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This article was published 09/05/2024 (870 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Get down with Gershwin

• Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m.
• Centre culturel franco-manitobain, 340 Provencher Blvd.
• Tickets $22-$45 at winnipegjazzorchestra.com

The Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra is celebrating the Jazz Age of the 1920s this weekend with a pair of concerts celebrating the music of George Gershwin.

Gershwin was one of the most influential artists of his generation, with dozens of celebrated genre-spanning songs and musical scores to his name. The American composer and pianist died in 1937 at the age of 38.

The upcoming WJO concerts will feature some of Gershwin’s most popular songs, including Fascinating Rhythm, Someone to Watch Over Me and Summertime; as well as arrangements of Rhapsody in Blue by Glenn Miller and Duke Ellington.

The orchestra, conducted by Richard Gillis, will be accompanied by Juno-nominated singer-songwriter Sonia Johnson. The Montreal artist is known as a daring improviser with a flexible vocal range.

— Eva Wasney

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The Great Benjamins Circus

• Through to Sunday, various times
• Assiniboia Downs
• Tickets $20-$32.50 at benjaminscircus.com

Founders and third-generation circus performers John Davenport and Jairo Ojeda are again bringing their traditional circus experience to the province after last year’s thrilling spectacle.

Get ready for an in-tents experience with clowns, acrobats and daredevils during this 90-minute circus program featuring performers from Europe, Asia and North and South America.

Witness high-speed motorbikes in the cage of death, marvel at nimble jugglers as they keep multiple objects up in the air and hold your breath as daring aerialists perform their dazzling moves above the crowds.

The circus runs at various times through to the end of the weekeend.

— AV Kitching

Prateek Kuhad brings Silhouettes tour to Winnipeg

• Wednesday, May 15, 8 p.m.
• Park Theatre
• Tickets $30 plus fees at ticketweb.ca

For a long time, Indian singer-songwriter Prateek Kuhad was a best-kept secret on the other side of the world.

Rolling Stone India called him “one of the country’s leading singer songwriters” and, when Spotify India made its debut, Kuhad became one of the country’s most streamed artists.

In 2019, Kuhad, who sings in both Hindi and English, had his breakout year in North America. A headlining U.S. tour followed his sit-up-and-take-notice showcases at South by Southwest, and his sweeping, cinematic single cold/mess, landed a coveted spot on former U.S. president Barack Obama’s year-end list.

In 2022, Kuhad, who counts Elliott Smith and Fleet Foxes among his influences, made his major-label debut on Elektra with The Way That Lovers Do. Now, he’s on a 22-date North American tour — with a pair of new singles in tow — that stops by Winnipeg’s Park Theatre on Wednesday. Say you saw him when…

— Jen Zoratti

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Celebrate Mitch Podolak and Ava Kobrinsky at a hootenanny

• Friday, 8 p.m.
• West End Cultural Centre
• Tickets: $35 at WECC.ca

Folk Fest founders and local arts champions Mitch Podolak and Ava Kobrinsky, along with the Home Routes artistic program, will be celebrated Friday night in the only way the organizers know how: with a good old-fashioned hootenanny.

What’s a hootenanny? The dictionary says that the word was first used in 1929 as a synonym for gadget, but over time, the meaning transformed, becoming an all-encompassing term for an event at which folk singers entertain an audience who are encouraged to join in as they please.

On stage, the West End Cultural Centre will welcome some of the best folk and roots performers in the city, including the Duhks, Romi Mayes, Little Miss Higgins, Daniel Koulack, David Graham, and an up-and-coming singer named Al Simmons.

The event celebrates Ava and Mitch, but also Home Routes/Chemin Chez Nous, a national home concert network.

— Ben Waldman

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