Some of the busiest and best musicians around will make time to perform soulful Christmas classics in Surrey this Saturday night, Dec. 16.
City hall’s Centre Stage is the intimate, 200-seat theatre for O Come All Ye Soulful, featuring vocalist Dawn Pemberton, bassist/bandleader Jodi Proznick and band of four other pros (Tilden Webb on piano, Nick Bracewell on drums, Vince Mai, trumpet, and James Danderfer, saxophone).
Surrey Civic Theatres presents the gig, third on a short tour of venues in West Van, Whistler and our City of Parks. Looks like just a couple of seats remain for the Surrey date, according to the map on tickets.surrey.ca, where tickets are sold.
Jeff Turner Entertainment Group reps O Come All Ye Soulful, which performs holiday jazz/blues songs made famous by Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Ella Fitzgerald, John Legend, Donny Hathaway, Otis Redding, Darlene Love, Vince Guaraldi and others.
For Proznick, the concert in North Surrey isn’t far from her former stomping grounds in the city’s southern half. She leads her own jazz quartet and is involved in many musical projects including Triology, co-led with Miles Black and Bill Coon.
MIRAGE REUNION
There’s a Mirage nightclub reunion night Friday (Dec. 15) at Taphouse Guildford, hosting a few special events before the bar doors close forever in January, due to big development plans on the 102A Avenue site.
The Mirage was a go-to dance club in Surrey from 1997 until 2014, when the two-level building was renovated and reincarnated as Taphouse. Famously, in August 2008, the Mirage was a stage for Lady Gaga in support of her debut album, The Fame, when she was still a relatively unknown singer from New York.
Friday’s reunion event will feature the return of DJ Walker, with games at 9 p.m., party at 10.
On Sunday, Dec. 31, a final New Year’s Eve bash at Taphouse will feature a three-course dinner for $49.95, starting at 6 p.m. Check out the menu on facebook.com/taphouseguildford.
‘QUEEN’ SKIPS SURREY
Two years in a row, on June evenings, the fantastic tribute show Queen: It’s a Kinda Magic has rocked Surrey Arts Centre’s Main Stage, but that won’t be the case in 2024.
On a tour of B.C., Showtime Australia’s bright-light production has booked a June 13 date in the theatre at Coquitlam’s Great Canadian Casino Vancouver (formerly Hard Rock), where singer Dominic Warren will do his very best Freddie. He and three others in the band royally recreate Queen’s 1986 World Tour concert with great accuracy.
Other 2024 concerts on the casino’s calendar include Quiet Riot (Feb. 24), Chilliwack (March 1), an ‘80s Club night with A Flock of Seagulls and Men Without Hats (March 9), “The Legendary Life of Tom Petty” featuring Clayton Bellamy of The Road Hammers (March 16), Prism (May 3) and a Classic Albums Live show featuring Pink Floyd’s iconic “Dark Side of the Moon” (March 24).
‘HAIRSPRAY’ DATES
In Vancouver for a short spring run, “Good Morning Baltimore,” “You Can’t Stop the Beat” and other snappy songs will be heard in “Hairspray” at Queen Elizabeth Theatre from April 2-7, 2024.
Broadway Across Canada has announced more details about the touring musical, which follows 16-year-old Tracy Turnblad as she dances her way onto TV’s most popular show in 1960s Baltimore.
I’m told “Hairspray” debuted at Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theater 21 years ago, in 2002. From there the show transferred to Broadway, winning eight 2003 Tony Awards including Best Musical, and became the longest-running musical to play Neil Simon Theater in New York City (2,642 performances from 2002 until 2009).