Vancouver's Songbird North #123

Shari Ulrich hosts:

Stephen Fearing

Tariq Hussain

Kate Weekes

SongBird North continues its 27th season in Vancouver on February 9th with producer Shari Ulrich hosting Stephen Fearing, Tariq Hussain and Kate Weeks on the Roundhouse stage. For almost three decades now, SongBird North has been beloved by audiences for the rich variety of songwriting styles that are on display at each show, and the magical alchemy that happens when talented artists take turns sharing songs and stories about their work. It’s a one-of-a-kind evening of live music – an opportunity to get up close and personal with the music and the artists who create and perform it.

SongBird North: Where Writers Sing and Tell is produced by Shari Ulrich for the Songwriters Association of Canada. The SAC gratefully acknowledges the support of the SOCAN Foundation. For more information on the SAC’s mandate, activities and membership programs, please visit www.songwriters.ca.

BACKGROUND: Since 1995, SongBird North (formerly Bluebird North) has been a mainstay in Vancouver for songwriters from across the continent, as a bi-monthly showcase that features four talented singer/songwriters of widely varying styles, on stage together, taking turns playing their original songs and sharing stories with one another and the audience about their work. While the series was started in Toronto and has toured nationally, Vancouver remains its longest-standing host city. www.songwriters.ca

ABOUT THE PERFORMERS

Stephen Fearing’s abiding love for his craft and ability to delight audiences are reflected in multiple JUNO and Canadian Folk Music Awards nominations and awards and an ever-expanding touring circuit throughout North America, the UK, and Europe. His 2017 album, Every Soul’s a Sailor was awarded the 2017 Worldwide Album of the Year by Blues & Roots Radio and named 2017 Contemporary Singer of the Year at the CFMA’s.

Fearing has become a gifted storyteller and true musical nomad with the ability to enthrall audiences of all sizes and attitudes. He also shares his knowledge and experience with fellow writers through songwriting workshops.

Fearing has released ten albums as a solo artist, featuring musical guests including: Bruce Cockburn, Margo Timmons, Rose Cousins, Richard Thompson, Shawn Colvin, and Sarah McLachlan. He also co-founded Blackie and the Rodeo Kings with Colin Linden and Tom Wilson. 22 years later, with nine albums and a JUNO award to their credit, the band has become one of the most respected names in North American roots-rock.

Tariq Hussain is a Juno nominated songwriter and recording artist with a music career that spans over two decades. Tariq’s latest offering is Telegrams, his sixth release and fifth full-length album.

Born in rural Quebec to parents from Pakistan and Fiji, Tariq grew up on a healthy diet of Bollywood soundtracks. Then, in high school, he got his hands on a guitar and started writing songs which sounded more like Cat Stevens and Neil Young than Mohammed Rafi.

In 2006, Tariq moved to Vancouver to sit in the host’s chair for CBC Radio 3 and few years later, earned his MFA from UBC’s Creative Writing program where he now teaches lyric writing.

In 2009, he joined the ranks of the Vancouver based band, Brasstronaut. This critically acclaimed act has been putting out music and touring extensively in both Canada and in Europe.

Tariq’s essay on how to write a hit song was published by The Walrus magazine in March 2018, and he is currently working on a creative non-fiction work (memoir) about growing up as a first generation kid who feels an undeniable pull towards pop music.

Kate Weekes - On her 4th album, Better Days Ahead finds the Quebec-based singer-songwriter Kate Weekes exploring “the liminal space created by lockdowns and cancelled plans”. Given that Weekes’ song writing has typically been inspired by travel, Better Days Ahead required an entirely new way of writing, using internal cues to map a moment in time. Composing mainly in the Gatineau Hills of Quebec, Weekes found “the boreal forest and Canadian Shield were beautiful places to pass a challenging period.” Indeed, the wildly eclectic songs assembled on Better Days Ahead — which Weekes variously describes as “Appalachian-influenced M**der-suicide ballads, anthemic folk-pop, whimsical instrumental waltzes,” and “moody, horse-riding cowboy meets British rock”— announce an artist fiercely unbound by musical convention yet precisely able to articulate her vision.

Shari Ulrich (Host / Producer) began writing songs at the end of the reign of The Hometown Band in 1977. Her first song "Feel Good" was a hit for the band. Her solo career followed from 1978 with radio hits with "She Remembers", "Bad Bad Girl", "Romeo", "Every Road" and others. Since then, she has released nine albums of original material along with another 16 in collaborations with Pied Pumkin, UHF (Bill Henderson & Roy Forbes) and BTU (Barney Bentall & Tom Taylor) Her work has garnered two Juno Awards and several nominations, an induction into the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame, and a 2014 Canadian Folk Music Award (CFMA) for English Songwriter of the Year. She has been producing and hosting Bluebird North / SongBird North both nationally and locally since 1996 and at the Roundhouse since 2005. https://www.shariulrich.com/

For updates please refer to the SongBird North- Vancouver Facebook Page.

Host or Publisher Shari Ulrich