Steve's Blog
Roll up! Roll up! 3 Great Concerts! Folk Festival discounts!
Friday June 20, 2025

1. Jocelyn Pettit and Ellen Gira, Friday June 20th, 8pm, Mel Lehan Hall at St. James (3214 West 10th Avenue)

Squamish fiddler Jocelyn Pettit and Maryland cellist Ellen Gira first met in Scotland where they studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (Jocelyn received a Master of Music degree, and Ellen has just been awarded her PhD!). The dynamic duo brings the exhilarating music of trad fiddle to the propulsive, funky beat of the cello to great effect. On top of that they both sing beautifully, and write songs and tunes to go with their unique adaptations of traditional tunes from Scotland, Ireland, Quebec, and Scandinavia.

This special CD launch concert has been in the works for well over a year now. We met up with Jocelyn and Ellen at the Canadian Folk Music Awards in St. John's last April, where they won Traditional Album of The Year for their previous recording, All It Brings. We booked this CD launch concert right then and there! They were planning to stay in NL to work on tracks for this album, which was recorded and completed in Vancouver and Montreal, and was released just last week.

They will be accompanied by the album's producer and guitarist Everest Witman. It's a fabulous album, which really showcases their burgeoning talents both as composers and arrangers, and as accomplished performers. It's a beautiful CD package, too, so if you still have a functional CD player, you should buy a copy at the show. If you just like fabulous artwork but your CD player is out of whack, this CD booklet would look lovely mounted on a frame on your wall! 

Concert tickets are available here, and the Watch At Home option is also available here.

2. Steve Poltz, Saturday June 28th, 8pm, Mel Lehan Hall at St. James (3214 West 10th Avenue)

Halifax-born, Nashville resident Steve Poltz is one of the most charismatic performers you could ever wish to see! His rapid-fire lyrics and wild and wonderful stories will leave you breathless - and royally entertained! His only Vancouver appearance to date was as part of Steve Dawson's Neil Young Reimagined shows at the Kay Meek last October. I have seen him many times at Folk Alliance showcases in Kansas City and earlier this year in Montreal. All I can say is you have to see this man to have any idea just how good he is! Words do not do him justice. Just go see him! Live at The Rogue. This concert will not be streamed, by request of Mr. Poltz himself, so I hope you will be there in person. I promise you a memorable evening! A 100% nailed-on, guaranteed good time! 

This concert is sponsored by Rogue board member Monica Dare, who saw him for the first time in Montreal in February and was so totally blown-away that she insisted on sponsoring the show right then and there! Thanks, Monica!

Tickets are available here

3. Ryan Young & Alanna Jenish, Thursday July 24th, 8pm, Mel Lehan Hall at St. James (3214 West 10th Avenue)

"He has created his own unique way of playing and is finding great emotional depth in his native Scottish Music. Ryan Young is an up and coming musician who is gaining more and more well deserved recognition. I feel that he has the potential to make a very significant contribution to the Scottish tradition.” – Martin Hayes

Ryan Young makes his Rogue debut on the eve of his first BC Festival appearances at the Mission Folk Music festival. A protege of Irish fiddle legend Martin Hayes, whose longtime (now sadly deceased) accompanist Dennis Cahill joined Ryan on his eponymous debut album. Ryan is another honours graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, whose emotional and strident playing is spellbinding for its intensely accelerated expedition - much like that of his mentor, the aforementioned Mr. Hayes. He is currently working on his 3rd CD, which will be produced by none other than Martin Hayes himself.

For this brief Canadian tour, Ryan will be accompanied by Ontario / Scots guitarist Alanna Jenish. The concert is sponsored by Tom and Lydia Woods, who introduced me to his music a few years ago. We have been striving to bring him to town ever since!

Concert tickets are available here, and the Watch At Home option is available here.

4. Discounts for Vancouver and Mission Folk Music Festivals!

Today is the last day for most folks to purchase Early Bird tickets for the Vancouver Folk Music Festival (July 18th to 20th), but ROGUE FOLK CLUB MEMBERS, and subscribers to this blog (we wish you were all members, by the way) can still purchase tickets at 10% off the Early Bird price right up to the eve of the Festival! 

