The Get Downs get ready to, well, get down
Having recently changed names from Men of Motown to something slightly snappier, The
Get Downs play Yardbird Suite Saturday.
The name change is no surprise from this local 10-piece soul and R&B act that's been ever-evolving since their 2015 Citadel show, paying tribute to legendary Black artists like Stevie Wonder, The Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye, Earth, Wind & Fire, Lauryn Hill, Aretha Franklin and many others.
“So much of the music we perform was composed and originally performed during a time when Black people in America were legally second class,” says one of the band's pack of singers, Colin Brereton. “And yet the subject matter was often about love, heartbreak and joy. So for me what makes this music special during Black History Month is that it served as a way to humanize people who for so long were seen as less than human.”
Bernard Quilala, another of the vocalists, adds his energy.
“I love this music,” he says. “Growing up, singing these songs helped me to express my happiness, sadness and anger that I never felt comfortable sharing in any other way.”
Besides these two, Courtney Elcock sings, Jamie Philp plays guitar, Kim Lesaca plays bass, Cameron Browne plays keyboards, Kevin Brereton plays drums, Joel Gray plays trumpet and the mighty Don Berner handles the sax. Guest vocalist Amber Hardy is also in the mix for this retro music party.
The show is at Yardbird, 8 p.m. Saturday, and you can find $29 tickets at yardbirdsuite.com.
You can also watch the concert virtually with a $10 pass.
“It is an honour to play this music with the other musicians in this band,” says Elcock. “These classic tunes by these artists and musicians are just magic and when we play them it feels like we are right there with the original artists.”
ART
Thru 2/3: Jacqueline Huskisson: Liminal Spaces
(Gallery St. Albert)
Thru 2/3: Twenty Eight Months group show (Soft Gallery)
Thru 2/10: The Eight group show (Collins)
Thru 2/10: Yvonne Mullock's Proofread, Raneece Buddan's In This Vessel I Am... (FAB)
2/11: 9th Punk Rock Paint Night (Blakbar)
2/14: Paint Night with Hannah Flawed Art (Buckingham)
Thru 2/14: Jadene Grimmon: Framing Moments (Trinity)
Thru 2/17: Alison James' The In-Betweens, Rachel Livedalen's An Index of Sorts (SNAP)
Thru 2/17: Andrzej Maciejewski: Ephemeral Fields; Susan Diebel: Figuring It Out (Harcourt)
Thru 2/21: Olha Frolova, Liubov Kostetska, Olya Lisova (Alberta Council for Ukrainian Arts)
Thru 2/24: Communities Gallery Group (Co*Lab)
Thru 2/24: Frances Thomas: Artist Spotlight (Peter Robertson) Thru 2/25: Uii Savage: Celestial Passage (AGA)
Thru 3/2: Open Walls 7
(Bleeding Heart)
Thru 3/3: Between Things: Alberta Ceramics (AGA)
Thru 3/3: 5 Artists 1 Love 2024 (AGA)
Thru 3/9: Samantha WilliamsChapelsky: Time and Terrain (Art Gallery of St. Albert)
Thru 3/10: Tim Rechner: Silence Like a Vacuum (Yardbird)
Thru 3/10: ᐋᐧᐸᑲᐧᓃᐊᐧᐣ Wâpakwanîwin (To bloom, it has many flowers) (AGA)
Thru 3/16: Elise Findlay: Another Life (Alberta Craft Gallery) Thru 4/6: Finding Our Way group show; Rhayne Vermette: Letters (Ociciwan)
Thru 5/4: Santosh Korthiwada: Inseparable Fragments
(Art Gallery of St. Albert)
Thru 5/5: Brenda Draney: Drink from the River (AGA)
Thru 5/5: Emmanuel Osahor: I made this place for you (AGA) Thru 12/31: Damian Moppett: Untitled Abstract Object in
Space (AGA)
BOOKS
