Deeply talented singer and composer, recording artist and charming entertainer, Ken Lavigne kicks off spring with a seven-stop Vancouver Island tour.
Lavigne is launching as show called Let Me Be Frank!, a concert that celebrates the velvet tones of wonderful crooners like Frank Sinatra to Michael Buble.
“I love the timeless romance of the melodies and the unabashed sincerity of the sentiment in the lyrics,” says Lavigne, “Oh yeah, and the sense of swagger!”
Lavigne says audiences can expect all their favourite songs – Fly Me to the Moon, All of Me, Sway, As Time Goes By, Ain’t That a Kick in the Head, and Save the Last Dance, among many others.
“They can expect to see and hear a seven-piece band with all the classic arrangements people know and love … maybe a story or two about the songs … but mostly a night of excellent music,” adds Lavigne.
So, why a crooner tour? He didn’t grow up with this style of music, but he wasn’t very old when it caught his attention. “I actually fell in love with this style when I was in high school and Harry Connick Jr. was out touring with his brand of crooning style,” Lavigne explains. “I would put on a fedora and imitate my best Sinatra in front of the mirror … fuggedaboudit!”
For Lavigne, this music evokes a more romantic time in history, a time when dating and love were a little more mysterious, a little more special than simply a photo or status change on Facebook. “The crooners’ corner is all about simplicity, smooth vocals, and style,” he says. “For me it evokes a time when the anticipation of going out on the town came with a real sense of occasion, when air travel was glamorous, when being in love was worth singing about, and the future was hopeful.”
The crooners and their tunes take the listener on an emotional ride from expectation and the thrill of a first kiss, to heartbreak and loneliness. And it’s all backed up with music that melts the heart and sears the soul.
For Lavigne, crooners are just another beautiful piece in the musical mosaic that has been his rich career. Recognized as a young man for the timbre of his lyric tenor, he has followed his career along a diverse path. From Grand Opera to Carnegie Hall, shows with multi-Grammy winner David Foster, performing for His Royal Highness Prince Charles, and often hard at work in the recording studio, Lavigne has never been satisfied to play it safe with any one genre. From operatic classics to Christmas tunes and Pops, Lavigne enjoys being playful with musical genres. The music of the great crooners is a style that is sure to be welcomed by his legion of fans.
His tour will kick off on April 26 in Victoria at Church of the Advent at 7:30 pm and include stops at Char’s Landing in Port Alberni on April 27 at 7:30 p.m., Campbell River’s Tidemark Theatre on April 28 at 2 p.m., May 4 Sidney’s Mary Winspear Centre at 7:30 p.m., Parksville’s Knox United Church on May 10 at 7:30 p.m. and last but not least, two shows in Chemainus at the Chemainus United Church on May 11 - 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
To book tickets online for the “Let Me Be Frank” tour, visit www.kenlavigne.com