The month of March will be a busy one for local establishments welcoming musicians and bands, with Jason Cote and the Rolling Thunder playing on both March 16 and 17 at the Venue Bar and Grill and Grammy-Award-winning rhythm and blues vocalist Donald Ray Johnson taking his talents to the Royal Canadian Legion on March 24.
Cote is a Calgary-based singer and songwriter with a gift for storytelling that captures the imagination of his listeners. His descriptive and melodic vocal lines are all delivered with raw emotion and have a way of transporting his audience to places that are at both familiar and new.
The local musician has an influence strongly rooted in country and folk artists of the recent past, along with his foray in rock bands across Canada. Cote has a lifetime of experiences of both good and bad that have culminated in song writing that is straightforward and honest, and delivered with his passionate vocals that captivate audiences with every performance.
The band also includes pedal steel guitarist Graham Ross, drummer Chris White and bassist Daniel Simpson – musicians from the Cochrane and Calgary area. Cote and his band recently released their first 10-song CD titled The Ride.
Tickets for Jason Cote and the Rolling Thunder are available on his website at www.jcrt.rocks as well as through the Venue.
Donald Ray Johnson
Texas-born Donald Ray Johnson is a Grammy Award winner as well as a five-time Maple Blues Award nominee. He has spent a lifetime entertaining fans in small intimate clubs to large international stages at the far reaches of the globe, including Japan, Morocco, Europe and Southeast Asia. Johnson has also performed at prestigious venues such as New York’s Madison Square Gardens and Chicago’s Soldier Field.
Johnson, who now calls Calgary home, is a solo blues and R&B artist and has recorded seven widely acclaimed albums, which highlight his song writing talents and showcase traditional, contemporary and gospel influences.
Along with his own music, Johnson joined the Ray Charles Tribute Orchestra to pay homage to the jazz legend. The orchestra is a nine-piece ensemble performing the hits penned by Charles himself. The group was formed by John Gray, a bassist and bandleader on the Calgary jazz scene and includes some of Calgary’s finest musicians who recreate the one-of-a kind sound to the ensemble. The Ray Charles Tribute Orchestra tours across Alberta and its extensive repertoire has captured audiences whose tastes run from jazz to blues, country, soul and R&B.
Tickets for dinner and Johnson’s show are priced at $35 for Legion members and $40 for non-members. They are available through the Royal Canadian Legion Cochrane Branch.
