From the heart of East Vancouver to the stage in Cumberland comes outlaw hip-hop harmonica player and beatbox poet C.R. Avery and alt-folk singer-songwriter Christa Couture.
Both have brand new albums in tow — C.R.'s Act One recorded with the historic Prague Symphony Orchestra, and Christa's The Living Record produced by Steve Dawson.
This double bill of fearless and passionate poetry, beats, music and spontaneity is not to be missed.
C.R. Avery (cravery.com)
Whether performing to thousands at the Royal Albert Hall or the lucky few who made it inside the packed past capacity speakeasy, C.R. Avery is a unique, raw and dynamic performer. His genius lies in many genres — blues, hip-hop, spoken word and rock and roll.
He is a one-man band, but one for this generation; with the rare ability to sing poetic verse while beatboxing simultaneously while pounding the piano and adding harmonica like a plot twist.
A multi-talented frontman for his Legal Tender String Quartet; a crazed lead singer/harp player for his rock and roll band The Special Interest Group; a lyrical dynamo and the musical backbone of the spoken word trio Tons of Fun University.
Christa Couture (christacouture.com)
From the start, Christa Couture established herself as a songwriter with sharp-shooting wit, effortless grace and heart-on-sleeve intensity.
Her “gorgeously intimate voice [is] somewhere between the tough vulnerability of Amy Rigby and the passionate, sophisticated folk of Joni Mitchell” (Pop Matters) and her work explores intimate spaces with a frank confidence that avoids cliché and melodrama.
Her sophomore album The Wedding Singer and The Undertaker hit the Top 10 on CBC Radio 3, won Best Folk Acoustic Album from the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards (2008) and had a song hit No. 1 on the National Aboriginal Music Countdown.
Her third full-length album, produced by Juno-winning Steve Dawson, The Living Record, is set for release Sept. 4.
Avery and Couture are presented by Vancouver Island MusicFest Concerts on Sept. 8 at the Cumberland Hotel. Doors open at 7:30 and the show starts at 8:30.
Tickets are sold at the door. Advance tickets are sold at the hotel or online at https://tickets.islandmusicfest.com.
— Vancouver Island MusicFest Concerts