Award-winning singer-musician-songwriter Ken Whiteley - described by one reviewer as “A Canadian Pete Seeger with a voice like Tony Bennett” – will be bringing his incredible talent to Ashcroft for a concert on Sun., Apr. 6 at 3 pm in St. Alban’s Hall. Along with the fabulous bassist Dinah D., Ken will be performing the mix of blues, gospel, and folk music that has wowed critics and audiences from coast to coast. “The Breadth of his playing [is] astounding,” raved the Winnipeg Free Press, while the Toronto Star calls his music “wonderful” and “uplifting”.
“I didn’t go to University, I went to folk festivals,” says Ken, describing what influenced him. “Through the 60s I was soaking it all in like a sponge. . . . It was all exciting, it was all great, and I just wanted to learn it all.” He has gone on to become a master guitarist and mandolinist who is accomplished on 20 different instruments, and a consummate entertainer who is equally at home doing solo work or collaborating with other artists, including Stan Rogers, Pete Seeger, John Hammond Jr., The Cultural Heritage Choir, Raffi, and Fred Penner. As a musician and producer he has won Juno and Genie awards, and been nominated twice for the Grammy award.
Tickets for the concert – which is sponsored by the Winding Rivers Arts and Performance Society – can be purchased at the Ashcroft Bakery, Nature’s Gifts, and the Jade Shoppe. Doors open at 2:30 pm, and refreshments will be available. It’s a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon, celebrate the coming of spring, and support the Arts in our community; so come join us for the musical talents of Ken Whiteley, who the Montreal Gazette called “one of the most valuable players on the Canadian blues, gospel and folk music scenes.”
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