Rivercity Players’ intimate theatre on Hemlock Street is generally a seated affair, but Campbell Riverites will be excused if they feel the need to get up and waltz or two-step when Elise LeBlanc & the Ridgeriders come to town on Sunday, December 10.
Leblanc’s brand new second album The Fiddle & The Fire is packed with original songs that sound like jukebox classics from the canon of vintage country, bluegrass, and western swing.
Growing up in rural southern Ontario, Leblanc’s home often hosted local jam sessions where she got an early start to performing. She spent a number of years in the vibrant folk music scene in Portland, Oregon before moving to Vancouver Island in 2018.
The Fiddle & the Fire is the first release since the move, and Island themes weave through the writing. In Mountain and Me, an Appalachian sounding ode to the cycles of nature she sings: “Said the salmon to the mountain stream, I need you just as much as you need me, Lead me home again and I will keep you fed, Said the salmon to the mountain stream.”
It is also the first with her string band the Ridgeriders. With Quin Etheridge-Pedden on fiddle and mandolin, Tereza Tomek on upright bass, and Brodie Dawson on harmony vocals and percussion, Leblanc’s storytelling comes to life. The lyrics focus on vulnerability, resilience, and the beauty of the simple life, sung in a haunting and captivating voice that at times recalls Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, or Adele.
Elise LeBlanc & the Ridgeriders will make Rivercity Stage feel like a roadside honkytonk when they perform on Sunday, December 10.
Presented by Highway 19 Concerts, tickets are available through the Tidemark box-office in person or online at www.tidemarktheatre.com for either $20 or $30 (plus taxes and fees) in order to be as accessible as possible, but provide an option for those who can to pay a bit more for and want to support the series. Kids are free when accompanied by a paying adult, and tickets for teens are only $5.
Highway 19 Concert series is supported by the Government of BC through the BC Touring Council, and the Government of Canada through Canadian Heritage.
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