By Staff
January 31st, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
“Live, Local and Open for Business” said Performing Arts Centre Executive Director Tammy Fox who sat down crossed her fingers and whispered “I hope we can live up to the claim.
The box office re-opens February 1; Performances return February 20
The City’s music and cultural hub season resumes with three performances in the Community Studio Theatre to delight BPAC patrons in-person and online.
“Our 2021-22 Season was put on hold during the latest round of pandemic restrictions, so we went to work re-scheduling the amazing talent booked to play our stages and we’re proud to present our updated lineup that runs from local artists to musical legends. Patrons can expect the same first-class entertainment we have delivered for the past 10 years, in an atmosphere where they can feel safe.”
February performances (listed below) will all be presented in BPAC’s Community Studio Theatre; each show includes the option of attending in person or live-streaming the performances from the comfort of your home. Please visit burlingtonpac.ca for show times and ticket pricing.
Ontario guidelines, require all patrons to show proof of COVID-19 double vaccination to be permitted entry into the facility. The Burlington Performing Arts Centre is pleased to accommodate our patrons at 50% capacity in our facilities at this time.
The Mark Lalama Trio hosts local talent as the Performing Arts Centre prepares to welcome their patrons into a venue that has been dark far too long.
The LIVE & LOCAL SERIES opens on Sunday, February 20, when STEVE STRONGMAN, JAMES OLIVER BILJAK and THOM ANTHONY join our musical hosts, THE MARK LALAMA TRIO. Experience the energy, spontaneity and magic of musical cross-pollination, as emerging and established homegrown talent combine with a house band made up of the area’s most highly sought-after touring and studio musicians.
Award-Winning Canadian blues man STEVE STRONGMAN is a versatile talent, and a restless one. By constantly pushing himself in new directions, he has kept himself vital. His talent is huge and impossible to miss, and it’s matched by his staggering musical ambition – as a guitar-slinger, songwriter or vocalist. The same structures and progressions that animate blues and roots music can also choke the air out of it, smothering it in caricature and cliche. But Strongman is a subtle shape-shifter who manages to slip that trap without betraying the music he loves. Throughout, he never sounds an inauthentic note or loses touch with the essence of the Blues.
JAMES BILJAK is The Burlington Performing Arts Centre’s own venue technician as well as an amazing musician, and his brother, THOM ANTHONY, is the frontman for the band Tenth Planet.
Thom Anthony
The MARK LALAMA TRIO consists of Mark Lalama on keyboards and vocals, Davide DiRenzo on drums and vocals, and Rich Moore on bass and vocals – all in-demand session and touring musicians who have played on hundreds of stages and studio recordings with top artists ranging from Tom Cochrane to Holly Cole and just about everyone in between. This trio is fast earning a reputation as one of the most engaging and intuitive bands around, and together they create a unique brand of incredible, genre-defying original music that never fails to inspire those who are there to take it all in.
March 11 STEVEN TAETZ brings his repertoire of contemporary roots, jazz, blues, swing and neo-soul music to BPAC on Friday, . As a lyricist and composer, he has written for many internationally renowned artists, and led a cross-Canadian collaborative project, where he co-wrote a concept album with JUNO-award-winners from each province of Canada. Since 2014, Steven returned to his training and early performance roots, focusing on the American Songbook and jazz standards, writing and recording traditional-pop, and swing originals. His musical style has been compared to greats like Roy Orbison, k.d lang, Norah Jones, and Chet Baker, and performances include innovative interpretations of classic hits, as well as signature originals co-written with top Canadian artists.
The LIVE & LOCAL SERIES returns to the Community Studio Theatre stage on Sunday, March 13, featuring Canadian music icon SUSAN AGLUKARK, as well as singer/songwriter and BPAC Board member PETE VAN DYK, with the MARK LALAMA TRIO expertly supporting this evening of musical collaboration.
Susan Aglukark – at the Performing Arts Centre this year as long as we can remain in Phase 2 of the Reopening Ontario Road map.
nuk singer/songwriter SUSAN AGLUKARK is one of Canada’s most unique artists and a leading voice in Canadian music. She blends the Inuktitut, Indigenous and English languages with contemporary pop music arrangements to tell the stories of her fellow people, the Inuit of Arctic Canada and her fellow Indigenous groups.
The emotional depth and honesty of her lyrics; her pure, clear voice and themes of hope, spirit and encouragement have captivated and inspired listeners from all walks of life. Susan was invited into the Order of Canada and was presented her Officer of the Order of Canada award in September of 2005 for her contribution both musically and as a workshop facilitator and mentor in the Indigenous community and was awarded the Governor Generals Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award in June of 2016.
21/22 WINTER/SPRING season continues with:
Sunday, March 13, 2022 LIVE & LOCAL Hosted by Mark Lalama Trio
Saturday, March 19, 2022 Classic Albums Live: CCR CHRONICLE
Wednesday, March 23, 2022 THE SEAN CULLEN COCKTAIL HOUR
Friday, April 1, 2022 Classic Albums Live: EAGLES GREATEST HITS
Wednesday, April 13, 2022 THE SEAN CULLEN COCKTAIL HOUR
Thursday, May 5, 2022 CHILLIWACK
Tuesday, May 10, 2022 THE DREAMBOATS
Thursday, May 12, 2022 JEREMY HOTZ: The Marquis de Sad Tour
21/22 Season Performances RESCHEDULED to the 22/23 SEASON:
Thursday, September 15, 2022 AIR SUPPLY
Tuesday, September 20, 2022 TOM COCHRANE with Red Rider
Thursday, September 29 & Friday, September 30, 2022 Love Someone – An Intimate Evening with JOHNNY REID
Thursday, October 20 to Sunday, October 23 ACROSS THE POND: The British Invasion
Saturday, October 29, 2022 CANADIAN JAZZ ALL-STARS
Sunday, January 15, 2023 PIAF! The Show
Thursday, February 2, 2023 THE ORIGINAL WAILERS
Saturday, March 11, 2023 THE IRISH ROVERS
It has been a long, awkward and at times a very disappointing experience – but the curtains will open and the house lights will come down and the show will begin.
At which point Tammy Fox reaches for an adult beverage.
Covid19 changes everything – the Performing Arts Plans were scuttled and had to be re-scheduled. Here is what they plan for the 2023 Season. Hope does spring eternal – doesn’t it.
