Guthrie House with Dave Balfour - these guys start at 9pm

It has been a long time coming but this local band has finally gotten their act together and is going to release their first CD titled “She’s Right”! There will be special treats all through the evening and a cover at the door. More details to come.

Sioux Newberry has been surprising audiences since she first cut her teeth as a hip-hop artist while attending University in Guelph, Ontario. Spending sleepless nights spitting, cussing and harmonizing her way through performances with prominent DJs in the Toronto area, she learned to find solace in the charms of folk songwriting and classical vocal training. “In fact,” says this small-town darling, “I have always seen hip-hop as a tool for learning to write better folk music.” Today, where the styles of jazz, country, folk-rock, hip-hop and accapella foot stomp meet, Sioux emerges as a student of reflection, offering songs and stories that consistently demand that her listeners look both inward and outward.

David Newberry has rock and roll in his heart, but somewhere along the way he found that folks like Woody Guthrie, Gram Parsons and Townes Van Zandt could craft a song and a story like no others. The result is a unique singer/songwriter with a collection of folk songs played by someone who learned his trade in the world of punk. Sweet country songs full of hardship and hope that are sung with the world weary tinge of alt-rock and whiskey. With each performance, David blends the energy and politics of punk rock with the storytelling and lyricism of American roots music.

Together, Sioux and David offer support on each other’s solo material, and present a batch of new songs co-written especially for this project. Their music reflects the realities of everyday life in Canada - highlighting ‘the regular’ in an extraordinary way. It also talks a lot about trains and boats.

While they are extraordinarily different musicians, their unique styles compliment each other, both picking up where the other leaves off. You’ll find their common ground to be both eclectic and coherent, and most of all, realistic and reminiscent of home.

Come out and get an earful of this great young local band.  Show starts at 9pm with a $3 cover.

Rod Nicholson - Scene Magazine: By turns confessional and narrative, the tunes here are presented in an unadorned performance and production style that throws their lyrical and melodic content into sharp relief. Name-checking this material influence-wise would include some fine artists such as Joe Ely, Townes Van Zandt and John Prine. Lucas Stagg measures up well against such vintage stuff while projecting his own clear style, no mean feat in itself. Whether it’s the James Burton chug of ‘Hell Bent’ or the straight-up country cautionary tale ‘Doin’ Time’, the order of the day is sharp playing, strong clear vocal harmonies and melodies that stick in the mind.

Show starts at 9pm - $3 cover