The March Hare - Friday 2 March 2018 8 pm at the Charles W. Stockey Centre
The Poetry of Hockey, The Music of Newfoundland - The March Hare Part 1
Music and Hockey are two words that perhaps do not seem to go together – except in Parry Sound! On Friday 2 March, at the Charles W. Stockey Centre, beginning at 8 pm The March Hare returns to Parry Sound, presenting an evening of words and music from Newfoundland.
Poet Randall Maggs will read from his poetry collection Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems, re-issued this year by Brick Books in a 10th anniversary edition.
Terry Sawchuk was a goaltender who played for a number of NHL teams in the 1950s and 1960s. His life was one of great achievement and great difficulty, a rough life by any standard. Dying at the age of only 40 years old in 1970, Sawchuk is remembered as one of the great goalies of all time.
Randall Maggs exquisite book of poems and photographs provides an intimate look at the man and the hockey player, as well as others of his era.
Joining his father-in-law on stage will be musician Casey Laforet, a founding member and songwriter of the Hamilton based band Elliott Brood. Formed in 2002, their brand of fuzzed-up roots music makes for a captivating and frenetic live performance. Their style has been called everything from ‘blackgrass’ to ‘death country,’ but those descriptions don’t capture the transcendent heights of their unique approach to roots music.
Anita Best and Sandy Morris are two of the most well known and respected musicians in Newfoundland. They have been playing together for 51 years, their first gig at a friend’s wedding. But, until now have not recorded together except as members of the band Bristol’s Hope on a recording made in 1997 for the Cabot 500 Celebrations.
Anita Best is one of Newfoundland’s most talented traditional singers, and has been collecting songs and stories, celebrating Newfoundland’s tradition all of her long career. Sandy Morris is a guitarist who has worked with hundreds of musicians, including one of the original incarnations of Figgy Duff, and one of few who has been able to make a living exclusively as a musician.
Anita and Sandy will perform pieces from their new CD, a collection of their own arrangements of traditional music as well as work by Ron Hynes and other Newfoundland songwriters.
Joining the crowd from Newfoundland is Douglas Cameron, part-time Parry Sounder, and a musician who has recorded several albums of original songs including his most recent, Riverdale. A two time Juno nominee, Douglas has been composing and performing in Canada for over four decades.
In collaboration with David Macfarlane, Cameron co-created The Door You Came In, a two-man performance of music and text performed throughout Newfoundland and across Canada.
Stephanie Mckenzie, is not only a poet, but also an editor and publisher, and English Department Chair at Memorial University in Corner Brook, Newfoundland. She holds a Ph.D. in English literature from the University of Toronto.
In addition to her academic and literary work, Stephanie McKenzie is also the Artistic Director of The March Hare.
The March Hare in Parry Sound will also feature Stan Dragland, Kathleen Winter, and Pamela Morgan.
This celebration of poetry and music began in Newfoundland over 30 years ago, the tradition continuing on the Stockey Centre stage here in Parry Sound, and in New York, Toronto and, of course, across Newfoundland.