Live at Aeolian Hall

Tony Dekker (of the Great Lake Swimmers)Jump to Info for Tony Dekker (of the Great Lake Swimmers)

With Special Guests

Sarah Smith Jump to Info for Sarah Smith

Marty Kolls Jump to Info for Marty Kolls

Thursday May 24, 2018
8:00 pm   |  Doors Open @ 7:00 pm
$25 Advanced    $30 Doors   

This event has passed

Tony Dekker is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Most noted as the leader of the indie folk band Great Lake Swimmers, he has also released two solo albums.

Born and raised in Wainfleet, Ontario, Dekker studied literature at the University of Western Ontario. Both of the band’s first two albums, Great Lake Swimmers and Bodies and Minds, were recorded in Wainfleet, in an abandoned grain silo[4] and a Catholic church, respectively. By the time of the band’s third album Ongiara, Dekker and the band were based in Toronto full time.

In addition to his work with Great Lake Swimmers, Dekker released his debut solo album Prayer of the Woods in 2013. He followed up in 2014 with Tony Dekker Sings 10 Years of Zunior, an album of covers of other Canadian artists — including Old Man Luedecke, Chad VanGaalen, Christine Fellows, Ohbijou, Rae Spoon, Matt Mays, Martin Tielli, Jennifer Castle and Cadence Weapon — released to mark the 10th anniversary of Canadian web music store Zunior.

Expand

Sarah Smith is exactly where she needs to be.

As she shares her third full-length CD, 11, with the world, the London, Ontario pop/rock singer-songwriter is reflecting on lessons learned and dreaming of a bright future.

“This album sums up the last few years of my life,” Sarah says. “Searching for happiness, I came across misery. Wanting to succeed, I discovered how to fail. Trying to balance, I ended up falling. Looking for answers, I found them here all along. And, in all of this, I was able to continually grasp on to hope that life was putting me exactly where I needed to be.”

Produced by Juno-winning engineer Kevin Doyle, 11 is Sarah at her insightful and vulnerable best. The record features 17 new songs about love, life, and seeing the good in things – even the dark things.

“Life isn’t always easy,” she explains. “Sometimes there’s pain. Sometimes we make mistakes, but there are always things we can learn about ourselves and the world. It takes courage, but there are always reasons to have hope. Writing this record helped me get perspective, again, on how beautiful the world can be.”

11 follows Sarah’s previous full-length CDs, Stronger Now (2012) and The Journey (2014). Like her previous work, the CD weaves through a variety of styles, from rock (Changing My Mind, Runaway Stay) to pop (The Dark, Girl, Undertow) and country (Lay It On The Line, Sunrise). Also like her previous work, 11 features her honest lyrics, memorable hooks, and absolutely unmistakable voice. The album introduces some new sounds to her music as well, with different songs including horn arrangements, cello and steel drum.

A seasoned road warrior whose full-time touring schedule dates back to her days in Canadian rock band The Joys, Sarah continues to feel most at home on-stage. She plays nearly 300 shows per year, primarily in Canada, the United States, and Europe. Along the way, she has shared the stage with artists including Melissa Etheridge, Sass Jordan, Emm Gryner, Craig Cardiff, Joel Plaskett, David Wilcox, and many others. Whether it’s just her and her acoustic guitar or her full band, she is a mesmerizing performer. The 2015 DVD Sarah Smith: Plugged and Unplugged captures Sarah and her band in peak form, both live and in the studio.

Sarah has won and been nominated for many awards throughout her career. Her video for Into the Light, directed by Stacy Poulos and shot in California, won both a 2016 Telly Award and a 2016 Akademia Music Award for Best Video in the Pop Rock category. In 2015, she won the Toronto Independent Music Award Best Adult Contemporary honour, plus the Best Rock Artist at the London Music Awards, and Best Rock Artist at the Jack Richardson Music Awards. Music from The Journey has been featured on shows including CBC’s Cracked and the movie Anatomy of a Love Seen, directed by L.A-based director Marina Rice Bader.

While the accolades are appreciated, Sarah says for her it’s still all about the music.

“In the end, 11 is about blessings,” she says. “Sometimes you have to take a step back and appreciate the blessings in your life. Music is one of mine, and I’m excited to share these new songs with people all over the world!”

Expand

Singer-songwriter Marty Kolls brings the energy of her east coast upbringing, classical music training, and life-long experience on the stage to every one of her performances. She mesmerizes her audience with her voice, melody and presence, with songs that speak of living life from the heart. “Marty Kolls is a revelation,” says the London Free Press’ Arts Editor, James Reaney.

Marty released her first full length album entitled ‘This Life’ in 2014 to a standing room only audience at one of Canada’s top rated and intimate music venues, Aeolian Hall. This performance was an experience for all who attended and awaited for the arrival of this much anticipated album including her friend and producer Simon Larochette of Sugar Shack Studios.

The album sums up much of Marty‘s experience as an artist and lover of life, not without it’s disappointments and battles. The title track ‘This Life’, inspired by a Richard Linklater film ‘Waking Life’ urges us to live in the present before there is ‘nothing left to give’.  Like warning bells going off in your head, the bombast of the horns and punch of the drums reiterate the same message.

An artist who writes from experience Marty takes her audience to the many places she’s lived such as her beloved New Brunswick with it’s winding roads and formative memories.  She also speaks of her times living and working for years in Asia as a musician and teacher where her appreciation for privileged life was awakened.

Upon her return to Canada in 2006 Marty was thrown into the mix of musical talent in Toronto Ontario. Finding her way through the modern era of online overnight sensations, she nestled into the musical venues of the west end like the Cameron House and the Dakota Tavern carrying on the traditions of her live music upbringing. There she stumbled upon producer Jesse Capon and together they produced a two song CD through the FACTOR Music Demo Grant, now offering Marty something to share with the industry.

It wasn’t long before her stories would take a new turn upon discovering she was pregnant with her daughter, and shortly after made the move with her husband to his home town of London Ontario where they now live. Continuing to make music in a number of bands, including well known cover-grass band Kevin’s Bacon Train, Marty has found a home and community of strong musicians and friends. Now sharing the stage with acts like Sarah Harmer, Dan Mangan and Whitehorse, she continues to love and take pleasure in the good fortune that is ‘This Life’.

Expand