Ardyth & Jennifer and Gareth Pearson at St. Brigid’s Centre, 9 November

[SteveThe Owl]

Friday 9 November

8pm (doors at 7pm)

St. Brigid’s Centre for the Arts and Humanities (formerly St. Brigid’s Church)

179 Murray Street, Ottawa

Tickets $15

Cash bar

This will be the first concert in this historic church since its transformation into a performance venue for arts and culture, and fittingly, it combines Celtic tradition with modern influences to create something new.

Ardyth & Jennifer are a pair of singer-songwriters from Nova Scotia who weave their two Celtic harps and two voices into gorgeous tapestries. Bringing their eclectic mix of harps, vocals, bass, percussion, whistles and original songs to audiences throughout the Maritime Provinces and into the New England States they have developed a unique style that combines elements of traditional music with the influence of jazz and contemporary songwriting. They have played at many premier folk festivals and concert venues, showcased in the Roots Room and songwriters’ events at the East Coast Music Awards and at the Juno Fest in Halifax and they have been featured on many local radio and television programs. As they have traveled, their unique style has earned them critical acclaim within the music community and an ever-growing fan base in the Maritimes.

Representing the other side of the Atlantic Ocean is Gareth Pearson . Gareth is an acoustic guitar player and composer from Cwmbran, South Wales in the UK. Although only sixteen years old, Gareth’s extraordinary talent has gained him wide recognition among guitar fans. He has toured with Tommy Emmanuel and Jan Akkerman , played at the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society Convention in Nashville and was personally invited to open for Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes at their New Year Party in New York. He has also opened for Ray Davies, founding member of the legendary 60's band The Kinks, John Renbourn, Woody Mann and others.

Gareth’s influences are wide, ranging from guitarists such as Tommy Emmanuel, Chet Atkins, Merle Travis, Jerry Reed and others but his own distinctive voice is clearly audible in his own compositions, some of which appear on his new release Adrenaline Rush which is available to order online or at his concerts. In performance, his “exuberance of youth,†as one fellow musician put it, is clearly evident.

For more information, or to contact the artists, please call 613-562-1243 or email neil@writersfestival.org.

[Jay Funk Dawg]

I used to book Ardyth and Jennifer all the time in Halifax... really nice harp duo - so sweet it will put you in a deep relaxing sleep.

[SteveThe Owl]

I will take that as high praise . That being said, the CD is great to listen to while reading... or snoozing.