Scene PG | March 2015

LOCAL EVENTS AND MUSIC

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Free!

2015 CANADA WINTER GAMES

MUSIC LINEUP PG30

CARIBOO BREWING PRESENTS CARIBOO HOUSE PG12

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local events and music

CONTENTS14 THE RELUCTANT COWBOY Chris Buck

VINYL SOUL The Gaff

WHITE GOOSE

White Goose

CARIBOO BREWING PRESENTS Cariboo House

WHEN A TREE FALLS

Joanna Smythe

BRINGING THE BIG SHOW

Burn it Down

TALK DERBY TO ME:

Keeping it PG with the RollerGirls

THE WESTWOOD The Westwood Pub

CAESARS

Caesars Contest

2015 CANADA WINTER GAMES Music Lineup

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AVAILABLE ON-LINE AT:

www.pgcitizen.ca or thescenepg.com General Inquiries ‹ 250-562-2441 Publisher ‹ Colleen Sparrow Editor ‹ Neil Godbout Reader Sales ‹ Alan Ramsay Director of Advertising ‹ Dave Smith Founder ‹ Norm Coyne Graphic Designer ‹ Candice Rosenbaum Director of Events ‹ James Matosevic Writer ‹ Charelle Evelyn Photographers ‹ Christos Sargiogos Make-up ‹ Theresa Riggan Fashion Stylist ‹ Kassandra Nagy

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Behold...Our special Games After Dark issue of the he Scene PG! With so many things to do in our city amidst the thousands of people during the 2015 Canada Winter Games, we thought it best to give a nod to some of the fun and frolic being captured by our local pubs, clubs and galleries for our February foray. Of particular interest to visitors to and residents of our city are the terrific line up of acts gracing the 2015 Canada Winter Games’ Festival Main Stage courtesy of the generous sponsorships of BCLC and Treasure Cove Casino. From the Main Stage crowds enjoy the option of catapulting a mere block and a half to Cariboo House where the party continues with 18 Days straight of epic entertainment with a line up as versatile as its early evening predecessors. Without doubt, the Games has ushered in one of the most exciting times our region has seen and we hope that you all plan to take in as much of it as we do!

- Norm Coyne Scene PG

THE SCENE PG IS A PRODUCT OF Please Recycle ON THE COVER: Photo Credit: Christos Sargiogos | Clothing available from Cariboo Brewing | Make-up by Theresa Riggan

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THE

RELUCTANT

COWBOY

By Charelle Evelyn

Photo Credit: Christos Sargiogos

Mike Vanderlans didn’t exactly jump at the chance to be in the Chris Buck Band.

After moving to Vancouver from Prince George a decade ago,

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Vanderlans was on the lookout for musical opportunities after his main vehicle, Floored, ran out of gas.

Chris Buck was one of the first people he met in the big city and he asked Vanderlans if he wanted

to play bass in his country band.

Vanderlans’ rejection of the idea was swift. “I don’t like country music. Not at all,” he recalled.

But Buck was persistent.

“I was trying a bunch of different stuff and I was like, you know

Chris Buck

what? More music can’t be a bad thing,” said Vanderlans, who has now played three different stints with the band that has quickly gained traction as the act to watch.

Vanderlans rejoined the band

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The Reluctant Cowboy

just over a year ago and together the group just brought home a B.C. Country Music Association award for Best Country Club Act of 2014.

It was a well-deserved trophy for the country/reggae/rock band that for a stretch of at least two months in 2014 played on average four nights per week and more than 150 live shows in the past two years.

On Feb. 20 and 21, Chris Buck Band brings the party to Prince George, headlining Nights 8 and 9 at Cariboo House. Presented

by Citizen Special Events and Pacific Western Brewing, Cariboo House will offer 18 straight nights of after-hours fun during the Canada Winter Games.

Vanderlans, who hasn’t played a gig in his hometown since he moved away, said audiences could expect a top-notch show.

“We’re a damn entertaining band,” he said, whether they’re getting people on stage to sing, having dance contests or bantering with the crowd. “We

Chris Buck

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have a good time and we get other people to have a good time, too.”

