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Valdy's Tour
Schedule - - updated June 23, 2009 shows
are at 8:00pm unless otherwise noted Red Square 1987 Revelstoke, BC, Sat., June 27, Revelstoke Music Festival,
Central Park, 250 837-6884 Victoria, Wed., July 1, Canada Day at the Gorge Tobermory, ON, Thurs., July 2, the Crow's Nest Pub, an
annual event! Orillia, ON, July 3 > 5, Mariposa Folk Festival, 705
345-5035, www.mariposafolkfestival.com Point au Bariel, ON, Mon., July 6, private function Ferndale, ON, Tue., July 7, Kirby Beach House Concert Ingersoll, ON, July 9, 10, 11, 12, 2009, Cantebury Folk
Festival's 10th Year !! Sydney, CBI, NS, Tuesday, July 14, Mescallero's
Restaurant w/ Gary Tour
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- One Hot Day in Ashcroft - Charlottetown, PEI, Wed. July 15, Harmony House
concert. Newport, Hants County, NS, July 17 > 19, Acoustic
Maritime Music Festival w/ Gary Denman Island, BC, Wed, July 22 & Thurs. July 23,
Songwriting Workshop Hill Spring, AB, Sat. July 25, Great Canadian Barn Dance
w/ Gary Calgary, AB, Tue., July 28, Southwood United Church, Fish
Creek Concerts Owen Sound, ON, Fri. > Sun, Aug, 14 > 16,
Summerfolk Music Festival Smithers, BC, Mon. Aug 17 > Sat. Aug. 22, The Bulkley
Valley Adult Guitar Camp
http://www.bvfms.org/adultguitar Ganges, Saltspring Is., BC, Sun., Aug. 23, Tree House
Café Parksville, BC, Sept. 11 > 13, VIMW (Vancouver Island
Music Workshop) Victoria, BC, Fri., Sept. 18, MacPherson Playhouse, Stan
Rogers Show Tour
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Prince George, BC, Sun., Oct. 4, Treasure Cove Casino,
7:30pm show Toronto, ON, Wed., October 14, Hugh's Room, I love
playing this room!! Oakville, ON, Fri., Oct. 16, Centre for the Performing
Arts Port Hope, ON, Sat., Oct. 17., the Capitol Theatre,
905-885-9060 Sudbury, ON, Sat., Oct. 24, Fraser Auditorium, Laurention
University, 289-260-6219 Brantford, ON, Sun., Oct. 18, Brantford Legion, 2:00pm
concert Okanagan Valley, BC, Fri., Oct. 30 >>> Sun.,
Nov. 8, the George Ryga Tour w/ Gary ?? Kelowna, BC, Sat., Nov. 14, Mission Community Hall Richmond, BC, Sat., Jan. 9, the Gateway Theatre w/
Gary Dundas, ON, Sat., Jan. 23, Carnegie Gallery, Freewheelin'
Concerts ?? Brackendale, BC, Sat., Jan. 30, the Eagle Wing Ding w/
the Cat Shop Shuffle Band When I'm with Gary
Fjellgaard, there's a " w/ Gary" tag. His head isn't
really that much bigger than mine.
- the Thompson River Valley
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--------- Here is my
Discography -------- CONTENDER TWO: Still in the Running - (
Gary Fjellgaard and I, live off the floor, with double bass
and an enigmatic percussionist ) '71/'72
Tour Schedule - Press Kit - Discography - Contact - Buy - Product Info - Home
------------ Here is some Press Kit Stuff ------------
--
some
quotations -- "Few performers are capable of
achieving the kind of energy he generates on stage." - Globe
and Mail ".....name probably
doesn't ring a bell with most Americans, but in Canada this
singer and guitarist is a legend." - Anchorage
Times ".....unquestionably the
most public performer in Canada today, and the most loved."
- Macleans "Valdy is regarded as
one of Canada's most distinctive and successful minstrels."
