Adam Iredale-Gray and Elise Boeur are usually seen as two-fifths of Aerialists, the JUNO-nominated instrumental folk-trad supergroup formed at Boston’s Berkeley College of Music, but for the month of May they are performing across Ontario and B.C. as a duo including a stop at Campbell River’s new Highway 19 concert series at Rivercity Stage on Friday.
Iredale-Gray is a versatile guitarist, fiddler and producer with deep roots in Irish traditional music and a commitment to innovation. He is a founding member of critically-acclaimed Canadian indie-folk band Fish & Bird. His writing style draws on the formative Irish sessions of his youth in Victoria, as well as contemporary folk, jazz and pop influences such as Oliver Schroer, Brad Mehldau, and Bon Iver. His tunes have become part of the standard repertoire in Western Canadian fiddle circles.
Vancouver-born fiddler Elise Boeur immersed herself in traditional music in Ireland as a youth, later moving between jazz schools in North America and Norwegian folk music college deep in the mountains of Telemark. She has brought her sonic sensitivity and passion for folk traditions to a staggering variety of projects, from alt-folk Canadiana to prog metal.
This will be a rare opportunity to hear their roots come out in a duo setting, as they dig into tunes on hardianger fiddle, guitar, and raging twin fiddles.
Tickets are available through the Tidemark Theatre for $22. Kids are free with a paying adult, and teens can get $5 tickets by contacting Highway 19 Concerts through the facebook page.