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

Event Description

Colleen Rennison and Ben Rogers Unplugged
Vancouver's favorite artists in an acoustic and intimate setting

Colleen Rennison
www.blackhenmusic.com/artist/colleen-rennison
Vancouver-bred singer Colleen Rennison is one of those special forces of nature. A multi-talented individual who regularly appears in films and on television, Rennison burst onto the scene as a vocalist with blues-rock outfit No Sinner a couple of years ago, showcasing a set of pipes that few others possess in their mid-twenties, recalling the power and edge of legends like Etta James and Janis Joplin.

On See The Sky About To Rain, it’s Rennison’s more subdued side that takes centre stage. And perhaps it proves what we knew all along: Rennison is just as good in the shade as she is under the spotlight. Revisiting material by Leonard Cohen (Why Don’t You Try), The Band (Stage Fright), Joni Mitchell (the stunning Coyote) and Neil Young (on the album’s title track), Rennison uses her smoky, whiskey-soaked voice in myriad shades of Tennessee country, roots and blues.

Ben Rogers
benrogersmusic.com/
Ben Rogers is a folk artist and classic storyteller with a voice like smoke damaged velvet soaked in Tennessee whiskey. Trusty old acoustic guitar in hand and boots stomping out a steady rhythm, Ben can hypnotize audiences with his timeless tales of murder, betrayal, war, justice, love and the human condition, just like a modern day folk troubadour should and does.

Rogers was raised, and is based in Vancouver, Canada, and though it’s a far cry from the back country roads of the southern US, he embodies the values and musicality of traditional folk, Americana and country, ala Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and George Jones, with a little Roger Miller and Tom Waits thrown in. That said, Ben is an individual as a performer, and possesses a careful balance of mystique, mischief and gentle kindness that emanates through all aspects of him. “The man’s dark charisma is something you need to experience live to fully appreciate,” writes The Georgia Straight, who recently included him in their Best of Bands 2013. There’s a bright side to Ben as well; his sense of humor in writing and performance is as infectious as his songs. As American Roots UK writes: “He could turn out to be one of the best singer/songwriters of a generation.”