Scotland's Toppermost of
the Poppermost for Charismatic Canuck Musician Allison Crowe
Billy Kelly, the late, truly great, impresario, introduced Crowe
to Scotland at last year's Big, Big, World, Festival, declaring
her "Canada's most charismatic arrival in years".
This year, en route to the Highlands village of Durness for the
John Lennon Northern Lights Festival, Allison Crowe again plays
the Bossendorfer grand piano and sings for people at the Ramshorn.
It's a landmark Glaswegian venue which serves as Drama Centre for
the University of Strathclyde (Doors open at 7:30 p.m., 98 Ingram
Street).
"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," says Robert Reid of Canadian daily, The
Record. (more quotes are found @ http://www.allisoncrowe.com/pressquotes.html
)
From the Ramshorn, Crowe rolls on to the most remote part of
Britain's mainland. On Saturday, September 29, in the Village Hall
of Durness, she performs "Hallelujah" before the World
Premiere of "Beatle Prom" featuring Royal Academy of
Music players under Master of the Queen's Music, Sir Peter Maxwell
Davies. (One video version of Crowe covering Leonard Cohen's
beautiful song has been viewed over 480,000 times on YouTube.)
Sunday, September 30, the day after this classical Beatles music
night, Crowe duets on a Beatle John song with Todd Gordon,
Scotland's top male jazz vocalist. Next, she excites with her own
set of music spanning folk, jazz, blues, pop, gospel and rock.
In this age of the "tepid troubadour", Allison Crowe's
style is thrilling. Visceral. "Treat yourself to one of the
mightiest talents on the singer-songwriter scene today," says
JoniMitchell.com song curator Bob Muller. "Allison has a
special gift that is so very rare in musicians today. She is true
to her mind, heart and spirit," says Ross Hocker, long-time
public broadcaster (with WGTE/NPR). Hocker, whose taste embraces
Thelonious Monk, Bela Bartok and Charles Gounod, calls Allison
Crowe's live show "the most honest, heartfelt, and directly
intimate concert in my entire life."
Mike Merritt, Coordinator of the John Lennon Northern Lights
Festival, and his event team and founders are ready to raise the
curtain on "Britain's most unique happening".
This weekend, the little village of Durness, where John Lennon
enjoyed holidays as a boy, swells with a celebration of the man
and his legacy. It's an wildly eclectic cultural carnival put
together with an integrity and spirit befitting its namesake. For
the benefit of Mr. Kite, the Hendersons, and all, the full
Festival programme is @ http://www.northhighlandsscotland.com/festival
For music and more info on Allison Crowe, let me take you down,
'cause I'm going to http://www.allisoncrowe.com