Thru 2/10: Alcuin Society's Awards of Excellence in Book Design Canada (FAB)
2/11: Jeremy Appel's: Kenneyism: Jason Kenney's Pursuit of Power signing (Audreys)
COMEDY
2/8-10: Sam Tripoli (Comic Strip) 2/9: Ryan Williams (Grindstone) 2/9-10: Sterling Scott (Yuk Yuk's) 2/9-10: Simon Glassman (Comedy Factory)
EXHIBITS
2/10-3/3: Journey of the Horse (Mah Society)
Thru 2/24: First Languages
(St. Albert Musée Héritage Museum)
Thru 2/26: Unofficial Galaxies (Southgate)
FESTIVALS
2/9-18: International Festival of Winter Cinema (Laurier Park) 2/9-19: Silver Skate Festival (Laurier Park)
2/9-24: Canadian Birkie Ski Festival (Cooking Lake-Blackfoot Provincial Recreation Area) 2/11: IDEE: RE•FRACT
(Great Western Saddlery)
FILM
2/9-13: Cold Road (City Centre) 2/9-18: International Festival of Winter Cinema (Laurier Park) 2/10: Black Girl (Metro) 2/12-13,17: Sometimes I Think About Dying (Metro)
MUSIC
2/8: Jacquie Daniels, Justin Sutton, Hungry Hollow (Commercial)
2/8: The Ladies of Jazz (Yardbird) 2/8: Jillian Lake, Mollie (The Den), Steph Irene (Aviary)
2/8: Together YEG: Mouraine, Nuela Charles, Arlo Maverick, K-Riz (Starlite)
2/8-9: Maria Mana and the Jazz Cats (Continental Treat)
2/8,10: ESO's Mozart & Mendelssohn ( Winspear)
2/9: 06, Danny Floyd Cole, Darryl Matthews (Soho)
2/9: Reifer Madness, Messiahlator, Half Dead, Livin' Filth (Blakbar)
2/9: Sienna Dahlen and Bill
Coon (Yardbird)
2/9: Nemesis Project, Meeberz, Ninz, Maus, Yeah Mozza (Temple)
2/9: Aaron Pritchett, Matt Lang (Century)
2/9: The Dark Eighties Goth Valentine's Day Party (9910)
2/9: Jim Findlay Trio
(Blue Chair)
2/9: ESO's Mendelssohn & Hope ( Winspear)
2/9: Obroa- Skai, False Body, Truster, Mustafa Rafiq (Aviary) 2/9: Rock Me: One Direction Dance Party (Starlite)
2/9,11: The Leo Martinez Band (Commercial)
2/10: Bubble Bowl Rave (Union) 2/10: Chronos Vocal Ensemble: Origins + Exploration
(All Saints')
2/10: City and Colour, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Ruby Waters (Rogers)
2/10: Cosmopolitan Music Society/Òran: We Will Ring/Sing (Robertson-Wesley)
2/10: Rooster Davis, Dave Babcock, Dana Wylie (Commercial) 2/10: David Francey (Parkview) 2/10: Braden Gates; The Way Back Whens (Blue Chair)
2/10: The Get Downs (Yardbird) 2/10: Carl Glacier, Bobby Henderson, Francesco Rizzuto, Paperback Violets (Blakbar) 2/10: Ikky (Double Dragon) 2/10: Kaylin Kowalyshyn (Commodore)
2/10: Mercy Funk, Goldtooth (Aviary)
2/10: Lori Reid (Black Dog)
2/10: So Noted Choir: All You Need Is Love (St. Albert United) 2/10: Strathcona String Quartet (Continental Treat)
2/11: Gareth Gilliland
(Blue Chair)
2/11: Haley Blais, Young Friend (Starlite)
2/11: Dock Martin (Commodore) 2/11: Gary Martin
(Continental Treat)
2/11: High School Honour Band Concert ( Winspear)
2/13: High Valley (River Cree) 2/13: Jeff Hendrick
(Continental Treat)
2/14: Carter & the Capitals, Donita Large & the Small Band (Commercial)
2/14: D'orjay & the Lovely Luvlies Fam (Maclab)
2/14: Shelly Jones Band (Continental Treat)
2/14: P.J. Perry Quartet
(Blue Chair)
2/14: Solo Harp
(Hotel Macdonald)
2/14: The Strumbellas (Midway)
THEATRE/ DANCE
2/8-25: Stewart Lemoine's Pith! ( Varscona)
2/9: Top Talent Wrestling (Midway)
2/9-10: Ballet Edmonton's Avancer (Triffo)
2/9-17: Troilus and Cressida (Timms)
2/10: Nadiya Ukraine:
The National Ballet of Ukraine (Jubilee)
2/10: Subspace - Sex & Candy (Starlite)
2/10-3/3: Rubaboo (Citadel) 2/14: Cupid's Cuties feat. Violette Coquette (Blakbar)