Mayne Island Music society welcomed a lively large crowd (200+) to the Agricultural Society grounds. Board member Bob Irving was M.C. (Yes, once again my husband was volunteer sound man--all agreed he did a fine job. )
Open mic featured performers from here
and far (This couple was from southern United States).
Nanette Johnston, a local favourite, warmed the stage.
My brother-in-law T.D. Christopher entertained with an original song and his rendition of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah and then...
UHF took the stage.The enigmatically named acoustic/vocal trio, UHF, are Shari Ulrich, Bill Henderson and Roy Forbes, as brilliant a teaming of three disparate talents as a Canadian West Coast accident could ever be.
When they first joined forces in 1989 for what was planned as a one off performance at Vancouver's Winter Roots Festival, Vancouver born Henderson was best known as the long time lead singer and songwriter for the successful Collectors and Chilliwack bands. Ulrich, an ex-Californian, had been a key member of British Columbia's Pied Pumpkin, The Hometown Band and a respected solo singer/songwriter while Forbes, from Dawson Creek and known for years as Bim, was a long time formidable staple on the North American folkroots circuit.
Ulrich, Henderson and Forbes are all seasoned and prolific songwriters -- indeed, each continues a solo recording and performance career -- but it took a special focus to come up with tunes that suited the trio and led to the critical success of two albums: UHF and UHF II. "It's a wonderful balance," Henderson has said of the group. "I find some neat mysteries in it. One of them is how we get the vocal blend we do. I would never have expected that to work. But it just did, an amazing surprise."
(written by Carol Munro)
Speaking as a Mayne Islander, I was thrilled that such a well known group performed on my island home. Much thanks to this amazing group.
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Next post: Please meet author Valerie Mann
Saturday: Kill Me Tomorrow by Diane Alberts
