Shawnigan-bred Leeroy Stagger returns for concert
Shawnigan Lake-raised singer coming to Vancouver Island for two unique shows
Leeroy Stagger left his native Vancouver Island for good in 2006, but he has hardly been a stranger since his departure. That’s on account of his string of critically acclaimed records, which bring the Lethbridge, Alta.based performer back to Victoria whenever he’s on tour.
The occasion of his 10th and latest album, Dream it All Away, will see the Shawnigan Lake native play two unique shows next week. He will perform for free June 6 at the Brentwood Festival at Pioneer Park (peninsula countrymarket.ca) and the following night at Victoria House Concert B, an intimate, professional small house theatre on Stanley Avenue.
Stagger will be playing songs from Dream it All Away, which arrived May 12 on his own Rebeltone label. The record features a strong list of collaborators, including Jann Arden producer Russell Broom, drummer Pat Steward (Bryan Adams, Odds) and bassist Mike Lent (k.d. lang). The expectation is that it will build on Stagger’s impressive run of recent accomplishments.
In 2013, he opened Chicago shows for Steve Earle, one of his childhood heroes. In 2014, he took home first place in the Prose and Pros category of the Calgary Folk Music Festival’s songwriting contest. Now, Stagger, who turns 32 in October, is cresting on some of the best reviews and radio play — Dream it All Away sits at the top spot on Calgary station CKUA — of his career.
Here’s hoping he goes nowhere other than up. To hear the song, Something Beautiful, visit timescolonist.com/entertainment. For more information, visit leeroystagger.com.
A mixture of folk, rock and rap acts will take over the Ucluelet and Tofino area during the fourth
weekend of August for the third annual Otalith Music Festival.
Otalith is set for two days (Aug. 21-22) at the Ucluelet Parks and Rec Hall Field, among other venues. The lineup this year includes the Dodos, the Coup, Nick Waterhouse, Jon and Roy, the Cave Singers, Jesse Roper, Grossbuster, Moev, Rugged Uncle and more. Early-bird festival passes are on sale now for $80 through ticketfly.com. Camping, which is being offered at $40, is across the street from the festival grounds at Ucluelet Campground. The Ucluelet Parks and Rec Hall Field is at 160 Sea Plane Base.
For information on the festival, visit otalithfestival.com. A pair of Greater Victoria acts have each won $10,000 through the Storyhive contest, a Telus initiative aimed at funding independent content creators in B.C. and Alberta.
Pancake Manor of Victoria and
Jesse Roper of Metchosin were named to the list of 10 finalists from B.C. to receive funding through Telus for their upcoming video projects. The two acts will produce a music video to be distributed online and through Telus Community Programming avenues.
A total of 20 finalists from B.C. and Alberta were chosen, two of which will have the opportunity to win an additional $30,000 in funding. The final winners, one from each province, will be announced in August.
To watch the pitches from Pancake Manor and Roper, visit storyhive.com/music-videos. Food and beverage fans know there is more to the Rock the Shores festival than just music. Those with a foodie focus will want to attend Eat Street on June 11, a fundraiser for Sir James Douglas Elementary that will also preview of the non-musical offer- ings at this year’s edition of Rock the Shores, set for July 18-19 in Colwood.
Eat Street will showcase five of the 22 food trucks pencilled in for Rock the Shores: Taco Justice, Pizzeria Prima Strada, Melt Truck, L’Authentique Poutine & Burger and Coast Lunchbox. The school is at 401 Moss St. As a bonus, each food order will come with a chance to win one of four weekend passes to Rock the Shores. The event will be held from 5-7:30 p.m. Victoria-bred, Vancouver-based documentary filmmaker Brent Hodge has signed a coveted U.S. distribution deal for his upcoming film I Am Chris Farley.
Hodge co-directed the film about the late Saturday Night Live star with Derik Murray, CEO of Network Entertainment. Murray’s production company entered a distribution deal with Virgil Films, which plans to release I Am Chris
Farley in various markets over the summer. The documentary, which features interviews with Dan Aykroyd, Mike Myers, Adam Sandler and others, will première Aug. 10 on Spike TV.
News on Canadian distribution is forthcoming, according to Hodge.
For more on the Mount Douglas Secondary School grad and his company, Hodgee Films, visit hodgeefilms.com.
The Islands Folk Festival lineup includes a starry roster of blues and folk performers, led by David Vest, Doug Cox, Russell deCarle, Fred Eaglesmith, Gary Fjellgaard, Martyn Joseph, Roy Forbes, Shari Ulrich, Bobs & LoLo, the Dustin Bentall Band, Shred Kelly and more.
The popular festival will be staged July 24-26 at Providence Farm in Duncan. Tickets and camping information are available at islandsfolkfestival.ca.