A Canadian comedy legend, a bluegrass supergroup and a Lower Mainland-based cello quartet are all set to perform in Delta in the new year.
First up is the Vancouver Cello Quartet, who are coming to the North Delta Centre for the Arts (1425 84th Ave.) for an afternoon show on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023.
The four-peice ensemble — comprised of Kevin Park, Lee Duckles, Cristian Markos and Luke Kim — performs original works and arrangements for cellos, crafting eclectic and unique set lists with everything from classical favourites to lush renditions of contemporary and popular works for every concert.
Doors open at 12:30 p.m., with complimentary tea and coffee for concertgoers, and the show runs from 1 to 2 p.m.
Tickets for show are $25 plus fees and on sale now at eventbrite.com/e/vancouver-cello-quartet-tickets-454970357587. Accessible seating is available in the upper balcony by calling the venue at 604-952-3620.
Then, on Saturday, Feb. 4, Juno Award-nominated The High Bar Gang will play Ladner’s Genesis Theatre (5005 45th Ave.).
Since forming in the summer of 2010, The High Bar Gang has been bringing its unique take on old-time bluegrass to the people of Western Canada, according to a bio on the band’s website.
Vocal harmony is key to the band’s sound, blending the voices of Shari Ulrich (fiddle and mandolin), Wendy Bird (guitar), Kirby Barber (guitar and bass), Barney Bentall (guitar) and Dave Barber (banjo, mandolin and guitar), with Rob Becker on bass and Colin Nairne on guitar and mandolin.
The band’s repertoire stays firmly rooted in the golden age of bluegrass music with songs by the likes of Bill Monroe, The Stanley Brothers and Del McCoury.
Doors open at 7 p.m., show at 7:30, and there will be no opening act.
SEE ALSO: Happening around Delta: week of Nov. 3
Next, on Friday, March 3, Corner Gas star Brent Butt will bring his stand-up comedy to the Genesis Theatre.
One of Canada’s funniest and most recognizable comedians, Butt has performed at the world’s most prestigious comedy festivals, toured internationally, and created and starred in two successful sitcoms (Corner Gas and Hiccups, plus the former’s animated spin-off) and two theatrical comedies (No Clue and Corner Gas: The Movie). Butt also hosts the aptly-named podcast The Buttpod, which kicked off its long-awaited second season in October with guest TV legend Tom Bergeron.
His debut novel, Huge — described as an intense and gritty psychological thriller about three comedians on a rough run of shows through a remote stretch of rural countryside as their priorities shift from getting laughs to fighting for their lives — is set to hit shelves next fall from Doubleday Canada.
Show begins at 7:30 p.m., while doors open at 7.
Tickets for both The High Bar Gang ($50) and Brent Butt ($60) go on sale Thursday, Nov. 10 at genesis-theatre.tickit.ca or by calling 604-940-5550.
Other shows coming to Delta in the next couple of months:
Local flute ensemble Fluterrific will play the North Delta Centre for the Arts on Saturday, Nov. 19 as part of the City of Delta’s Fall Music Series. Created by Michelle Carlisle, Fluterrific’s musical repertoire ranges from classical and baroque to Celtic, spicy Latin tunes, Broadway show tunes and more, all performed by instruments in the flute family — piccolos, flutes, alto flutes and bass flutes.
Doors open at 6:45 p.m., with the show running from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $15 and available at eventbrite.com/e/delta-fall-music-series-fluterrific-tickets-432920666367, with reserved accessible seating on the upper balcony by calling the venue at 604-952-3620.
Tsawwassen-born soprano Natalie Image will be joined by pianist Richard Epp for a performance at the North Delta Centre for the Arts on Saturday, Dec. 17, also as part of the City of Delta’s Fall Music Series. Praised by the New York Times for her “pristine high notes” and by the San Francisco Chronicle for her “thrilling display of tonal lushness and agility,” Image has played the roles of Frasquita (Carmen), First Wood Nymph (Rusalka), Barbarina (Le nozze di Figaro) and the Dew Fairy (Hansel and Gretel) as an Adler Fellow with San Francisco Opera, and made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2019 singing excerpts from Alma Deutscher’s Cinderella. Epp is a Vancouver-based vocal coach, pianist and conductor who was senior opera coach for the Opera Workshop at UBC and sessional instructor in UBC’s School of Music. At UBC, he conducted Serse, Die Gärtnerin aus Liebe, Le Nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberflöte, Hänsel und Gretel, Der Fledermaus, Die lustige Witwe, Brundibar, Cabaret and Weisse Rose, among others.
Doors are at 6:45, with the show running form 7:30 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $20 and available at eventbrite.com/e/fall-music-series-natalie-image-with-richard-epp-on-piano-tickets-444420372297, with reserved accessible seating on the upper balcony by calling the venue at 604-952-3620.
Also happening this month, the Delta Literary Arts Society is hosting another installment of inkwelltold, a bi-monthly “reading-in-conversation” series held in partnership with the City of Delta. The event is open to all ages and features two authors reading and talking about their work, followed by a Q&A session with audience members.
This month’s inkwelltold is happening on Saturday, Nov. 26 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the North Delta Centre for the Arts. DLAS has yet to announce this month’s authors, but tickets are available free at cityofdelta.perfectmind.com.
SEE ALSO: Metal, Maria & ‘The Sound of Music’ for Surrey’s Chelsea Rose, who blossoms on many stages
editor@northdeltareporter.com
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