Allison Crowe's "Tidings" to aid Artemis Place and HepCBC - w. special guest Billie Woods

Expect plenty of holiday cheer, laced with overtones of Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, The Beatles, jazz and Broadway, as Canada's popular bicoastal singer-songwriter Allison Crowe brings "Tidings" to beautiful Alix Goolden Hall (907 Pandora) with special guest Billie Woods. This concert event is in aid of a pair of super hard-working and committed Victoria non-profit groups: Artemis Place and HepCBC.

"Music for the season and all time." Tidings stirs together traditional Christmas carols and holiday favourites with an organic blend of rock, jazz, folk, gospel and soul. "The Yuletide find of the year," says The Record. "Be prepared to be amazed," chimes ChristmasReviews.com,
"Allison Crowe is a stunningly talented performer." Longtime NPR broadcaster Ross Hocker calls Allison Crowe's show, "The most honest, heartfelt, and directly intimate concert in my entire life."

"Treat yourself to one of the mightiest talents on the singer-songwriter scene today," says Bob Muller, song curator at JoniMitchell.com "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," writes Robert Reid in The Record.

Crowe's rare gift and talent in communicating emotions not only make her a thrilling original act, her role as an interpreter is getting much recognition. "Her version of 'I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)' would give Aretha Franklin goose-bumps," notes Robert Moyes in
Boulevard. This month, two major tributes to Leonard Cohen have featured her song contributions.

During her triumphal Beatles Week 2008 concert series, BBC Radio 2 interviewed and recorded Allison Crowe in Liverpool performing "Hallelujah" for an hour-long documentary, "The Fourth, The Fifth, The Minor Fall", that explores the many facets of this Leonard Cohen
creation. Other participants include musicians Imogen Heap and Kathryn Williams alongside producers John Lissauer (Leonard Cohen) and Andy Wallace (Jeff Buckley).

UK-based MOJO magazine pays tribute to Leonard Cohen with its December '08 issue which celebrates "deep and moving music, the kind of stuff we need in the run up to the holiday period". Of Allison Crowe's contribution of "Joan of Arc" to its 'All Star Tribute", a cover-mount CD titled "Cohen Covered", MOJO says: "Once famously described by the Vancouver Courier
as possessing a style akin to 'Elton John meets Edith Piaf', the Canadian singer-songwriter Allison Crowe is renowned for her ability to blend control and melodrama. Certainly she does so on this spirited cover of Cohen's Songs of Love and Hate classic, a track which also
powerfully showcases her considerable talent as a fine interpreter of song."

Support artist for this special event is globe-trotting musician and photographer, Billie Woods. Woods opens the concert with songs inspired by life in Canada's Pacific northwestern coastal forest, and infused with the warmth and vitality of the sambas, bossa novas and other cultural rhythms of Brazil. Radiating her joyous nature, in English and Portuguese, Billie Woods' vocals and classical guitar make for all-seasons good times.

Allison Crowe and Billie Woods welcome this opportunity to team up with:

Artemis Place ~ an integrated counseling and educational program which provides an unique alternative to traditional school for at-risk girls in our community who are overlooked by existing programs. Artemis Place provides a sanctuary where girls are able to work on completing their
high school while learning critical life skills in conflict resolution, and in building self esteem and successful relationships. "For almost 40 years, our society has successfully transformed the lives of the most at-risk girls in our community. We know that every single girl is filled with power, and we are in the unique business of tapping into that potential," says Lisa Ellis, Artemis' Executive Director. As a graduate of the program, Lisa especially knows the immense good that Artemis Place does in the lives of young women and the Victoria community.

HepCBC ~ a Hepatitis C education and prevention non-profit society. Along with education and prevention, HepCBC strives to support those who are directly and indirectly affected by Hepatitis C, a liver disease that can cause liver failure. While there is treatment for those
affected with HCV, there is no immunization available unlike its Hepatitis A and B counterparts. A person who contracts HCV often doesn't even know they have it until 20 years later when they start experiencing their first symptoms. This latent period of the illness often arises from the liver finally succumbing to the virus after having it for several years. Due to the mechanics and severity of the effects associated with Hepatitis C, HepCBC works to ensure that the public is
aware of its existence and transmission methods. The organization also tries to prevent Hepatitis C by educating the public on how and where to get tested - by a simple blood test that can be done at any medical lab with a referral from your doctor. For over 10 years HepCBC has dedicated its efforts to Hepatitis C education and prevention through publications, events and awareness campaigns. The organization is grateful to both individual donors as well as groups like the United Way for enabling it to exist and carry on with its mission. HepCBC hopes to expand and continue its services in the future


Date/Time: Tuesday, December 16, 2008   Doors: 7:30 p.m.   Music: 8:00 p.m.

Venue: Alix Goolden Hall, 907 Pandora Avenue (Victoria Conservatory of Music)

Advance Tickets: $20 General/$15 Students & Seniors -all charges incl.
(Door: $22/$17)

Tickets: Lyle's Place (770 Yates), The Patch (719 Yates), Ivy's Bookshop (2188 Oak Bay Ave.); & online @ http://www.allisoncrowe.com/shoptickets.html

Info: http://www.artemisplace.org +  http://www.hepcbc.ca  + http://www.vcm.bc.ca  +  http://www.allisoncrowe.com   + http://www.myspace.com/billiewoods

Phone 250-537-1286  or email management@allisoncrowe.com