The Prince George stop will be just one of the jam-packed weekends in Vanderlans’ year (he has three or four weekends free between now and Dec. 15).

In addition to his Chris Buck Band duties, Vanderlans also plays with Vancouver rock outfit Dead City Scandal as well as other side projects.

“I pretty much have my hands in music as much as possible,” said Vanderlans, a self-proclaimed “huge bass nerd” who plays one of his four strings that sits besides his bed first thing every morning.

It’s an obsession that started as a youngster listening to a California Raisins cassette, the bass lines in the old soul and funk tunes stirring something up unquenchable.

“I’ve always needed to play,” he said. “ I get antsy if I’m not playing all the time.”

The Reluctant Cowboy

Tickets for Chris Buck Band at Cariboo House are available online at eventbrite.com.

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Watching Bruce Lee movies as a tyke, Mike Gaff didn’t want to be the hero. He wanted to be the grand master the hero looked up to.

Mostly raised in Victoria, Gaff started his apprenticeship in the world of the hip-hop arts during a brief stint in Prince George in his late teens.

“Because I was quite good at skateboarding when I was younger, I ended up hanging out with people that were a few years older than me that were rappers or graffiti artists or some of them had turntables and were DJs,” he said. “I practiced all of the arts from break dancing to DJing and it ended up that DJing was the one that stuck the most.”

Cue the training montage: After years spent refining and honing his skills, today The Gaff is internationally known for his dominance behind the turntables, winning battles, voter’s contests and breaking into bestseller lists as a producer.

This month, The Gaff will headline Night 17 on Feb. 28 of Cariboo House, presented by Citizen Special Events and Pacific Western Brewing during the Canada Winter Games, marking the first time he’s been back to Prince George since 2001. Now based out of Saskatoon, he specializes in party music infused with soul, funk and world beats.

Gaff’s encyclopedic knowledge of music is hard-won and well catalogued by means of his record collection that’s well past the 10,000 mark. He started collecting young, after connecting the dots between current tracks and music from days gone by.

“And I started realizing that they were all my favourite songs were actually jazz, soul and rock songs from the 60s and 70s. So then I started getting ore curious about those players and the musicians and where they came from

By Charelle Evelyn

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continued on page 8 The Gaff

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Vinyl Soul

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continued from page 6 and who they were jamming with,” he said.

And then he started sampling.

“I collect stuff that, in general, is funkier or has really dope drum beats I could make a cool song out of. I have weird middle eastern records, weird soundtracks, rock records,” Gaff said. “I might get a record because I really love the cover, or it’s got one little sample on it that’s five seconds long but the rest of it sucks.”

In December, Gaff launched his label Do It With Soul to house remixes and edits of popular songs and collaborations. His own work is due for an album release this summer.

In a world of digital access, The Gaff is part of a rare breed of touring turntable magicians.

“There’s not as many people doing it because more often

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now the kind of person that’s travelling, they’re not actually a DJ – they’re a music producer and they’re just playing the kinds of songs that they are about or that fit in with their style,” he said.

Laptops and computer software have changed the game, he said. He uses them himself, as touring with crates of vinyl isn’t exactly practical, but like the old grandmasters The Gaff looked at with envy, he’s now the one dropping pearls of wisdom.

“I often say that if DJs were like doctors and you had to earn the title like a doctor, there’d be a lot less DJs in the world.”

The Gaff

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Vinyl Soul

WHITE GOOSE In the 2004 comedy-drama Sideways, Miles and Maya (Paul Giamatti and Virginia Madsen, respectfully) share an intimate conversation regarding their common love of good wine (I’ll assume written accurately, as I’m not yet a sommelier, still unable to distinguish between a Chateau Montelena Chardonnay and a box of Baby Duck).

In the scene, Miles boasts about his star bottle, a 1961 Cheval Blanc. Maya asks Miles why he’s yet to pop the cork. He responds, “I don’t know. Special occasion.

With the right person.”

To which, Maya counters, “The day you open a ‘61 Cheval Blanc, that’s the special occasion.” To Photo Credit: Submitted

White Goose

By Chris Dias

start any article or conversation regarding White Goose Bistro, I inevitably paraphrase that quote; the day you have dinner at White Goose, that’s the special occasion.

