On Dec. 16, Little Bridges, the indie-folk duo made up of Hornby Island’s Kim June Johnson and Cumberland’s PK Tessmann, will launch its first year of Christmas shows in the Comox Valley.
The award-winning duo will put on a multi-instrumental concert of traditional, sometimes odd and unheard-of folk carols, called Folk Carols & Winter Songs.
“The strength of our duo is the harmonies and the fact that we both play several instruments. Both of these things really serve the vibe of old folk carols and traditional melodies,” Johnson said, explaining the desire to produce this concert series.
Both women are successful artists in their own right. Tessmann recently released her third album Dear City, which The Scene Magazine (Toronto) reviewed, calling Tessmann a “rare multi-talent.” Johnson is a poet, freshly home from a Banff Centre for the Arts poetry residency, and her third album, Canvas and Clay, was chosen by Indie Acoustic Project as one of the top 21 Independently released albums of 2014.
When Johnson and Tessmann met in the spring of 2015, both nominees, and then winners at the Vancouver Island Music Awards, they decided to team up and form Little Bridges, and music fans are the beneficiaries. Their similar performance styles, their casual live banter and their exquisite songwriting make them a force to be reckoned with.
While Little Bridges hasn’t put out a full-length recording project yet (they have plans brewing, though) they just released a single, their version of I Saw Three Ships to give folks a taste of what their sound is like.
The concert series starts off on Hornby Island on Dec. 16, followed by Denman Island on Dec. 17. The final show is Monday, Dec. 19 in Cumberland at the Cumberland United Church (2688 Penrith Ave.) and features local cellist, Jordie Robinson. Tickets are $20 with partial proceeds from the shows being donated to the Comox Valley Transition Society. All three shows begin at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets for Folk Carols & Winter Songs are available at Seeds Food Market and Rare Bird Bookshop in Cumberland, The General Store on Denman Island, The Gas Bar on Hornby Island and online at www. littlebridgesmusic.com