A season of eclectic performances to brighten up your mood in the cooler months at The Bailey
By Contributor
Starting in October, the Trail & District Arts Council brings you another amazing season of live performances at The Bailey.
Our season starts on October 6 with Quartetto Gelato, a virtuosic classical quartet known for its eclectic shows featuring romantic ballads, blazing Romani tunes and forgotten music, all brought to life with multi-instrument mastery.
Then the Pulitzer Prize winning play by Santosh Toossi, “English” takes to the stage on October 22. This production by Blackout Theatre Society is infused with warmth, humour, and insight, as it explores themes of belonging, cultural displacement, and the sacrifices made in pursuit of a new life.
The Jazz at The Griff series returns with local favourite Rick Lingard and his band on Thursday, October 29. The show features Rick Lingard as lead vocalist and saxophonist, Juno award-winners Mike Rud on guitar and Dave Restivo on piano, Steve Parrish on drums, and Doug Stephenson on bass in the intimate jazz club setting of The Griff at The Bailey.
We are excited to see the return of RedSky Dance with their visually stunning “Miigis: Underwater Panther” on Tuesday, November 3. This contemporary Indigenous dance work, inspired by the Great Migration of the Anishinaabe along ancient water routes from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, brings to life themes of origin, memory, spirit beings, and the Seven Fire Prophecies through striking movement, music, and visual design.
Tuesday, November 10 sees an international collaboration between two folk music legends as James Keelaghan and Jez Lowe join forces to play an evening in The Griff. Old friends and musical colleagues of many years, the duo has toured on both sides of the Atlantic in a fully collaborative show that has each artist performing his material with the help of the other.
For the holiday season we have two fun but very different shows. On December 11 the infamous Choir! Choir! Choir! brings you “Un-Silent Night: An EPIC Holiday Sing-Along!” where you and hundreds of others sing along to a mix of holiday classics and seasonal pop gems!
Then on December 17, The Rémi Bolduc Jazz Ensemble plays their special holiday program, “A Jazzy Christmas”, performing the greatest Christmas tunes, with a unique touch of jazz for the delight of everyone – a perfect evening!
The New Year kicks off with Keith Todd’s “Off the Grid” on Thursday, January 14 in The Griff. This Kootenay based group lays down the groove spanning multiple styles including jazz, old school, Afro and Latin funk for a high energy show.
February 6 continues the excitement with “Souvenir: A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins” on Saturday, February 6. This award-winning musical play about the fascinating, comedic, and touching story of Florence Foster Jenkins, follows the affluent socialite and opera singer with a “famously uncertain sense of pitch,” and her accompanist, Cosmé McMoon.
For a change of gear, “In Spite of Ourselves: A Celebration of the Music of John Prine” on March 10 brings together the interpretive talents of multi-instrumentalist/producer Doug Cox, Juno Award-winning Tom and Kalissa Landa from the Paperboys, and Nashville/Vancouver Island songwriter/artist Steve Mitchell. The quartets mission is to keep alive the timeless catalogue of songwriter John Prine.
For a dynamic and intense show, CaneFire: Caribbean Jazz on Wednesday, March 24 creates music fashioned out of a myriad of Caribbean and Latin traditions. Pianist and composer Jeremy Ledbetter brings together band members from Canada, Cuba and Trinidad for an original sound featuring the steelpan at the front of this Latin jazz combo, alongside horns, drums, bass and sax.
More jazz vibes follow the following day after as Van Django take to The Griff stage on Thursday, March 25. Rooted in the gypsy jazz of 1930’s Paris, France, their original compositions and arrangements include humorous mashups and eclectic influences.
The performances don’t slow down in April as Arts Club Theatre brings Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women” to the theatre on Thursday, April 1. This coming-of-age favourite set-in 19th-century New England invites audiences to rediscover one of the most cherished stories in literature with a fresh and inventive stage adaptation.
Classical faves Symphony of the Kootenays present “Mirrors of the Mind” on the afternoon of Sunday, April 11. Listen to music shaped by the human spirit in all its complexity as we explore the inner landscapes of great composers, including Beethoven, Pärt, Schumann, Britten, and Tchaikovsky.
Casey Thomas-Burns Quartet – Thursday, April 15 in The Griff – “Swinging, singing, and sparkling,” trombonist and vocalist Casey Thomas-Burns lights up the stage with joyful energy and classic swing style. Drawing inspiration from artists such as Peggy Lee, Harry James, and Sarah Vaughan, Ms. Thomas-Burns leads her quartet in performances that blend the timeless elegance of the jazz Golden Age with the joyful spirit of New Orleans hot jazz.
To close out our season on Sunday, April 12, we have an eclectic collaboration by virtuoso performers, Fire & Grace with “Celtic Meets Classical” with Afternoon Tea. Their shows explore the musical landscape of classical, folk, and contemporary traditions from around the world. The repertoire ranges from Bach to Vivaldi, tango to Celtic reels, traditional Bulgarian to American fiddle tunes and waltzes, all played with passion.
For the kids, we continue an exciting new partnership between the Trail and District Arts Council and Rossland Council for Arts & Culture for another season of the Teck Family Series with shows for ages 4 and up, that broaden your child’s artistic horizons.
“Water Words” on Friday, October 23 at 6 pm in The Miners Hall in Rossland combines puppetry, actors and multi-instrumental live music in a beautiful performance that shows the differences between the day-to-day realities of water in West Africa and Canada without triggering eco-anxiety in children. For ages 6 and up, in English with some French.
Missy D brings her bi-lingual show “1, 2, 3 On y va!” to The Bailey Theatre in Trail on Sunday, November 22 at 3pm. Missy D is a femcee that raps in French and English, drawing inspiration from French melodies to R&B, soul, jazz, hip hop, rock and rap legends.
Then on Sunday, January 24 at 3 PM Cause & Effect Circus performs “Luminarium – Juggling Saves the World: A Solarpunk Fable” where through non-verbal, funny and moving, physical theatre using circus skills, they tell the story of a world that needs fixing but there is hope in the from of a plant.
Back in Rossland to close out the season, the “Starry Night Silent Dance Party” on Friday, March 12 at 5pm in The Miners Hall in Rossland invites you to dress in your best space themed costume as our headsets let you swap between the awesome music played by our 2 DJs – DJ Akiba and DJ Cat’s Meow. So, dance like there’s no one watching at this silent disco party!
All these great shows are made affordable thanks to our sponsors, so tat we can offer affordable pricing options.
If you want to ‘Pick your own Season’, and choose a selection of shows from each series, become an EDGE member starting at $30 per year and get 20% off most TDAC shows, plus additional benefits including early access to tickets for touring shows.
Plus, we have exciting new events including a monthly improv night from Thousand Metre Theatre in The Griff, the spoken word event “On the Record” at the Alpine Grind in Rossland on October 25, and an interactive screening of the Rocky Horror Picture Show in The Bailey on October 30!
Check out the trail-arts.com website for more details.
Call 250-368-9669 or drop into the Cedar Avenue Box Office from Monday to Friday between 1 pm and 5 pm to get tickets or purchase a membership. Tickets are also available online at purchase.trail-arts.com.
Our shows are made possible by the support of our sponsors Century 21 Kootenay Homes (2018) Ltd., McEwan Law, Pharmasave Trail, Teck Trail Operations, and Tourism South Kootenay and our funders the BC Arts Council, BC Live Performance Network, and the Government of Canada. We also gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia.