- Humber Log "Valdy elicited a
genuinely warm standing ovation, the real kind, where the
applause continues long after the encore is assured." -
Winnipeg Free Press -- some
more quotations -- "...judging by last
night's performance, Valdy's musical magic is alive and
well." Beacon Herald "One of the best
evenings of entertainment Confederation Centre has ever
seen....a man of formidable talents." Charlottetown Evening
Patriot "Valdy remains one of
the country's purest and most credible storytellers."
Toronto Star "He's a master of
country, folk, rock and blues, and the catch is that
whatever the sound, people know that Valdy is sincere."
Saskatoon Star Phoenix "Valdy's show is a
disarming and practical blend of respect for the audience
and show business expertise." Edmonton Journal
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Career
Bits * 14 albums, 22 singles, 4
Gold Records, nearly half a million units sold
worldwide. * 2 Juno awards, 7 Juno
nominations (Country Male Vocalist &
Folksinger). * "Songwriter of the Year" and
CARAS awards in Folk/Bluegrass categories. * Host of "BC Music Project"
music video show, winner of the 1989 Gold Ribbon Talent
Development Award. * TV talk show guest (Open Mic
w/ Mike Bullard Feb.'01, Canada AM Feb.'01) and occasional
guest/host *Twice was a panelist on the
popular Front Page Challenge * CBC simulcast (TV w/ Radio 2
stereo), an hour-long TV special "Folksinger Deluxe with a
Side of Fries". *Lead role on "The
Beachcombers", minor roles in 2 movie features. *Valdy has toured and still
does tour in America, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Germany,
Holland, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. Valdy is an
oft-invited performer at the Kerrville Folk Festival in
Texas. *Song writing workshops. Movie
sound tracks, TV and film
scores.
CD producer. Slash
burning.
for
booking information,
or to post a note, click >>
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Valdy, born Valdemar Horsdal
in Ottawa, Canada has been part of the fabric of Canadian
pop and folk music for over 34 years. A man with a thousand
friends, from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island to Texas to
New Zealand, he's a singer, guitarist and songwriter who
catches the small but telling moments that make up
life. Remembered for Play Me a Rock
and Roll Song, his bitter-sweet memory of finding himself, a
relaxed and amiable story-teller, facing a rambunctious
audience at the Aldergrove Rock Festival circa 1968, Valdy
has sold almost half a million copies of his 13 albums, has
two Juno Awards (Folk Singer of the Year and Folk
Entertainer of the Year), a total of seven Juno nominations
and four Gold albums to his credit. Valdy's recent CDs include
"Contenders", a collaboration with friend and fellow
singer/songwriter, Gary Fjellgaard, with whom he has an
absolute blast touring, and a solo release, "Viva Valdy:
Live at Last", a two-CD package, one live, one studio, with
a total of 25 tunes, and a lyric booklet. One of Canada's most
influential songwriters, Valdy's composition A Good Song was
recorded under the title Just a Man by the venerable Quincy
Jones ( he sang lead on the recording!). Play Me a Rock and
Roll Song has been recorded by a few artists, including John
Kay of Steppenwolf. Along the way, Valdy has taken
his music to a dozen different countries, from Denmark to
Australia and been an often-invited performer at the
prestigious Kerrville Festival in Texas. His recent
television appearances include Canada AM and Open Mike with
Mike Bullard. Valdy has also been a panelist on Front Page
Challenge, and played a lead role in an episode of The
Beachcombers original series. Today, he is based on Salt
Spring Island, where he lives with his wife Kathleen, two
dogs and two large cats. All three children are now grown,
flown and doing famously living in or near
Vancouver. Visit Valdy on the web at
"http://www.valdy.com". Kathleen
and I at home; am I a lucky man or what?
