VALERIE JUNE

If you missed Valerie June at the Winnipeg Folk Festival this summer, you missed out on one of the most charming girls from Memphis, Tennessee that you’ll ever see. Thankfully, she’s coming back to town for an incredibly performance at the Times Change(d) High and Lonesome Club.

Her honey-soaked vocals captured the heart of every audience member, whether it was one of her own tunes or a cover of the traditional favourite You Are My Sunshine.

Miss June even went on to win over workshop mate Naomi Shelton - and if you caught the closing night sing-along (involving June and gospel queen Shelton swaying arm in arm together like long-lost kin) you’d know she’s the real deal.

Her sound, a mix of delta blues and vintage country, could easily be mistaken for something from another time, and if you don’t catch her in the flesh, you’ll be hard pressed to believe that her banjo and guitar-laced tunes are not from a time when reel to reels were in common use.

Mostly though, it’s her southern charm and storytelling that will win you over.

So unless you’re a doctor on call, come on out to the Times Change(d) High and Lonesome Club on Friday, Nov. 4 and Saturday, Nov. 5 to catch her in the act with Winnipeg’s own Perpetrators.

Visit www.valeriejune.com.

- Nicholas Friesen

MATTHEW GOOD

Love him or hate him, Matthew Good came back this spring in an interesting way.

After his last few discs, the brilliant and raw confessional that was 2007’s Hospital Music and the ‘90s re-hash of 2009’s Vancouver, Good delivered a stellar and moving disc this past May, Lights of Endangered Species.

A relatively drastic yet totally natural shift, it included woodwinds, piano and horns and was produced by longtime collaborator Warne Livesey.

After getting remarried and having a son this past February (after the album was recorded, mind you), you’d think that the notoriously outspoken Vancouverite might have started to mellow, but no. He’s back and ready for the road, armed with an arsenal of hits and his hired gun backing band.

Exactly a decade ago, Good was putting the final nails in the Matthew Good Band coffin with the release of The Audio of Being.

Since that rather public breakup, he’s released a book, a greatest hits collection, battled an Ativan addiction after divorcing his first wife, toured solo and continued to speak his mind fully and completely.

At the end of the day, that’s all we really want from Good - to be honest and direct, to get us discussing politics and to even entertain us with everything from epic rockers to intricate ballads.

See him at the Burton Cummings Theatre on Monday, Nov. 7 at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $25-$39.50 at Ticketmaster.

Visit www.matthewgood.org.

- Nicholas Friesen

BIG SUGAR

In 2003, Big Sugar went out with a bang - a greatest hits record and a tour with up-and-comers The Trews (BS main man Gordie Johnson had produced their debut). It was a passing-the-torch moment, but now Johnson has come back to reclaim what is rightfully his - the crown of Canrock and blues.

Since the breakup, Johnson has been living in Texas and fronting Grady, as well as producing a record or two, including Joel Plaskett’s brilliant Ashtray Rock.

Despite the fact that Grady has always been a success, Johnson decided the time was right to get mouth harpist Mr. Chill, bassist Garry Lowe, key man Friendlyness and drummer Stephane “Bodean” Beaudin to re-form the classic BS lineup - not to rehash the rock radio hits of the ’90s, but to make some brand new noise.

The result: Revolution Per Minute, a stunning return to form for Johnson and co., which was released this past June.

What, that’s not enough of a reason to come check out Big Sugar when they detonate the Burton Cummings Theatre on Thursday, Nov. 10? How about the fact that blues pop heroes Wide Mouth Mason will be opening the night, a band that Johnson now plays bass in?

The show starts at 7:30 p.m. and tickets are available at Ticketmaster for $19.50 - $35.

Visit www.bigsugar.com.

- Nicholas Friesen

Published in Volume 66, Number 10 of The Uniter (November 2, 2011)