Allison Crowe Spiral Concert for Salt Spring BCSPCA August 6, 2010

Dear Prudence is purring while Lovely Rita grooms herself and friends. Bungalow Bill and pals are only sleeping as here comes the sun streaming into the island’s non-profit animal shelter (at 540 Lower Ganges Road).

Salt Spring Island BCSPCA Manager Brandy Glovka and a team of volunteers give their time to caring for homeless, injured and abused animals. With dedication enough for eight days a week, they’re readying cats and kittens for adoption to good homes – and yeah, (yeah, yeah), there’s a Beatles theme to the naming of some of the fab felines.

All you need is love, for creatures great and small and for good music, to come together at ArtSpring on Friday, August 6 when vocalist-pianist-guitarist Allison Crowe performs songs from her newest CD, “Spiral”, and all-time favourites in a concert to aid the SSI BCSPCA.

“Canada’s finest songwriter” is how UK culture blog, ‘We Write Lists’, tagged Allison Crowe upon release of “Spiral” – an album which features distinctive contributions from Salt Springers: guitarist and photographer Billie Rocha-Woods; percussionist Laurent Boucher; and producer, string arranger and orchestrator, Kayla Schmah. Pioneering music blog Muruch, in recently celebrating its tenth anniversary, named Crowe its musical mascot, saying: “Her extraordinarily emotive way of singing and the subtle beauty of her songs stand out from just about any other artist ever.”

Crowe’s musical foundation in classical and jazz blends uniquely with rock, folk and soul to appeal to fans of classic singer-songwriters such as Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell, alongside rock/pop bands from The Beatles and Pearl Jam, to such varied artists as Ani DiFranco, Tori Amos, Aretha Franklin and Counting Crows.

A true grassroots success, she’s garnered praise in the mainstream – from the CBC, The Globe and Mail and National Post to BBC Radio and MOJO magazine – alongside widespread appreciation in the alternative media and in the global online community where Crowe’s especially active and progressive.

“When I listen to it, I think ‘This is real music, real singing’, it has the power, it's natural, not artificial and calculated like many songs nowadays,” says Lukasz Garbol, podcaster with Poland’s popular Radio Świdnik.

Born on Vancouver Island, Allison Crowe now tours Europe regularly, and has two bases in Canada – her birthplace, Nanaimo, territory of her tabby, Sambuca, and, her Atlantic home, Corner Brook, where Johnny, the cat in black, walks the line. Link, a wiener dog, travels with her on the long and winding road (which please, pleases both cats). Jeffrey Pitcher, Artistic Director of Theatre Newfoundland notes: "No matter where she is in this world, that voice, that conviction, it crosses all borders. She's one of those rare artists that fits into any culture, any community because she is who she is - an incredible talent."

"I hear so much music these days, too much for one person really,” says Muruch. “I’m inundated with such a flood of sounds both good and bad that I sometimes forget what it feels like when a song literally produces chills on your arms. Then I hear Allison Crowe sing, and I remember the effect music is supposed to have on you.”

Doors: 7:30 pm Music: 8:00 pm
Concert tickets @ ArtSpring Box Office 250-537-2102
Advance: $20 general/$15 students and seniors. (Door: $22/$17)

More info: www.allisoncrowe.com + www.spca.bc.ca/saltspring

Official Website: http://www.allisoncrowe.com