Acrpost: A Project of the Pacific Association of Artist Run Centres

Event Description

Sponsored by Village 900, Monday Magazine & The Number

www.joykillssorrow.com

www.folkwest.ca

Boston’s wildly popular group, Joy Kills Sorrow, are at the forefront of the Boston acoustic music scene. Along with Vancouver Island’s own award winning vocalist Emma Beaton (Canadian Folk Music Awards 2009 Young Performer of the Year), the band is sweeping the continent and causing a buzz following the February release of their Signature Sounds label debut recording “Darkness Sure Becomes This City”. FolkWest is proud to present these rising stars while continuing to raise awareness for the upcoming 2011 summer music festival, FolkWest.

“It's a rare thing that a live performance is a strong representation of what you hear on a recording, and Joy Kills Sorrow reveals a fresh, hip take on traditional music.” - CMT.com

“... worthy of Grammy consideration.” - Folk Alley

“Darkness Sure Becomes This City is not only one of the finest acoustic modern American folk albums, but it feels like an important release that marks the arrival of a special group of fresh, young musicians.” - Fish Records, UK

Formed under the banner “a modern American string band”, Joy Kills Sorrow first appeared on Boston’s thriving music scene in 2005. After a few line-up changes, the 5-piece band has emerged with a bold new brand of acoustic music that pushes through the envelope and out the other side. They bring a decidedly modern sensibility to an old-world sound, channeling the talents of individual members with elegant arrangements and well-crafted songs. While the group pays homage to its bluegrass roots (its name is taken from WJKS, a radio station that broadcasted the Monroe brothers’ show in the 1930s), the band truly excels in their treatment of more contemporary material. Boasting a fill arsenal of original songs, Joy Kills Sorrow plumbs the entire spectrum of its instrumentation, merging influences as diverse as folk, rock, pop and jazz. The resulting music is dark yet often funny, ruminating on modern life and love with eloquence and wit. A radical new strain of folk music is born, bravely breaking with tradition as it salutes the past.

Along with vocalist, Emma Beaton of Qualicum Beach, who currently attends Berklee College of Music on scholarship studying cello, Joy Kills Sorrow includes guitarist and founding member Matt Arcara, who is not only a fantastic player, but also a luthier in Portland, Maine and a winner of the Winfield National Flatpicking Championship. Wesley Corbett takes up the banjo and provides harmony vocals as well as a sense of inventiveness to the group while mandolin virtuoso Jacob Jolliff, the first-ever full-scholarship mandolin student at Berklee, has already in his career shared the stage with the likes of David Grisman and Mike Marshall. Bass player and brilliant songwriter, Bridget Kearney, contributes not just the bottom end to this quintet but many of the songs on the new album. She's a past winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest and holds a large responsibility to the overall sound of the group. Together, Joy Kills Sorrow are a powerhouse of modern Americana music and an act that shows no signs of losing steam. Catch them now while you can still see them in an intimate venue!