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"I've been lucky," Valdy
suggests, when asked about his career's longevity. "I've
worked with some amazing people, players, innovative
producers, great songwriters." He pauses, pulls his
whitening beard. "And I married the right woman." Another pause, then "Is that
luck? Or is that moving at God's speed? I mean, it's more
than strategy that puts these folks along my path. Sure I'm
good at what I do, and I'm getting better, I'm paying
attention, and I'm learning, but I've lived a charmed life,
with a supportive partner, a glorious daughter, two vibrant
sons, my health in tact; I am a really lucky
man." ------------------------------------------------------- LONG "I've been lucky," Valdy
suggests, (born Paul Valdemar Horsdal in September of
1945 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, an inner city kid, mother
Lillian, social worker / psychiatric nurse who ran condoms
into Quebec as a family planning advocate, and Paul Horsdal,
portrait photographer/outdoorsman who became a mentor to
many of Canada's photographers, including Yosef Karsh, who
having asked Paul how he took such great pictures, was told
"I take a lot of pictures," and left with an used Graflex 5
by 7 that Paul received $500 for six months later.
Parliament Hill was nearby, and Valdy's father had Prime
Ministers' and Mayors' portraits on display), when asked
about his career's longevity (38 years of recording and
performing, with tours in Mexico, Spain, Holland, Denmark,
Germany, Poland, Austria, Australia, New Zealand, and
annually Atlantic Ocean to Pacific Ocean from Nunuvit to
Texas). "I've worked with some amazing people,
players, (like Norm MacPherson, session/touring
guitarist with Skylark, Sample Stearns Band, Connie Kaldor;
Jerry Scheff and Ronnie Tutt from Elvis' band; Larry
Carlton; Ben Benay; Nicky Hopkins; Jay Dee Manus; Jim
Keltner; Gerry Adolphe; Kat Hendrikse; Michael Creber; Doug
Edwards; Connie Lebeau; George Koller, session/touring
bassist with Holly Cole, Joe Sealy, Shuffle Demons, Loreena
McKinnett), innovative producers, (like Claire
Lawrence, resulting in 3 of his 4 gold records; Eliot Mazer,
who's worked with Gordon Lightfoot, Neil Young; Paul
Rothchild, who's recorded Bonnie Raitt, the Doors; Rob
Bryanton; Bill Henderson; Dan Donahue), great
songwriters." (like Bob Ruzicka, Lynn Miles, Ron Hynes,
Jon Ims, Graham Shaw, Tom Paxton, Mike Williams). He
pauses, pulls his whitening beard. (Valdy will turn 63
on 1/9/08) "And I married the right woman."
(Kathleen Mary Fraser Horsdal, Valdy's creative advisor and
wife of 22 years, sharing a lake front home with him, 3 dogs
and a cat, on Saltspring Island off Canada's west coast,
although they both have their own studio/work spaces ).
Another pause, then "Is
that luck? Or is that moving at God's speed? ("Valdy
elicited a genuinely warm standing ovation, the real kind,
where the audience continues long after the encore is
assured" - Winnipeg Free Press) "I mean, it's more than
strategy that puts these folks along my path." ("Few
performers are capable of achieving the kind of energy Valdy
generates on stage" - Mcleans) "Sure I'm good at what I
do, and I'm getting better, I'm paying attention, and I'm
learning," (two Juno Awards, SOCAN's Song of the Year
Award, four gold records, sixteen CDs/albums/8-tracks),
"but I have lived a charmed life, (200 gigs a year,
fundraising and advocacy for Literacy, president of Acoustic
Connection, producer, wood butcher), with a supportive
partner (Kathleen Horsdal, artist, hospice counsellor,
soul-mate), a glorious daughter, (Chelah Phoebe
Horsdal, actor, www.chelah.com),
two vibrant sons, (Theo Koumontaros Horsdal, IT buyer
for a major Western Canadian retail chain, and Yani Horsdal
Christie, music-variety promoter with Upstream Entertainment
as well as paint contractor),; I am a really lucky
man."
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Biography - November 1,
2000 Valdy meet Gary Fjellgaard;
Gary Fjellgaard, this is Valdy. Of course, introductions are
unnecessary - these two guys have known each other far too
long for any kind of formality. Now, with their first album
together, Contenders, on the leading Canadian roots music
record label, Stony Plain, and with a national tour
underway, they make the most logical duo in Canadian
music. Consider, if you will, what
they share. They're both family men. They both live on small
islands off the coast of British Columbia. They are both
singer-songwriters with an eye for memorable tunes and
finely-honed images. They're both road warriors who tour,
and tour, and tour. They are also both committed
Canadians, more particularly, committed Western Canadians.