That film selection is apropos given White Goose’s talent in wine pairing, but it’s really their food everyone praises.

Listing their achievements would be a proper follow-up, but honestly, I can’t recall them all. Is it a long list? Yes…and I have memory worse than King George III (too soon?). What I do remember is that a year ago, I named White Goose Bistro as the best restaurant in Prince George, beating two others short-listed for the same title. Later that same year, those same three restaurants (along with others) continued on page 10

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continued from page 9 competed at the Northern Taste challenge hosted by Food Network celebrity Bob Blumer.

To my vindication, when points were awarded, the winners fell in the same order with White Goose again topping the podium (there wasn’t actually a podium, though there should’ve been one). I also remember later that evening when I was having dinner with Bob and Ron “Hellboy” Perlman when…okay, more specifically, I was having dinner in the vicinity of Bob and Ron…when Perlman had to leave to honor an engagement at another restaurant, a casual dining chain popular in town.

Mr. Perlman had obviously been enjoying his time at the Goose and asked me (ME!) what said chain was like. I replied, “Similar to an Olive Garden.”

It was as if I just spoiled the ending of “Gone Girl” to him. He clearly didn’t want to leave.

White Goose is the first—though not the only—answer to those asking for quality haute cuisine in Prince George, the ultimate climax in my search for the best restaurant in town. I admit it’s not for everyone. It’s for people that bought front row seats for Dralion or Blue Man Group, for people that perhaps got a little too inebriated at our last international wine festival (I have the liver of a five year old, I admit). Up until recently, White Goose was the only restaurant offering a chef’s menu, a greater

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recommendation I can’t imagine.

At $65 a head, you’re at the whim of one of the best chefs this town has ever seen, an individual that sleeps, breathes, and…well… eats food, the type that probably wakes up in the middle of the night after an inspirational dream and cooks until morning. Don’t believe me; his favorite movie is called “Chef”. Admittedly, it could be tied with Star Wars.

Said chef’s menu is a complete dining experience, and by the end, you’ll have eaten enough to pass an entire waiter.

There are great chefs in Prince George—fact—but I have yet to find one with the passion for food like Ryan Cyre. I doubt he sweats sweat; more likely, he sweats béchamel sauce… which… admittedly sounds disgusting, but you get my point.

In addition, he gathers around him colleagues that match his passion, that strive for that high quality.

White Goose is elegance, transcendence, professionalism, and unpretentiousness, all rolled into one, held together with probably butcher’s twine or Japanese seaweed and topped with shaved black truffles or porcini mushroom reduction. It’s my favorite restaurant, and if it were ever banished to perdition, I would commit to blasphemy and eat better than those in paradise.

White Goose

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For info on any of the events, call 250 562-2441 and ask to speak to the Cariboo House organizers.

When the Canada Winter Games festivities cross the finish line each day, the starting gun will just be firing for activities at Cariboo House.

The midwinter sports and culture extravaganza has its own slate of athletic spectacles during the day and concerts in the evening, but Citizen Special Events and Pacific Western Brewing will open the doors to Prince George nightlife at a little partyshack in the woods they call Cariboo House.

Well, not exactly the woods smack in the middle of downtown Prince George, to be specific: Fifth and Dominion.

“We will be taking over Heartbreakers [also known in recent years as The Overdrive, Rum Jungle, The Munk and other names] and stocking it

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with 18 consecutive days of prime entertainment,” said Norm Coyne of Citizen Special Events. “We have a mix that will appeal to everybody: deejays, country, rock, celebrity guests, even a band of celebrity session musicians who will play songs while you sing live karaoke. They are called The Naturals and they call it rockaoke.”

The best known name to take centre stage at Cariboo House is Cabral “Cabbie” Richards, the affable and comedic sportscaster who started his career in the eponymous Cabbie On The Street segment on The Score. Since then he has become famous for his high-energy and high-funny interview style enjoyed by the A-list subjects as much as the audience. He has been a regular contributor on the Marilyn Denis Show on daytime CTV and has a

high profile on TSN’s nighttime Sportscentre.

