Ian Axel, Bess Rogers and Allie Moss at a House Concert

Where: Westboro Masonic Hall, 430 Churchill Ave at Byron Who: Shannon Rose and the Thorns, Parkdale Exit, Allan Fraser, Clear Sponsor: Public Service Alliance of Canada, National Capital Region No cover charge. We will pass the hat to support Harmony House (NULL.harmonyhousews NULL.com/)

100% of proceeds donated to Harmony House women’s shelter

Shannon Rose and the Thorns Shannon Rose enjoys the quiet life: reading, Scrabble, and tea—she saves her vocals for the stage where she unfolds her tender folk-pop and retro soul songs that are marked by  gentle idiosyncrasies that give the songs character. That she gets to do all of the above with her guitarist husband Steve at her side, is as sweet as the honey in the tea, or a zed on a triple word score.When Shannon met Steve he had a funk band, and she had just picked up the  guitar. With his help she recorded a song as a birthday present for a childhood friend… which sparked the songwriting pilot light for Shannon. She learned new chords on the guitar and  wrote more, until she had enough bedroom demos for her debut full-length album: Sing Me a Song (2008). Steve and Shannon’s talented musician friends soon signed on to help bring her songs to life in recordings and on stage as The Thorns. Over the past year Shannon Rose & The Thorns have recorded and released four five-song EPsinspired by the diverse Canadian seasons, aptly titled Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall.  The recording process was kept close to their Ottawa home with funding from the City of Ottawa, Shannon’s guitarist husband Steve Matylewicz working as producer, bass player; and Ottawa super-producer Dean Watson engineering at his Gallery studio, Phil Bova Jr. mastering at Bova Sound (Feist), Michael Schultz on horns and keys (Hilotrons and Mashed Potato Mashers), and Tim Watson on drums (Dave Norris, Jack Pine & The Fire). The EPs also feature special guest appearances by other Ottawa musical talents including Adam Fogo, Dave Norris, Brian Simms, Matt Ouimet, and Shannon’s cat Maddie who always manages to sneak a meow or two into home recordings.

www.shannonroseandthethorns.com (NULL.shannonroseandthethorns NULL.com/)

www.facebook.com/shannonroseandthethorns (NULL.facebook NULL.com/shannonroseandthethorns)

www.myspace.com/shannonrosemusic#! (NULL.myspace NULL.com/shannonrosemusic#!)

Parkdale Exit

Parkdale Exit is an Ottawa alternative singer-songwriter band—from our west-end ‘hood—comprised of Calere Boudreau (guitar, vocals, percussion), Tracy Clark (guitar, vocals), Rick Kersey (sax, flute, vocals) and John Lloyd (mandolin/vocals). To quote Calere: “As for the band’s bio, well there’s not much to say. I met them through playing open stages and I didn’t want to play alone so they were nice enough to play with me so we played together and I wrote more songs for us to play, then we came up with a name and played some more.” “Nuff said! Parkdale Exit plays often at Daniel O’Connell’s pub in the ‘hood.

www.facebook.com/pages/Parkdale-Exit/193976163974257 (NULL.facebook NULL.com/pages/Parkdale-Exit/193976163974257)

Allan Fraser

Allan Fraser is a strikingly original artist—an iconic, influential and legendary Canadian songwriter and performer—whose work resonates with musical intelligence and passion.  In the 70s, he released two albums internationally on Columbia Records—with his then-partner, Daisy DeBolt, whom he met In 1968—as  the spell-binding duo Fraser & DeBolt, purveyors of “far-out folk”. He has played the Philadelphia, Mariposa, and Winnipeg folk festivals… appeared in concerts at major clubs, on TV and radio in the U.S.A, Europe and Canada… and has composed and performed on film soundtracks. He has worked with jazz guitarist Lenny Breau, singer-songwriters Jesse Winschester and Bruce Cockburn, plus musical actors Cedic Smith and Tom Jackson. Many other artists have recorded his songs, including John Oates (Hall & Oates), The Duhks, Tom Russell, Keith Miles, Mike Asquind, Jim Cope, Blue Love Monkey, Cal Hand with Leo Kottke, Cassell Webb and Penny Lang… to name just a few! His compelling songs aredescribed as “powerful acoustic folk-rock”. His evocative lyrics and melodies infuse in a distinctive way all his own. “Dance Hall Girls” is a favourite wherever pickers and singers gather. Allan is currently recording a new album with Studio Q (aka Quentin Meek). Originally from Sherbrooke, Allan has lived in Montreal since 1994. Ottawa proudly welcomes him back to town… it’s been far too long and we hope to see him back again soon! For this Beard, Allan is joined by Quentin Meek and Yoland Houle.

www.allanfraser.ca/ (NULL.ca/)

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www.myspace.com/allanfraser17 (NULL.myspace NULL.com/allanfraser17)

Clear

CLEAR is Sue Johnson, Christian Patterson and Jason Hutt. They combine addictive hooks, jazz licks and cabaret-style vocals to create songs of love, loss and redemption. As the band’s upper-case name implies, CLEAR makes music of brilliant clarity, every word and note shining in songs that grab and hold the listener’s attention. It is a sound that has won the band a discriminating, loyal following in its hometown of Ottawa, Canada. Ottawa Citizen music reporter Wes Smiderle wrote: “Johnson and Patterson’s talents mesh beautifully as CLEAR, a sunny brew of folk and jazz melodies anchored by Johnson’s rich and powerful vocals.” Sue and Christian are the constants in a line-up that has ranged from relaxed duo to at times a rocking group of over a half a dozen musicians. In more than ten years together, Johnson and Patterson have played innumerable venues in Canada’s capital and beyond, performing songs that are in turns infectiously upbeat and achingly beautiful. Their sophomore album,Never Falling Again, was released in 2011 and the songs are both sophisticated and strong. Robert Sutton of Jazz Corner writes, “Johnson and Patterson locate the sweet spot of melody; together they produce a mesmerizing marriage of cinematic atmosphere and profound longing.” CLEAR has performed with a number of celebrated Canadian acts, such as The Cowboy Junkies, Tegan and Sarah, The Northern Pikes, and Ember Swift.

www.facebook.com/clearmusicband (NULL.facebook NULL.com/clearmusicband)

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