-mailing to paula@writefirsttime.com.