Cabbie will host a live sports trivia event at Cariboo House on Feb. 24.

Some other names up in the bright lights include country star Julian Austin (grand opening night, Feb. 13), a deejay double bill with Mat The Alien and Neon Steve (Feb. 14), east coast Celtic stars The Irish Descendants (Feb. 16), DJ sensation Ryker Gamble. and country music star Aaron Pritchett (Feb 27) to name but a few.

“We will have these nationalcalibre athletes doing their thing in our town, we will have a great music festival at the Civic Centre every night, the whole nation is coming to town, so we wanted to do our part to make this a memorable experience,” said Coyne. “We had the opportunity

to partner with PWB and turn Heartbreakers into the place to go for downtown nightlife, right in the heart of Games Village.”

Coyne said the Citizen is about to celebrate its 100th anniversary, and PWB is also a company with a long and colourful legacy rooted in Prince George, the northernmost and largest community in the Cariboo region.

With that long history, and the line of Cariboo beer made by PWB, came an obligation to send Canada Winter Games visitors home with great personal stories about Prince George. With the CWG organizers taking care of the sports and early evening entertainment, this partnership would take care of some of the late-night hours.

Cariboo Brewing Presents | Cariboo House

Feb. 13 – Grand Opening: Julian Austin Feb.14 – Mat the Alien/ Neon Steve Feb.15 – Skiitour Feb 16 – Irish Descendants Feb 17 – Rockaoke featuring the Naturals Feb 18 – the Naturals Feb 19 – Mathias Rock Feb 20 – Chris Buck Band Feb 21 – Ryker Gamble

Feb 22 – Country Night with Chris Buck Band Feb 23 – Johnny Cash tribute: David James & Big River Feb 24 – Sports trivia with guest host Cabral “Cabbie” Richards Feb 25 – Itchy Ron Feb 26 – Statistics Feb 27 - Aaron Pritchett Feb 28 – the Gaff Mar 1 - Wrap party

Photo Credit: Submitted

Cariboo Brewing Presents | Cariboo House

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NEW ART EXHIBITION OPENS IN PRINCE GEORGE DURING CANADA WINTER GAMES. Storefront Studio 1144, 4th Ave. Hours 11-4. Mon.- Sat. Feb 12- 28.

Opening Reception, Thursday February 12th, 7:30 p.m.

Storefront Studio presents When a Tree Falls by guest artist Joanna Smythe, a recent graduate of the Emily Carr Master of Applied Arts Program.

Smythe works at the intersection between installation, sculpture, and drawing, and examines our constructed and romanticized view of nature. Tree Falling is a projected light assemblage that uses three-dimensional objects to create a two-dimensional image, setting up a playful dialogue between real and illusionistic space.

Winged incorporates local high-grade pulp to form the components of this cast paper kinetic sculpture. The clichĂŠd image of angel wings inspires notions of transcendence from human and earth-bound concerns. This is never possible for the disembodied forms in this sculpture that endlessly circulate within their tethered flight path.

The kinetic piece also makes the viewer aware of their own presence in the space as they navigate past the moving parts that greet them at the gallery entrance.

Storefront Studio is an independent Artist Run Space that encourages experimental, alternative, and new media works.

Photo Credit: Submitted

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When a Tree Falls | Joanna Smythe

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SCENESTYLE Photo Credit: Christos Sargiogos 16

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Clothing available at The London

Make-up: Theresa Riggan | Fashion Stylist: Kassandra Nagy

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BRINGING THE BIG SHOW

By Charelle Evelyn

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Bringing the Big Show | Burn it Down

Photo Credit: Christos Sargiogos

There’s a treasure trove of rock and roll splendor spread amongst the members of Burn It Down.

Lights, lasers, smoke machines, high-quality speakers – not to mention all the instruments – are all at this four-piece’s disposal to put on a rock spectacle.

Members Gerry Hicks, Les Johnson, Justin McLean and Brian Newton have been beating the rock and roll drum since 2011. The group’s repertoire focuses on the best of the 1980s and 90s (ie. Bon Jovi, Van Halen, Def Leppard, Journey, etc.).

