The Halifax Urban Folk Festival kicks off its extraordinary Labour Day weekend shows on Friday, September 4th with San Francisco‘s Chuck Prophet and the Halifax All Star Band. The opening songwriters circle will consist of Norman Blake (Teenage Fanclub), Neil Osborne (54-40) and Ron Hawkins (Lowest of the Low). Tickets are $45 + booking fee and show time is 9 PM.
For those who know, Chuck Prophet is one of the best rock songwriters alive as evidenced by his work with Californian band Green On Red in the 80s, through 13 solo records and recent collaborations with HUFF veteran Alejandro Escovedo. His Temple Beautiful album, about his San Francisco home is a bona fide masterpiece. This latest, Night Surfer (Chuck’s an avid surfer) is now out on Yep Roc and rocks with the best of his work. Chuck is also a jaw-dropping, in-demand lead guitarist in case you need another reason not to miss this show!
Chuck will be playing with a Halifax All Star Band and we’ll be opening the night with a songwriters circle consisting of Norman Blake from Teenage Fanclub, Neil Osborne from 54-40 and Ron Hawkins from The Lowest Of The Low.
Few bands have had as much influence on what was happening in Halifax in the early explosion of talent that birthed Sloan, Joel Plaskett, Matt Mays, et al than Scotland’s Teenage Fanclub. As one of its principal songwriters, Norman Blake has a lot of fans here and we’re pleased he’s finally making his first appearance in Atlantic Canada on this night. Norman’s headlining show will be on Sunday, September 6th.
In the pantheon of Canadian hit-writers, 54-40‘s Neil Osborne ranks easily in the top ten. Now living in Victoria, we’ve convinced him to head east to be part of HUFF. Neil’s headlining show with the Halifax All Stars will be on Saturday, September 5th.
You know, just this opening songwriters circle is totally worth the price of admission, especially with the addition of Ron Hawkins who’s output from the Lowest Of The Low days to his later groups, The Rusty Nails and The Do Good Assassins make him one of Canada’s most literate rock writers. Ron’s headlining HUFF show – with locals Scrapes as his Halifax All Stars – is at The Carleton on Thursday, September 3rd.