Posts Tagged ‘Michael Bernard Fitzgerald’

Tue 22
Dec 2009

Big Rock Untapped Proud to Support Michael Bernard Fitzgerald & The Loud Love Choir

Posted by Big Rock Brewery in Big Rock Untapped, Cool Stuff, Events, Special Events, Untapped
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Big Rock Untapped was created to build on Big Rock’s sponsorship of the JUNO Awards. The intent of this music program? To support Canadian artists who need a leg up to reach the next level of their career so that one day soon they may also be a JUNO Award nominee.

Michael Bernard Fitzgerald is an up-and-coming musical force to be reckoned with. Since his modest first show at a tiny folk club in 2005, this Big Rock Untapped artist vaulted to the heights of Virginfest 2009 and beyond. MBF is quickly outgrowing his hometown of Calgary. As a musician, MBF is known for rallying the music community and bringing them together.

Inspired by his Love and Manners show which combined Michael’s compelling songwriting and stage performance with a supporting group of 120 local dancers, singers and musicians, Michael Bernard Fitzgerald & The Loud Love Choir will draw on the Love and Manners concept by taking a choir of 25 along with MBF on a five city, six show tour of Western Canada. This choir will accompany Michael in the performance of his songs as their voices provide the musical beds behind his guitar and voice. The tour will showcase MBF’s song writing talent along with his keen musical ear to create a night of explosive and unforgettable musical entertainment.

Tour Schedule
February 2, 2010 Lethbridge, AB
February 3, 2010 Calgary, AB
February 4, 2010 Calgary, AB
February 5, 2010 Kelowna, BC
February 6, 2010 Vancouver, BC
February 11, 2010 Edmonton, AB

Rehearsal for this show will commenced on December 13, 2009 (and will continue every weekend throughout the month of January).

The main 25 person choir will travel from city to city in a 56 passenger travel coach.  This tour is going to be a major musical event that will command attention.

Get yer tickets for the February 2010 Western Canadian tour!

Visit ticketmaster.ca.

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Posted in Big Rock Untapped, Cool Stuff, Events, Special Events, Untapped | 1 Comment »

Thu 30
Jul 2009

Calgary Folk Fest: Wow-ed Claire With a Wide Range of Music!

Posted by Festival Field Reporters in Contests and Promotions, Cool Stuff, Grasshoppin' Contest, Things We Like
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As per usual, the artistic direction at the Calgary Folk Fest amounted to a wide-ranging Folk Festival, pleasing for not one homogenous crowd – but to thousands of diverse listeners!

Though it’s true for most of the festivals, Calgary more than any other abandons the traditional, stereotypical definition of folk music in favour of what it truly stands for today: “music of the people”.  Herein lies…. the best acts of Calgary Folk Fest 2009, according to Claire and Bryn!

Akron/Family

Akron/Family

Akron/Family

Akron/Family

Akron/Family

Don’t act too surprised.

These Brooklyn rockers were also on our ‘most-anticipated’ list.  And they came through! We say them at the Local 510 stage on Saturday night (side note: this was the first year the festival had an alternative stage during evening main stage shows—well done, festival organizers!).  Though when on stage they seem to be men of few words, Akron/Family are wonderfully engaging, getting the crowd up off their asses and singing—ahem—screaming along, particularly to the favourite ‘Ed is a Portal’. Hopefully one of these days bassist Miles Seaton gets around to covering Ace of Spades, because we have the utmost confidence he could pull it off.

Bellowhead

Bellowhead

Bellowhead

OK,  you might be tired of us going on about this gang but we’d be daft not to!  Bellowhead always brings the party and their main stage show on Saturday night was one of the best we’ve seen.  In fact Paul (oboe/ violin) told us it was evident right from the start it’d be a great show judging by how quickly the audience got into it.

It’s our third festival seeing Bellowhead and we think we’ve finally got the kick step down!

Chad VanGaalen

Chad VanGaalen

Chad VanGaalen

We saw VanGaalen both as a mini-set on main stage and at two separate side stages and he consistently impressed us.  Catchy, melodious and the kind of vocals that are a little cute and a little absurd all at once.

We’re proud he’s an Albertan!

Lost in Cyburbia side stage, with Justin Rutledge, Carolyn Mark, Michael Bernard Fitzgerald and Mark Berube and the Patriotic Few.  An all-Canadian set!  And a very good one at that.

After hearing Mark Berube and his band for the first time at Winnipeg, we can’t seem to get enough of the life-affirming sound of his vocals and band.

Michael Bernard Fitzgerald

Michael Bernard Fitzgerald

We were also exposed (for the first time) to Michael Bernard Fitzgerald, who is hilariously charming.

Maybe it’s the little boy-smile, maybe the daisy on his guitar, or maybe the ridiculously cute lyrics (I’ll pick you up at eight/ we’ll go on a date/ I’ll wear my finest clothes/ take you to a place no one knows/ we’ll eat dinner there/ and I’ll take extra care/ to pull out your chair for you/ baby girl I’ll care for you) but rest assured where ever this fellow goes he’ll have hundreds of screaming women tailing him (and it’s really, really funny to watch).

We’ve got a bit of a break now, so we can do our laundry, see the friends we’ve been missing, appease our employers by actually being at work and get on the elliptical to work off all those green onion cakes!