“That’s kind of our direction because nobody’s doing it anymore, for one, and two, that’s what we’re kind of about,” said Johnson. “If we’re playing and you come to see us, we put on a pretty good rock show.”

Looking at all of the gear amassed in the Burn It Down’s rehearsal space, it’s hard to believe that

music isn’t the group’s full-time occupation. The band practices once per week and gigs when they can in a city where dance music is an increasingly popular form.

Music is strongly steeped in bandmates Hicks and Johnson, who both have been playing since they were youngsters.

Hicks began playing in bands in 1992 and hasn’t stopped. A decade ago, he was playing bass with Powersludge in Alberta.

“Every town I go into I end up playing with someone,” he said.

Johnson started out with piano lessons as a child.

“It’s the typical story: everyone else is out playing baseball and I’ve got to do my piano lessons,” he said. “It was a bit of bummer but I thank my mom every day for it.”

The bandmates both have original music up for grabs on ReverbNation, as Gerry Hicks and Hear on Earth, respectively.

Bringing the Big Show | Burn it Down

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Talk derby to me:

By Charelle Evelyn

The Rated PG RollerGirls bring in the noise and, if you’re unlucky enough to be on the opposing team, they also bring the pain.

For nearly seven years, the local roller derby team has been capturing hearts, minds, fans and teammates as they showcase the toughest game on eight wheels.

Haylee Tucker was one such convert, watching her first Rated PG bout at the RollA-Dome two years ago. Now the 20-year-old is fully indoctrinated into the cult of roller derby, complete with derby name (Mother Tucker) and a spot on the squad’s A-Team, the Northstars.

The first thing she noticed about the sport was the athleticism of the women rounding the track, said Tucker. Then she picked up on the ferocity.

“There’s a player named Lockdown. She’s actually a friend of mine now, but when I came to the game, she laid out this huge, massive hit on a smaller player,” Tucker recalled. “She went down pretty hard and Photo Credit: Christos Sargiogos 20

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continued on page 22 Talk Derby to Me: Keeping it PG with the RollerGirls

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continued from page 20 came up and Lockdown knocked her down again. I was like: I want to do that.”

It turned out to be a perfect fit for Tucker, who said she had played roller hockey after getting kicked off the ice hockey team for fighting “because all the boys got bigger than me and I couldn’t hit them back the way they could hit me.”

However, once she was a part of the team, what kept Tucker going was the welcoming environment she found.

“It’s more than a sport for a lot of us. It’s a community of healthyminded, healthy women, which is just so cool to be involved with,” she said.

Roller derby players come in all shapes, sizes, ages and backgrounds.

Long-time member Denise Hogue (a.k.a. Sistah Viberosis), came out to the team’s inaugural Try-It Night, not too long after her son was born.

“We have a lot of moms that play derby. It’s a good way of getting back into shape post-baby,” she said with a laugh.

Hogue also works full-time as a forester and started the RollerGirls’ signature introduction of taking a lap of the track wielding a roaring chainsaw.

Currently recovering from an injury, Hogue has taken on more coaching duties, handling the squad’s more recreation-focused house team - and is teaching other players to handle the saw 22

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in her stead until she’s back on skates.

“It’s such a fixture on the team.

It’s the nose and the smell, it really gets the team going,” she said.

With the grip of the Canada Winter Games, there won’t be a Rated PG home bout at the RollA-Dome in February. Instead, the team is opening up a Thursday night practice and scrimmage to the public on Feb. 19 between 6 and 9 p.m.

For those who want to mark down their next fix, there will be roller derby influx with the Northern Exposure tournament March 21-22. In it’s second year, the tournament will be broken into two sessions, with the next coming up on April 25-26.

There was such a positive response to the first Northern Exposure in 2014 that the Roll-ADome can’t accommodate all the teams who wanted to participate this time around in one go, said Hogue.

Rated PG is always looking for Fresh Meat. Practices for newcomers run Sunday from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Roll-A-Dome.

