The First Thursday concert series with Bee Wolf Ray this month features special guest Peter Cloud Panjoyah, who will lend his vocal and percussion skills to Bee’s Christmas show as well as Jack Sigurdson on lead guitar.
“My Christmas show at the Zocalo is becoming a tradition,” Bee says. “I love the emotional depth of the season. I’ve written a couple of Christmas songs myself and I keep adding to my repertoire of interesting and unusual Christmas material for grownups.”
Not a sentimentalist, she prefers songs that question our cultural assumptions and speak to the conflicts and contradictions that surround Christmas. She includes as well some feel-good material such as Happy Xmas (War is Over) and Good King Wenceslas (a childhood favourite).
This year, the entire first set will be devoted to Christmas material, including some fun new choices such as You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch (sung with gusto by Peter) and Father Christmas by the Kinks.The second set will be more reminiscent of her normal repertoire,
Bee lives part-time in Courtenay and part-time on Hornby Island. Her music has a raw, sweet sound with a soft edge of pleasurable intimacy.
Her original songs tell fully realized, insightful and often surprising stories, presented with catchy, sophisticated melodies and unusual, interesting chord progressions; she chooses covers that reflect a similar esthetic and reward the discerning listener.
These shows are by donation. Every first Thursday of the month, stay tuned for an enjoyable evening of intimate singer-songwriter music while you enjoy delicious food and drink at the Zocalo Cafe.
For more information about Bee’s music, visit her artist page on ReverbNation at www.reverbnation.com/beewolfray.
— Bee Wolf Ray