Looking forward to more sun and daylight. Waiting for the doldrums to end. Dreaming of snow melt and green smells. There’s always a keen anticipation of spring. The antsy excitement knowing days will get longer and we’ll soon be out of hibernation.

To celebrate the coming onset of spring, some local musicians will soon “Burn Away the Winter Blues” on Saturday March 21, the vernal equinox! As part of the McCauley Winter Warmers series, Studio 96 will again host a free, family friendly concert. Opening acts Andrew Scott will liven up the stage with his upbeat bluesy rock and Paula Eve Kirman brings her songs of peace and protest. Local guitar legend Bill Bourne will be the headliner for this show. A multiple Canadian Juno Award winner, Bill has received international acclaim for his recordings and live performances. A veteran of the international blues and roots scene, life on the road is reflected in Bill’s music – powerful rhythms and soulful songs, steeped in World Beat, Blues, Cajun, Celtic, Folk, Latin, Funk, Poetry, and more . . .

As one of the partners organizing the Winter Warmers series in McCauley, I am very excited to say we’ve seen great audiences for all three of our past concerts this winter, and we are very excited to do this again. There are plans in the works to continue programming this series in the fall of 2015 into winter 2016, and we’d very much like to hear from you if you’re interested in volunteering to make these community concerts continue in McCauley, and also if you’re interested in performing.

The McCauley Winter Warmers concert series project could not have happened without the support of the following groups and individuals:

Many huge thanks to the venue, Studio 96, and the amazing staff at E3 Architects: Ernst, Eugene, Diana, and Sylvie. You have opened up your space to the community and shown us how to make a unique old space vibrant and relevant in our neighbourhood again. And a very special thanks to Jane Molstad from McCauley Revitalization. She believed in this idea from the start and encouraged the great collaboration we now have with the folks at E3. As the key funder for this initiative, McCauley Revitalization is hard at work planting the seeds for locally driven cultural happenings that truly celebrate the distinct culture of the McCauley neighbourhood.

This concert series could not have happened without Colleen Chapman. She was instrumental in organizing the first of this series, “A Christmas Concert on Church Street,” and has brought the energy of an emerging nonprofit group, The Friends of Church Street, to the table of local organizing. Mike Siek and the fabulous Heart of the City team are hard at work planning their stellar festival for June this year, yet they still had the time to pull together the cozy, intimate atmosphere at Cold Folk in January. The steadfast volunteers from E4C and McCauley Apartments have been fantastic with all the setup and security, and of course thanks to Kyle and Fr. Jim at Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples for lending us chairs and coffee urns! Shouts out to our financial supporters too: Listen Louder Productions, who gave us a whopping awesome discount on sound, and the McCauley Community League, whose sponsorship of $800 was a welcome contribution to making this first community concert series one of hopefully many more to come.

And a truly massive thanks to all the musicians and artists who performed for these Winter Warmers! It’s such a blessing we have so many talented folks right here in central Edmonton. It’s been a great season to support the local scene!

Hope to see you out at the final concert this season:

Burn Away the Winter Blues
Saturday March 21 at Studio 96 (10909 96 Street)
Doors at 7:00 p.m., Music at 7:30 p.m.
Featuring Bill Bourne, Andrew Scott, and Paula Eve Kirman.
Admission is free, donations welcome.
All funds raised go to support the emerging community venue, Studio 96.
More info: (780) 424-2870