Wowsah!  I headed down on the C-train Sunday evening, anticipating quality time with friend, Wendy Lees of Love Art in Calgary and her partner, Bob. Quality time shared with Wendy typically happens around good art, food and music and Sunday evening was no exception!  Richard Anseuuw’s Shadow Catcher Productions, along with talent buyers and production people Kevin Warren and Bryan Taylor are doing tremendous things with a number of offerings this season. Theatre Junction GRAND was the perfect venue for an acoustic song-writer/performer blow out!

I arrived early and so I went for a walk to collect a few photographs.  The evening air was full of summer changing and so a walk was the perfect thing to do.

Lisecki’s work in the Theatre Junction Grand! Whoot!

The show consisted of two 60 minutes sets where Eliza Gilkyson, Kevin Welch and Gretchen Peters shared the stage, alternating and creating back-ups for one another in a whole collection of ‘magical’ tunes. Dustin Welch and Barry Walsh rounded off the stage musically, with rich guitar and keyboard sounds.  Directly from the publicity that circulated before show night, this.

Eliza Gilkyson
The Grammy-nominated Eliza Gilkyson is a politically minded, poetically gifted singer-songwriter, who has become one of the most respected musicians in folk and Americana music circles. www.elizagilkyson.com

Eliza’s performance was so inspiring and I was pretty sad that by midway through the intermission, her recent release, Roses at the End of Time, was gone.  Her tune, Tender Mercies, caused me goose bumps.

Tender Mercies by Eliza Gilkyson

Across the world she tapes explosives to her chest
steps into a shopping mall
a life devoid of all of mercy’s tenderness
really isn’t any life at all.

Tender mercies, tender mercies, come before despair
shine down all your tender mercies
it’s every mother’s prayer.

Down below the factory along the riverside
children swimming in a poison pool
playful afternoon of unintended suicide
gone before they ever knew.

Tender mercies, tender mercies, come before despair
shine down all your tender mercies
it’s every mother’s prayer.

Across the world she holds her loved ones to her chest
lays them down and listens at the door
everybody safe and warm among the truly blessed
how can we even dare to ask for more.

Tender mercies, tender mercies, come before despair
shine down all your tender mercies
it’s every mother’s prayer.

Gretchen Peters
Singer-songwriter, Gretchen Peters, is well-known for composing hits for performers like Martina McBride, Etta James, Trisha Yearwood, Patty Loveless, George Strait, Anne Murray, Neil Diamond and others. She has won the Country Music Association Song Of The Year for “Independence Day”. She is rapidly becoming known now as a wonderful performer herself. www.gretchenpeters.com

Kevin Welch
Kevin is a well-known & respected Americana roots songwriter and performer who has plied his craft since the late 70s. Along with musical buddy and frequent touring companion, Keiran Kane, he formed his own record label Dead Reckoning in the mid 90s. www.kevinwelch.com

The song writing was exquisite and I’ve been playing Gretchen’s music again and again the last few days…the only CD I picked up that evening, but with an interest in following up on Amazon for the others.  When Gretchen introduced St. Francis, she talked about the impact of the BP oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico and about the cottage on the gulf where she writes.  She said that this song was born out of thoughts around this event.  At that, I knew that I wasn’t leaving without that tune in my pocket.

Keep an eye out here as I’m going to post upcoming events!