H-Town rocks: Allison Crowe in Concert w. special guest, the Fairview Troubadours ~ The Music Room, Sept. 22

"Ever wonder what it would have been like to listen to a gifted singer/songwriter from Saskatchewan in a small, intimate hall before she became Joni Mitchell? Don't fret the missed opportunity. There's no need to turn back the clock. Check out Allison Crowe".

That's how The Record's Robert Reid set the stage for audiences in Kitchener-Waterloo - where Crowe began a Canadian concert tour swing last week. After a sold-out show in her new home, Corner Brook, NL, the acclaimed vocalist and pianist is now readying for a series of special dates in Halifax.

Next Saturday, September 22, at 8 p.m., Allison Crowe returns to Halifax's acoustic jewel, The Music Room, 6181 Lady Hammond Road, for a thrilling night of music performed on the venue's Model D Steinway - with guests, the Fairview Troubadours.

"Get a piece of paper and write Tori Amos in the top left hand corner. Then write Patti Smith top right, followed by Stevie Nicks and Leonard Cohen (stay with me) in the bottom two positions. Then draw diagonal lines from their names to the centre, forming a big symmetrical cross. Here is where you will find Allison Crowe's music," says Australia's culture site, The Scene. Fearlessly fitting her original songs alongside Pearl Jam, Ani DiFranco, The Beatles, Rock, Jazz, Broadway and more, she creates a joyous sound that one music critic describes as 'Elton John meets Edith Piaf'. Says JoniMitchell.com song curator, Bob Muller: "Treat yourself to one of the mightiest talents on the singer-songwriter scene today."

H-town music-lovers who venture out to The Music Room next Saturday night will be more than doubly-treated. Opening the night is the choral group of girls and boys from Fairview Heights Junior High and Elementary schools. Together with Choir/Band Director Virginia Baker, the Fairview Troubadours will present some favourite selections from Broadway and the popular songbook.

In advance of the big concert night, on Friday, September 21, from 7:00 - 8:30 a.m., in a broadcast from CTV Atlantic Studios, Allison Crowe will make music, and chat with Jayson Baxter, Maria Panopalis and the team at ASN's signature program, Breakfast Television. She's also delighted to return, that same Friday morning, to Fairview Heights School, for a "Pizza & Piano" event! This unique program, which highlights the important of music in a fully-rounded education, has, in past, featured guests as varied as actor/comedian Dan Aykroyd and singer-songwriter Jill Barber. And, before she travels from Halifax to Scotland as Canada's musical ambassador to the "John Lennon Northern Lights Festival" (taking place in Durness, Scotland from Sept. 28 - 30), Allison Crowe's magical mystery tour will include a heaping plate of spaghetti, or suitably fab 'Beatle Brunch' scrambled eggs, with Kool 96.5 FM show host Jamie Paterson.

"Allison has a special gift that is so very rare in musicians today. She is true to her mind, heart and spirit. She also has a most wonderful humor which envelops her audience," says Ross Hocker, long-time public broadcaster with NPR affiliate WGTE. Hocker, whose taste embraces Thelonious Monk, Bela Bartok and Charles Gounod, calls a recent performance by Allison Crowe "the most honest, heartfelt, and directly intimate concert in my entire life."


Advance tickets for Allison Crowe w. the Fairview Troubadours are $18 general/$12 students and seniors @: CD Plus ~ 1592 Barrington St., 902-422-1559; & The Music Room ~ 6181 Lady Hammond Rd. 902-429-9467
(Door prices: $22/$15)


Sláinte!