Saturday April 14 at 8 pm, cover tip jar. Singer-songwriter Mark McNeil performs an evening of roots-based music with percussionist Jeff Griffiths featuring songs from Mark’s newly released CD, Shiny Things and Other Distractions, co-written with Kris Rochard. www.shinythingspage.wordpress.com and http://markmcneilandkrisrochard.bandcamp.com
The evening also features virtuoso Ottawa fingerstyle guitarist Steve Parisien who will perform a collection of instrumental originals and standards. If you enjoy the playing of Chet Atkins, Joe Pass or Lenny Breau, you’ll love Steve. http://music.cbc.ca/#/artists/Steve-parisien and http://www.reverbnation.com/steveparisien
Shiny Things and Other Distractions, has been described as “a journey through something bluesy, mixed with adult contemporary and tied together with an alternative country rock twang” by Metro News Toronto and called “amazing” by the Hamilton Blues Blog. One of the songs, Sunny Days with You, was a semi-finalist in the 2011 Song of the Year Awards, a U.S. based, international songwriting competition.
Mark McNeil has been active in the Hamilton area music scene for more than two decades with four albums to his credit. His 2009 release Greetings from Hamilton was nominated for a Hamilton Music Award. Mark has performed at numerous festivals that include more than 10 appearances at the Festival of Friends in Hamilton, The Sound of Music Festival in Burlington, Octoberfolk in Brantford, and workshop performances at the Home County Festival in London. He has shared stages with major figures in roots music that include Willie P. Bennett, Fred Eaglesmith, David Essig, Garnet Rogers, Eric Bogle, James Keelaghan, Ian Thomas, Lennie Gallant, Spirit of the West and Valdy.