Participants should try to come equipped with a mouth guard and helmet and other gear including skate rentals - can be provided on a first-come, firstserve basis.

For more information on joining the team or a bout schedule, visit ratedpgrollergirls.com or find them on Facebook.

Talk Derby to Me: Keeping it PG with the RollerGirls

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SCENESTYLE 24

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Clothing available from One Boardshop

Photo Credit: Christos Sargiogos

Clothing available from Cariboo Brewing | Make-up by Theresa Riggan

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The Westwood Pub The Westwood is everyone’s neighbourhood pub, no matter where in the city you live.

As the city has grown and society’s personality has changed, the Westwood has moved along with the times, doing a major renovation and reboot five years ago that is still popping with new energy. They are a downtown social hotspot

that’s not even downtown they make the rest of the city feel cool too, at their corner on Westwood & Cherry in between Pine Centre Mall and Superstore.

The Westwood is the home of the modern Canadian. There is a lot of hockey feel in the room, with chilled glasses in the cooler, the coldest beer in town, and that beer has all the flavours of today’s appreciative brew culture. You can get the tried and true brands as well, but the

taps and bottles are stacked in craft varieties we now demand at the end of our hard workday.

Hometown favourites from Pacific Western Brewery and our neighbours at Barkerville Brewing Company are at the top of the list, with good friends from other beer boutiques like Phillips, Driftwood, Okanagan Spring, Steamwhistle, and many more.

Owner-operator Nate Coole said the attention people now pay

to beer also applies to the way people enjoy food.

“We source our ingredients as close to Prince George as we can, fresh, and we make sure our chicken is grain-fed, our beef is steroid-free, all our soups are made daily in our own kitchen, our sauces are made in-house.

Food has become an important part of everyday life for people, and it is has become a big part of our Westwood identity.”

Coole is a third-generation

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The Westwood Pub

nightspot businessman in Prince George. He grew up in the local hospitality and entertainment scene and he loves living in the northern capital as it bursts into the new century.

“This is a great city full of great people. I like the people who come to the Westwood, we want to provide an atmosphere here where everyone feels like they’re in a big livingroom at home. We have relationships with the customers who come

The Westwood Pub

here to enjoy themselves. The front-of-house staff, the kitchen staff, the deejays, everyone on the team is on the same page about that. We want to see that smile on your face when you come in the door.”

The Westwood is not just a spot on the city’s map, it’s a local company with Prince George people working in every corner of the operation. That’s why they sponsor youth sports, invest in hospital equipment,

contribute to UNBC athletics, give performance opportunities for local musicians, and slapped their name on the Westwood Pub PG Rec Hockey League.

“We are all big fans of PG, and we love to meet people,” said Coole. “If you want a good time, hear great music, enjoy safe and positive surroundings, eat great food, and just hang out with us - the staff loves to be here too - then come down to the Westwood.”

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Cocktail Special Feature: Caesars

Few cocktails combat the effects of a hardcore Canadian hangover like the mighty Caesar.

The Caesar was invented in 1969 by restaurant manager Walter Chell of the Calgary Inn (today the Westin Hotel) in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He devised the cocktail after being tasked to create a signature drink for the Calgary Inn’s new Italian restaurant. He mixed vodka with clam and tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce and other spices, creating a drink similar to a Bloody Mary but with a uniquely spicy flavor. In this issue of the Scene, we showcase our local restaurants and their contributions to Walter Chell’s legacy.

Watch the Scene PG Facebook page for a contest which will see these mighty dranks go toe to toe….

Twisted Cork

Nancy O's

The Westwood

Shiraz

Hummus Brothers

Surf & Tapas Caesar:

Nancy O’s Classic Caesar

Top Secret Caesar:

Shiraz Saffron Martini:

Spicy Dill Caesar:

1 oz Stoli Vodka Tsp Cocktail Sauce Tsp Creamed Horseradish Dash Tobasco Dash Worchestershire Salt and Pepper Garnished with Celery, Lemon and Lime wheels The skewer is Garlic Prawns, Cherry tomatoes, Chorizo, Prosciutto and Salami

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In a rimmed glass One shot Vodka 2 dashes Worcestershire 2 dashes Tabasco Salt and pepper Clamato out Garnish with asparagus, lime, and slow cooked rib

One ounce Vodka Two dashes CLASSIFIED Pinch of CLASSIFIED FILL with Clamato Garnish...UNKOWN

(Although not a member of the Caesar family, the Saffron Martini is a formidable hangover drink!)

