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Event
Sussex / Mack MacKenzie
A shared bill of two of Montreal's finest!
Sussex launches its third album SHINE
"a feast for the ears." Rein van den Berg
The celestial sound of the vibraphone and the irrepressible joy of its operator Michael Emenau instantly brings every Sussex audience into a world of wonder. Tethering the vibes lush, resonant sound to earth with driving fingerstyle guitar and award-winning roots songs is the work of Sussex's co-leader and multiple CFMA Contemporary Singer of the Year, Rob
Lutes.
Over the past eight years and three albums, the two founders of this innovative CFMA Ensemble of the Year nominee have explored exciting and unexpected musical blends to transport audiences to places fresh and familiar.
For its third album, SHINE, the band has enlisted Joe Grass (Patrick Watson, Mara Tremblay) on pedal steel guitar and Morgan Moore (Martha Wainwright, Barr Brothers) on upright bass to produce a multi-textured sound that is not
quite like anything else.
Genres be damned. Sussex is country-jazz, ragtime-folk and Tin Pan Alley-blues. Sweet vocal melodies, sophisticated textural vibraphone chords, sultry bass lines and soaring pedal steel runs interweaving through a set of literate,
melodic songs about backyard memories, roadside motels and bittersweet love.
With six well-crafted originals from Lutes, the luxuriant jazz-Americana instrumental Skating from Emenau, and three underappreciated gems from the early 20th century, SHINE travels a rarely trodden sonic landscape that somehowleads listeners close to the very heart of American music.
This launch show will feature Sussex's founders Lutes and Emenau on acoustic guitar and vibraphone, with special guests Morgan Moore (Barr Brothers, Martha Wainwright, Ranee Lee) on upright bass and Kim Deschamps (Blue Rodeo, Cowboy Junkies) on pedal steel.
Mack MacKenzie:
Born in Lincoln, Maine, Mack MacKenzie is of native Micmac, Scottish, Irish, Dutch and French ancestry. Shortly after his family moved to Montreal in the early 1970s, Mack took an interest in music, starting with the guitar at age eight. By the time he reached fourteen, he was playing in his first band and writing songs. It was in 1985 that Mack's best-known band, Three O'Clock Train, first recorded their "Wigwam Beach" EP, which was followed the next year by the album "Muscle In."
Fans and critics alike acclaimed both recordings. John Griffin, writing in the Montreal Gazette, wrote, "What makes Three O'Clock Train different is that Mack MacKenzie writes songs like he has to." The Montreal Mirror's Chris Yurkiw recently referred to Mack as, "perhaps the best songwriter this city has produced in the past ten years." To this day, many cite Three O'Clock Train's influence on such successful Canadian bands as Blue Rodeo and Cowboy Junkies.
The group's recordings have shown up on countless "best of" lists, and past performances are remembered fondly. Three O'Clock Train performed throughout Canada to enthusiastic acclaim, always leaving an indelible impression on those fortunate enough to have witnessed their impassioned live performances. As a solo acoustic performer, Mack has performed at the Mariposa and Winnipeg Folk Festivals and was a featured artist for a showcase at the SxSW Music & Media Conference in Austin, Texas, and at the Bluebird Café in Nashville.
Mack has also opened shows for such luminaries as Billy Bragg, Rick Danko, Cowboy Junkies and John Hiatt. He has performed on stage with John Prine, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, John Gorka, Los Lobos, The Leslie Spit Tree-O and Men Without Hats.
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LocationEspace Knox (View)
6215 Godfrey
Montreal, QC H4B1K3
Canada
Categories
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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