We’ll post again soon though! Please stay tuned.

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Wed 29
Jul 2009

Grasshoppin’ is a hard job. But someone’s got to do it!

Posted by Festival Field Reporters in Contests and Promotions, Cool Stuff, Grasshoppin' Contest, Things We Like
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Claire and I have had a busy couple of weeks ‘folking it up’. We headed off to Yellowknife’s Folk on the Rocks a couple weekends ago and we spent this last weekend at the Calgary Folk Fest.

Folk on the Rocks Beer Garden

Folk on the Rocks Beer Garden

Folk on the Rocks certainly sets itself apart in terms of location. The festival is held on the beach by a big lake. It’s the only festival I’ve been to where you get to trek from stage to stage through the sand instead of the grass.

The Yellowknife festival is also much smaller than any of the other festivals we’ve been to, and this made for a more intimate atmosphere. (Which we like.) They also have a stage in the beer garden! (Which we like.)

Bison galore!

Bison galore!

Our favourite band of the festival was country band Swank from Vancouver.

Unfortunately there was no kettle corn at Folk on the Rocks, but there was a plethora of bison products, which more than made up for it.

Calgary Folk Fest is one of our favourite festivals and this year didn’t disappoint. The line up was phenomenal! One of the aspects of the Calgary festival that Claire and I have always appreciate is the diversity in musical acts. Although some of the artists may not be traditionally recognized as ‘folk’ musicians, I think that Calgary’s willingness to embrace a broader definition of what folk music might look and sound like really benefits the festival, and makes for some very interesting workshops.

Calgary Folk Fest

Calgary Folk Fest

Calgary was also exciting because we got to see some familiar faces. A few of our favourite acts from the Winnipeg festival (The Deep Dark Woods, Marc Berube and the Patirotic Few, Iron and Wine, and Bellowhead) also played in Calgary. As usual we discovered some great new bands, like Luluc from Australia  as well as Alberta’s own Michael Bernard Fitzgerald Although I seriously don’t know how I didn’t already know about this guy.

The food at Calgary was great. I ate green onion cakes for breakfast more than once.
Next up is our hometown festival: Edmonton Folk Music Festival. I’m looking forward to Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Danny Michel, The Swiftys, and Kathleen Edwards.

Folk on!

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Posted in Contests and Promotions, Cool Stuff, Grasshoppin' Contest, Things We Like | 2 Comments »

Fri 15
May 2009

BIG ROCK UNTAPPED Artist Michael Bernard Fitzgerald LIVE June 5 at The Jack Singer

Posted by Big Rock Brewery in Cool Stuff, Events, Our People, Special Events, Things To Do, Things We Like
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Calgary needs more live shows like this one. Get tickets, show up at the Jack Singer and grab a Grasshopper or a Trad. A great night for sure. Seriously, if you live in Calgary get out there and do something new and exciting. Go to ticketmaster.ca and buy tickets when you are done reading this update. (You will probably want to thank us for giving you the head’s up.)

Also, we think the event is three times as fun because Noel Johnson* (Untapped Volume 2) and Lindsay Ell (Untapped Vol. 1) will also be in the house that night.

(*We should tell you that we like Noel a lot. He has a lot of talent – we know this because we work with him at the brewery. When he’s not delivering your beer, he’s delivering the musical goods. What a guy.)

Here’s the skinny:

LOVE AND MANNERS WITH MICHAEL BERNARD FITZGERALD
An evening spectacle with a cast of one hundred local performers

FRIDAY JUNE 5, 2009 at EPCOR CENTRE’S JACK SINGER CONCERT HALL
Show 8:00PM

TICKETS ON SALE NOW $22.50 (plus service charges)
Ticketmaster outlets 403-777-0000 and online at Ticketmaster.ca

Love and Manners: June 5 at the Jack Singer Concert Hall

Love and Manners: June 5 at the Jack Singer Concert Hall

About the Show

This is to be the fourth successful attempt at a massive multi-disciplinary arts show, combining live music, dance, an orchestra and choir. Proudly presented in part by Tooth Blackner, LOAD music, FFWD and X92.9. With a cast of 100 performers, this show aims to create and auditory and visual experience featuring the music of Michael Bernard Fitzgerald, the choreography of Jamie Marshall, and the big band music knowl-edge of Andrew Ball. ‘Love and Manners’ is a high-energy evening not to miss, a multi-faceted arts experience that is sure to please.

The group draws from many established performing groups in the city. The Per-cussionists and much of the orchestra draw from The Calgary Stampede Show Band, The Red Deer Royals, The Calgary Stetson Show Band, as well as from local bands like , Calm ASA Coma, Fallout Frequency and Secret Broadcast. The dancers draw from studios such as Starcast, Ultimate, Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, as well as from dance groups such as The Young Canadians, Wildcard Dance Productions, Mynx, and from the Calgary Stampeders Outriders. The Show also features talented artists such as Lindsay Ell, Adam Power, and the Acapella Fellas.

When he's not delivering your beer, he's delivering the musical goods.

When he's not delivering your beer, he's delivering the musical goods.

Untapped Artist Extraordinaire

Untapped Artist Extraordinaire

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