1.5 oz of Bombay Sapphire mixed with saffron .25 oz of Drambuie liquor .25 of martini vermouth

Absolut Vodka Horseradish Worcestershire Tobasco Garnish with Pickles and Hot Pepper

Shake all of these together with ice, and it is ready, you can add a little club soda to give freshness to the martini.

Caesars Contest

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2015 Canada Winter Games MUSIC LINEUP

by Frank Peebles

Athletes are coming to perform at the 2015 Canada Winter Games, and so are some of Canada’s best loved musicians.

The 2015 edition of Cold Snap, the annual wintertime concert festival, has been coincided with the Games. Acts from coast to coast and all kinds of cultures are sharing the 18-day stage, with free concerts every evening outside at the plaza in front of the Civic Centre and indoors at Art Space.

“Every province and territory is represented,” said Karen Jeffery, manager of ceremonies and culture for the Games. “Seventy per cent of the artists come from BC, and 40 per cent come from the region.”

Men and women, French and English, aboriginal and multicultural - it is all represented.

The top of the concert hotlist is

Tanya Tagaq, the Arctic cultural heroine fresh off her win of the Polaris Music Prize. Her ethereal throat songs are to the ear what the northern lights are to the eye.

From the Atlantic coast comes Canadian Celtic bard Allan Doyle, the affable co-founder of Great Big Sea. Moving wildly west, other headliners rooted in the national identity are radio-rowdy country musicians Tim Hicks and Chad Brownlee.

Classical cello diva Morag Northey marries the old and the modern.

Contemporary folk’s top-shelf talent includes buzz band Said The Whale, super-group Mounties (the combo of solo star Hawksley Workman, Steve Bays of Hot Hot Heat and Ryan Dahle of Limblifter), and blues crunchers The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer. Add in Good For Grapes, Delhi 2 Dublin, Ben

Caplan and Sarah MacDougall.

Urban acts like rappers Classified and Skratch Bastid are coming, livewire electronica influences are warped into Dear Rouge, Willa (featuring Ali Milner) and Radio Radio, and sound spinners like D!ggy The DJ will pound the beats.

Children will get the act being hailed as the next Raffi, CBC-TV singing star Will Stroet.

Theatre lovers will get the tour de force drama Jake’s Gift by actor/playwright Julia Mackey.

Francophones will get French Canadian stars like Alex Nevsky, Bon Debarras, Vishtèn and Lisa LeBlanc.

Aboriginal headliners include A Tribe Called Red and Indian City.

Spanish-English superstar Alex Cuba brings his hot Caribbean sound.

Other acts on the bill include All Mighty Voice, The Boom Booms, Brandon Isaak, Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne, Tim Williams, The

Fugitives, and more still to be announced.

From this home region will come Rachelle Van Zanten (Francois Lake), Black Spruce Bog (combo from P.G., Burns Lake, Prince Rupert areas), Folkie Strum Strum (Peace-country combo), Chimney Swallows (including P.G.’s Raghu Lokanathan and former Smithereen Corwin Fox), Derek Joyce (P.G.), Doug Koyama (several Cariboo towns), Jessey DaCosta (P.G.), Joey Only & The Outlaws (Wells), King Crow & The Ladies From Hell (Terrace and, with nine members, other parts as well), Kevin Zakresky (P.G.) and his Prince George Symphony Orchestra (also P.G., of course), Power Duo (Naomi Kavka and Corbin Spensely of P.G.), Navaz (Persian P.G.), Out Of Alba (Celtic P.G.), Rosewood’s Diary (Vanderhoof), Will Kuklis (P.G.), Jerusha White (Fort St. James and P.G.), and others to be named.

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2015 Canada Winter Games Music Lineup

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