I’ve discovered 2 new Edmonton artists last night when I went to the 22nd Annual Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts at the Winspear downtown. Hosted by CBC’s Peter Brown (very witty) and CTV’s Carrie Doll, it was produced by Professional Arts Coalition of Edmonton (PACE) and had many performances spread throughout the awards announcements. Among them, my favourite ukulele cover band of all time, The Be Arthurs. The Raving Poets (improv), an envelope pushing segment from BASH’d (the gay rap opera), Ann Vriend (jazz performer), John Cameron (playing at the Red Piano), KO Dance Project, Bomba! and Jeremy Spurgeon (finally get to hear the organ in Winspear! Fantastic!) round out the performers.
Ann Vriend and Bomba! were the performers that really impressed me. Ann performed two of her own songs off her albums and then for the final song, she sang “We are the Champions” by Queen. Check them out!
The end of the night saw Bomba! encouraging audience members to dance on stage with them. Mayor Mandel was one of the first ones out on the dance floor! Great fun!
Bertha