When you go to their website www.thefestival.bc.ca to buy tickets, use the promo code ROGUE2025 when you hit the Check Out button. You can buy as many tickets as you like, in whatever price category / categories you need, for the whole weekend. 

For example, according to the VFMF site:

Adult Weekend Passes $225 plus Tax $11.35 plus fees $8.38 plus service fee $7.62   = $252.35 

Special Rogue Prices $202.50 plus tax $10.22 plus fees $8.38 plus service fee $6.91 = $228.01

We have another hot deal for the Mission Folk Music Festival the following weekend (July 25th to 27th at Fraser River Heritage Park in Mission, 80km east of Vancouver). You Rogues can enjoy a 15% discount on weekend passes, either with or without camping. Right up to midnight on July 24th. Use the code RFC15 upon Check Out when purchasing tickets on their website www.missionfolkmusicfestival.com

For example:

Adult Weekend Pass  $135 plus tax $6.75 plus fees $4.13 plus service fee $4.67   = $150.55

Special Rogue Prices $114.75 plus tax $5.74 plus fees $4.13 plus service fee $4.03 = $128.65

With Camping:

Adult Weekend pass  $165 plus tax $8.25 plus fees $4.88 plus service fee $5.63  = $183.76

Special rogue prices  $140.25 plus tax $7.01 plus fees $4.8

5. Help Wanted - We need a new Publicist!

Paul Norton (on my left. We did not coordinate our wardrobes before the Albert Lee show!) has been our Publicist (and a whole lot more) for almost a decade now. He is retiring. We need someone to replace him. 

Duties include:

• Making posters for each show
• Making event pages on our website for each show
• Setting up tickets on our purchasing page for each show
• Writing and distributing press releases for each show
• Making rack cards and composite posters to promote as many as 12 concerts n each
• Updating our website media page with music by upcoming performers

Requirements:

• A working knowledge of InDesign or Canva or similar on either Mac or PC (or both!)
• A computer with said software on it
• Working knowledge of HTML would be an asset
• Good writing and design skills
• Good communication skills
• English language essential, other languages a bonus
• Ability to work independently and also as part of a team (with our Admin Assistant, Artistic Director, Bookkeeper, Board members, and Volunteers)
• 40 - 50 hours per month

Paul will work with the new incumbent to bring them up to speed

Start date: September 1st 2025

Please send resume and cover letter expressing your interest and qualities to [email protected] Deadline is July 15th 

6. Mick Flannery and Corey Harris at North Shore Jazz

North Shore Jazz presents

Mick Flannery (June 23) and Corey Harris (June 26)

BlueShore at CapU (2055 Purcell Way, N Van)

Tickets: $40 each at capilanou.ca/centre

Yes, North Shore Jazz is a jazz festival, and Mick Flannery and Corey Harris are more properly folk artists. But both the Irish star and the American guitarist take a jazzy approach to their compositions. Flannery “conjures up exquisite storytelling” (Sunday Times), with live shows renowned for audience engagement. His influences include Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan. Harris has carved out his own niche in blues, with influences from reggae, soul, rock, and West African music.

7. Radio Waves

Here I am with legendary guitarist Albert Lee, who was in excellent form at The Rogue the other week. 

On this week's edition of The Saturday Edge On Folk on www.citr.ca and 101.9fm I will have music by all of the aforementioned performers as well as festival previews, a bit of Riverdance nostalgia (we saw the show at the QE on Sunday, and I remembered just how much I loved NZ harmonica player Brendan Power's album of the music of Riverdance) and new music by the likes of Jeffery Broussard, Headlong Hearts, Kanazoe Orchestra, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Suzie Ungerleider, The SteelDrivers, Daniel Lapp, Kate Rusby, BC Fiddle Champ Max Francis, Tim O'Brien & Jan Fabricius, Taj Mahal & Keb' Mo', and more. 

My show is going to be syndicated on Saltspring Island's new radio station CHIR Fm on Saturday evenings!

If you like movies, I would like to make a strong recommendation for The Life Of Chuck, which opened last week at Cineplex. No spoilers, just see it. It's mind-blowingly good.

If you have Netflix, watch The Nonnas. Great fun!