The Songs of Nick Drake 50th Anniversary Concert at Copperlight, Stratford

The Songs of Nick Drake is delighted to be returning to Stratford for the first time in 12 years. The concert takes place at the same venue as the 2012 show, Copperlight at the Knox Presbyterian Church.

This labour-of-love show is produced by UK-born Toronto musician Luke Jackson who worked with Nick’s string arranger, the late great Robert Kirby on his 2009 album And Then Some. Luke is one of a handful of people entrusted with Kirby’s original arrangements of Nick’s songs. Faithful renditions of those songs with string arrangements form the bedrock of the concert, and creative arrangements of the rest of Nick’s canon make up the balance of the night.

The house band features drummer Cam Giroux (Weeping Tile, By Divine Right), bassist Jason Mercer (Ron Sexsmith, Bourbon Tabernacle Choir, Ani Difranco) and Toronto renaissance man Kurt Swinghammer on guitar.

The string quartet comprises Wendy Solomon on cello, Johann Lotter on viola and Sahra Featherstone and Alex Cheung on violin.

Three featured performers are flying in to participate in the concert: Michelle Willis (David Crosby, Snarky Puppy), Kevin Kane (The Grapes Of Wrath), and Suzie Ungerleider (formerly Oh Susanna), along with Toronto singer/songwriters Kathryn Rose, Conor Gains and Trish Robb, and Stratford's own Barry James Payne. Flautist Andrea Kovats and Jackson himself round out the line-up.

This concert marks the 50th anniversary of Nick Drake’s death on November 25th 1974, and will be the first Songs Of Nick Drake concert in five years. Check out the video of our 2012 Toronto concert below for a taste of the show.

Host or Publisher Luke Jackson