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This article was published 30/05/2019 (2324 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Franco Roots at the CCFM

For the third year in a row, Le 100 NONS — a non-profit organization that works to build Manitoba’s French-language music industry and culture — is presenting Franco Roots, an event featuring duos comprising one francophone artist and one French-speaking anglophone artist who have spent the previous few weeks co-writing a song in French.

This year, organizers have switched things up a bit; rather than writing just one French song, each pair is responsible for four French-language co-writes and will be alotted a full 45-minute set at the Centre Culturel Franco-Manitobain on Thursday, May 30, where the duos will showcase the work they’ve done together, as well as a few songs from their individual catalogues.

“We wanted to try a a different formula this year. The other formula was successful but just to change it up a little bit and, you know, we felt like as promoters we wanted to hear more from the artists and we thought this would be an interesting chance for each artist to showcase a little bit more from their own repertoire,” says Ariane Jean, programming co-ordinator for Le 100 NONS.

“So, we’re going to have four original songs from the duos, and the rest of the 45 minutes will be filled with their own repertoire. It’s just a really nice showcase for the artist and we’ll get to know them better.”

This year, there are two duos; Grace Hrabi (Casati) and Geneviève Freynet (Gin + Tonic), and Daniel Péloquin-Hopfner (Red Moon Road) and Tom Keenan (Heavy Bell). To accompany each pair, two house bands have also been added, which include some other familiar faces such as David Landreth, Natanielle Felicitas and Christian Dugas, among others.

Jean says most of the anglophone artists come into the process with a few nerves and aren’t usually confident in their ability to speak and understand French, but after participating in a French songwriting workshop (and receiving encouragement from their musical partner) it ends up being a rewarding experience.

“I think at first they’re interested and want to be part of the show, but I think a lot of them are a little uncomfortable speaking French. But I think the more they work with their partners, the more they feel comfortable and they all seem to enjoy the process,” she says.

Franco Roots is at the Centre Culturel Franco-Manitobain tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15, available at Eventbrite.ca, by calling 204-233-2556 or at the door.

— Erin Lebar

 

Didgori Folk Ensemble

On Tuesday, June 4, Winnipeggers will get the rare chance — the first in nearly a half-century — to see and hear members of an award-winning Georgian men’s choir whose work has been deemed worthy of recognition from UNESCO.

Six members of Didgori, a Georgian men’s folksong and chant ensemble, are on a cross-country tour, offering concerts and workshops in numerous Canadian cities. And while they have toured extensively throughout Europe over the past decade, their Canadian excursion marks the first time a Georgian choir has performed in this country since the 1970s.

The vocal stylings of Didgori date back much further, however — more than 1,000 years. The group’s name pays tribute to a battle in 1121 that helped bring Georgia back together again, ushering in a rich culture of the arts. Singing and chanting in the Georgian polyphonic tradition, the three-part vocal stylings of Didgori bring untampered scales and close vocal harmonies in a range of styles — from melancholy and reflective to bold and boisterous.

In 2001, UNESCO declared the Georgian polyphonic singing tradition as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

“Polyphonic singing, in the Georgian language, is a secular tradition in a country whose language and culture have often been oppressed by invaders,” UNESCO writes on its website. “Having previously suffered the drawbacks of socialist cultural policies, traditional Georgian music is now threatened by rural exodus as well as by the increasing success of pop music.”

The Winnipeg Singers, which is hosting the event, will also perform selections they will be featuring on their forthcoming summer tour of Europe.

Tickets for the show, which takes place Tuesday, June 4, at Crescent Fort Rouge United Church (525 Wardlaw Ave.) at 7:30 p.m., start at $15 and are available at winnipegsingers.com.

—Ben MacPhee-Sigurdson

 

Bob Saget

Comedian Bob Saget first enjoyed widespread recognition as Danny Tanner — a widower raising his three girls with the help of his brother-in-law and his best friend — on the late-‘80s/early-‘90s ABC sitcom Full House.

His next big role was just as wholesome (give or take a few footballs to the crotch): host of America’s Funniest Home Videos.

Now Danny Tanner is familiar to a whole new age range of fans, thanks to Saget’s recurring role on the sequel, Fuller House, which streams on Netflix.

Of course, fans of the Grammy nominee’s standup know he’s far from the wholesome dad type onstage (except maybe when he’s playing Pastor Greg in the Broadway play Hand to God). Saget — the father of three girls in real life — revels in being unapologetically filthy; his YouTube clips have titles like Butt Plug Made of Leather or references to carnal relations with farm animals.

It’s safe to say it’s the saltier Saget who will appear at Club Regent Event Centre on Saturday, June 1, at 8 p.m. Only a few tickets remain, ranging from $50 to $74 at Ticketmaster.ca or casinosofwinnipeg.com.

— Jill Wilson

 

 

PTE Festival of New Works

It is a risky thing to change the name of a long-running theatre festival by removing the name of a cherished Winnipeg author from its brand.

But the time was right, says Prairie Theatre Exchange’s artistic director Thomas Morgan Jones, to change the former Carol Shields Festival to the simpler Festival of New Works, which runs Thursday, May 30, to Saturday, June 1, at PTE.

“One of the things that (former PTE artistic director Bob Metcalfe) said to me during the transition was: ‘You should really look at the name of the festival.’

“It was named to honour Carol Shields — her work and her memory — after her passing,” explains Jones. “But all these years later, there can be a bit of confusion about whether it’s a book festival.”

The festival emphasizes readings of works in progress, especially by the six members of PTE’s Emerging Playwrights Unit. But it also encompasses peripheral showcases for other artists beyond PTE’s traditional realm, including new music by Raine Hamilton, new dance from Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet Aspirants, new stand-up from Anjali Sandhu, a short film from the Afro Prairie Film Festival and new music and poetry from SAWA Theatre.

The first night, which begins at 7:30 p.m., will also see a keynote address by Yvette Nolan, “an Indigenous playwright and director and dramaturge and all-round theatre icon,” Jones says.

“We’re opening our doors to give our space and our resources to all the creators in the city to dream about what’s possible, and what kind of stories they want to tell moving into the future,” he says.

“In a way, it’s kind of a pre-fringe festival festival for those that enjoy going to see things that are new or fresh or outside of the box, “ Jones says. “It’s the same thing that someone might enjoy from taking a chance on the fringe festival. They might have the same experience if they were to come to this.”

Admission is free on May 31 and June 1. Tickets are $25 for opening night on May 30, available at the PTE box office, 204-942-5483 or at www.pte.mb.ca.

— Randall King