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Lineup released for Summer Kicks concert series

The bands have been announced for the 10-week outdoor summer concert series
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Gypsophilia is an act that Bill Usher, executive director of Kicking Horse Culture, is particularly looking forward to. Photo Submitted

Only a couple more weeks to go before Spirit Square fills up every Wednesday evening for the annual Kicking Horse Culture Summer Kicks concert series.

The series offers 10 concerts in 10 weeks featuring a variety of musical performances, as well as a local “tweener” act for every show.

“We were lucky again this year to get some great acts who were already in the area,” said Bill Usher, executive director of Kicking Horse Culture.

The series will kick off on Wednesday June 14 in Spirit Square at 7 p.m. with Holly and Jon, an act that Golden audiences may recognize.

“They have been here before, and they have a brand new record out so I wanted to bring them back,” Usher said of the folk duo.

Following that, the next week will be the Jack Garton Demon Squad, led by the multi-talented Garton. Among his many musical talents, it has been said that he will “save the accordion” from disappearing. With the Demon Squad, he mixes cajun, European and country styles into his own brand of roots and blues.

Next up, Halifax-based high energy jazz ensemble Gypsophilia has Usher very excited.

“I’ve been wanting to get them here for years,” he said. “I saw them in Montreal and they are an incredible band. On stage they’re just crazy, amazing entertainers.”

Kicking Horse Culture continues bringing in variety with the modern, yet traditional mandolin playing Ben Beverage, the Juno nominated cultural fusion of Michael Occhipiniti and The Sicilian Jazz Project, and the classic storytelling of Ben Rogers, described as having the wild charisma of a young Johnny Cash.

Golden will then be treated to one of Quebec’s most popular new acts, Bellflower, a high energy eight-piece ensemble that performs alternative electro music.

“These guys are a really cool band out of Montreal,” said Usher. “They’re a bit reminiscent of the Arcade Fire or Broken Social Scene, in that they’re a large group sparking a bit of a counter-culture, just getting together to make great music.”

August continues with Edmonton’s Colleen Brown, a songstress whose voice brings to mind Joni Mitchell, and has opened up for Randy Newman, Jim Cuddy and Hawksley Workman.

She will be followed by another strong female voice from UK, artist Yola Carter.

“Now she is going to blow people away,” said Usher. “She has a huge voice, and we were lucky to get her while she is touring in Canada for a few days.”

And finally the season will wrap up with the Boogie Patrol, one of the hardest working blues-rock bands of the last decade, who are making a special trip to Golden before playing at Salmon Arm’s Roots and Blues Festival.

The group of travelling acts will be joined by some of your favourite locals every week, such as the Parson Jazz Cooperative, The Pickups, and Easy Ruckus. All shows will be on Wednesday (with the exception of the one and only Tuesday concert on June 27).

You can see the full schedule on page 11 of this week’s Golden Star, or at kickinghorseculture.ca.

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Hollie and Jon are opening up the series on June 14. They are pictured performing in Spirit Square a few years back. Star Photo