Cochrane musician Patrick Zelinski is looking to make his mark on the local arts and entertainment scene when he starts up his own concert series with his band Arcadian Suns on Dec. 21 at The Hub Cafe and Wine Bar. "It's featuring touring artists ... I worked as an instructor at Legacy Guitar so I was part of the team there and they put up an awesome concert series," Zelinski said about starting this concert series. "It just felt like that void was missing a little bit when it left. I'm just trying to get original music back here in Cochrane to go along with the Gentry who's doing a great job of it too. There's a demand for it really ... a lot of people have asked and there's not a lot of places for original artists to showcase what they can do. So the reason I started this was my passion for original music and wanting artists to have a place to do that." "For how big Cochrane is, it's growing and it doesn't seem like there's a huge art scene and I would like to even get beyond the singer-songwriter type of thing ... even if there's a venue that allows it and have more of a culture for younger audiences as well. There could be different genres of music that are suited towards different things ... Cochrane has the potential to have a bigger arts and music scene, I think there's enough people here to make that happen." With strong lyrical imagery, well-placed harmonies and a diverse array of sounds and textures, Arcadian Suns is starting to make some noise in the Canadian music scene. Their eclectic and diverse musical backgrounds form a unique blend of indie, folk, rock and reggae. "It's a sold out show for Dec. 21 so it's crazy to see the demand for tickets ... it was a lot more than anticipated," Zelinski said about the first show of the series. "It's really awesome that the series is getting started with a sold out show. I started with my band because because we've played in Cochrane before and it helps to know people in the community and we've had a good following in the past so I thought it'd be a good way to start the series." Zelinski, who also owns Active Light, a music production company that offers creative services to aspiring musicians of all types, would like to have a show every month with the price of tickets going for $15 a person. "There's a lot of expenses obviously involved in doing this and I'm looking to bring in artists of high quality and I want to pay them what they're worth so having some form of budget to bring in artists is important and really helps who I can bring in," Zelinski said. "I'm looking to do a monthly series for now, with the next concert taking place on Jan. 11 with Lighter than Arrows ... there are tickets available for that one." Lighter Than Arrows (LTA) is an indie-folk duo based out of Calgary. They released their debut EP, Quiet Revolution, in February 2017 and followed with a single entitled The Trip. Despite being a small musical outfit, LTA has a full, textured sound featuring weaving harmonies, beautiful melodies, and moving themes. Tickets are available through www.activelight.ca/concertsandevents or at the Hub Cafe and Wine.
