Sunday February 24 at 7:30 pm, $15.
David Essig and Mark McNeil return to the Artbar for an evening of roots-inspired songwriting at its best. David Essig, a Hamiltonian for several years who now lives in B.C, is one of Canada’s finest roots music performers — a spellbinding live performer with songs as contemporary as today’s news that still sound like they were rediscovered from old country blues ’78s. Mark McNeil is an Artword favourite and one of Hamilton’s most inventive singer-songwriters. He has four albums to his credit including his most recent Shiny Things and Other Distractions and recently composed and performed the songs for Artword Theatre’s new play James Street.
David Essig, a Hamiltonian for several years who now lives in B.C, is one of Canada’s finest roots music performers — a spellbinding live performer with songs as contemporary as today’s news that still sound like they were rediscovered from old country blues ’78s. He uses bluegrass and Delta blues traditions he grew up with to create timeless original songs. He has released 22 albums and continues to tour across Canada and Europe, where he has a strong following, especially in Italy. David is a master of the guitar — his spontaneous style takes down the borders between country, blues and the avant-garde. With his 5/8” socket and a sound that could peel the petunias off your mother’s porcelain, he is considered one of Canada’s finest slide guitarists. David’s new CD of original songs, Moon on Rough Bay, was released in October, 2012 and he will be appearing at major Canadian festivals in the coming months. http://davidessig.com
Mark McNeil is an Artword favourite and one of Hamilton’s most inventive singer-songwriters. He has four albums to his credit including his most recent Shiny Things and Other Distractions that has been described by critics as “amazing” and “one of my favourites of 2012. An A+…” See http://bit.ly/WEpA8s and http://bit.ly/VViiB3 One of the songs he co-wrote, Sunny Days with You, was a semi-finalist in the prestigious Song of the Year Awards, a U.S.-based, international songwriting competition. A long-time performer in the area, Mark has been featured at the Festival of Friends a dozen times. Mark is also a veteran journalist at The Hamilton Spectator where he recently wrote, performed and produced a poignant and groundbreaking song video Private Riley for The Spec’s website http://bit.ly/Rq6544 that was celebrated across the city and country, and featured on CBC Radio’s As it Happens and The Toronto Star’s website. Most recently, Mark composed and performed music for Artword’s popular musical James Street that debuted in November at the Lyric Theatre. He is currently working on a CD, with cast members, that features the 14 songs and tunes from the show.