And their music draws on all the aspects of life in the
west. "Western roots" they call it. It's music that, in
every note, echoes the mountains and the sea, the cowboys
and the fishermen, the oil well roustabouts and the loggers,
the sunsets and the rain, the streak of rugged independence
and contrariness that so many display, and the generosity
and warmth that make Westerners so welcoming to
all. ** -
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- Valdy, born Valdemar Horsdal
in Ottawa, has been part of the fabric of Canadian pop and
folk music for years. A man with a thousand friends, from
Newfoundland to Vancouver Island to Texas to New Zealand,
he's a songwriter who catches the small but telling moments
that make up life. Remembered for Play Me a Rock
and Roll Song, his bitter-sweet memory of finding himself, a
relaxed and amiable story-teller, facing a rambunctious
audience at the Aldergrove Rock Festival circa 1968, Valdy
has sold almost half a million copies of his 16 CDs, albums
and 8-tracks, and has received two Juno Awards (from a total
of seven Juno nominations), and four Gold albums to his
credit. Along the way, he's taken his
music to a dozen different countries, from Denmark to
Australia, been an invited performer for five years in a row
at the prestigious Kerrville Festival in Texas, and even
played a lead role in an episode of The
Beachcombers. Today, he's based on Salt
Spring Island, where he lives with his wife Kathleen, two
dogs and two large cats (the three grown-up "kids" are all
now living in the southern mainland of British
Columbia). ** Gary Fjellgaard has been
described as a "national treasure" and one writer summed up
his music this way: "It is so rich that his art is free of
bitterness, whining, self-pity, and manufactured pathos. He
is the poet of the extravagantly good side of the human
spirit; breathtakingly humane and compassionate." Like Valdy, Fjellgaard came to
the Gulf Islands (he lives with his wife on Gabriola Island)
well into his 25-year career. The island's peaceful calm
(not to mention the view from his living room window) can
make it difficult for him to leave. It is not only a haven
from the road, and a different geography than the one he
knew growing up in Saskatchewan, but a place to write the
sort of songs that lovingly recall the past, take an
affectionate view of the present and look optimistically
into the future. He has a stubborn streak,
which is why he's never changed his Norwegian name so people
who don't know him could spell and pronounce it properly;
now nearly everyone knows it's pronounced Fell-Gard. As a
songwriter, he's a storyteller - and the stories he tells
come from his two decades in the logging industry, his
annual stints as a trail-riding cowboy, and his travels back
and forth across Canada. His reputation has been earned
in the country music field, and if his songs bear little
resemblance to the "hot new country" that fills the airwaves
today, he has had more than his share of successes - and has
a shelf-full of awards to prove it. ** -
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- Together, Valdy and Gary
Fjellgaard are a near-perfect team. The songs they've
written for Contenders touch their common ground with the
familiarity and warmth only old friends can share. They are
both experienced entertainers who know how to earn the
respect of their audiences, and deliver shows, night after
night, that send people home with smiles and the feeling
that they've experienced something special and
heartwarming. The pair are in the midst of a
national tour to support Contenders, and to bring the songs
to audiences across the country. No spotlights. No stacks of
heavy-duty speakers and power amplifiers. No all-star backup
band. Just two guys, two guitars, and two dozen songs or
more that tell where they've been, where they are and where
they're going. A new decade really needs the
old verities more than ever before, and these contenders
prove the point.
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30 Years ago, I played in a trio called Sweet Honey Mead, with Douglas K. Rhodes and Douglas E. Rhodes. We did a weekend at Moby's, our first trio gig in nearly 30 years. Doug the Elder is one of the respected drummers on Saltspring Island, and one of the island's best carpenters as well (accolade). Doug the Younger is playing these days with Victoria's big band, the Belvedere Broadcasters, as well as several jazz configurations on sax, bass, and keyboards; he sings very well, and is restoring and repairing some of the Victoria area's aging and abused pianos. We boogied, and will probably do it again. Moby's was, in this local's opinion, the music bar on Saltspring Island.
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