The best of the Shuswap

Listen to some of the area's best musicians while you watch a fabulous slideshow of the area by the Shuswap Photo Arts Club (photo above from their website).

June 17, Salmon Arm –

On Thursday, June 17, 2010, the Salmar Classic Theatre is presenting ‘The Best of the Shuswap’, an evening of performances by some of the Shuswap’s best songwriters, along with stunning images produced by some of the area’s best photographers.

Come and watch the amazing Shuswap Photo Arts slide show celebration of our spectacular watershed region and enjoy the magical music that came out of the ‘Song For the Shuswap’ competition last April.

The emcee for the event will be Aimee Laws. Aimee grew up in Salmon Arm. Aimee and is soon to release her own band’s first CD, ‘Only Human’. She will also be performing at this year’s Roots & Blues Festival.

Headlining the evening, competition first-place winner, Sue Kyle, and her band, Birchbark, will perform her winning song, ‘Shuswap Swing’. Sue, a resident of Seymour Arm, has been entertaining audiences on local stages, including the Caravan Farm Theatre, for many years. Her song reflects her deep appreciation of life in the Shuswap.

The second-place winner, Jesse Clarke, along with his band, Old Man’s Beard, will sing about his feelings on returning to Shuswap Lake, his new home. Jesse and his band have been entertaining in the area for a year and were showcased at the Olympic Torch Celebration. They will be participating in this year’s Roots and Blues Festival. Their first CD, ‘The River’, was nominated last year for a Southern Interior Music award.

Also on stage will be ninth-grade SAS student, Megan Abel, who delighted the audience at the competition with her incredible singing and songwriting talent and won first place in the youth category. She has only been a Shuswap resident for 3 years and has just recently begun playing the guitar but she is already fast becoming a legend on the local music scene.

Second-place winners Ariana Vrieling and Shae-lyn James, will sing a cappella, accompanied by Monika Wilson, who has been a music and piano teacher for 15 years and plays with her band, Good Company. Monika will also perform her own song, ‘My Town’.

Sylvain Vallee’s ‘Keep the Water Flowing’ is still remembered by the audience who heard him in April. At that time, he accompanied the song with his own piano soundtrack and some live saxophone melodies, wowing everyone. He is a professional musician and plays more than a dozen different instruments, teaching music and composing for films and television. He is going to be opening his own studio in Scotch Creek very soon.

Sicamous songwriter Len Benty and Salmon Arm actor and musician, Peter Blacklock will also be entertaining on the stage, as well as guest artist, Dave Allan. Dave is well-known to local coffee house, Caravan and Western Canada Theatre Company audiences.

The event is being sponsored by the Shuswap Watershed Project, the Salmon Arm Observer and Askews. Tickets are $5 and may be purchased at Acorn Music and the Observer office. The show starts at 7pm.

Readers can also view the slide show, ‘Celebration of the Shuswap’ on the Shuswap Photo Arts Club website at: http://shuswapphotoarts.com/celebration/

For more information, you may contact Jim Cooperman, Shuswap Watershed Project, by phone at 250-679-3693 or by email to jcoop@ribaa.ca