Suzie Vinnick and J.D. Edwards at the St. Lawrence Stage, Morrisburg Ontario – by Reg Coffey – February 14, 2011

Morrisburg  ON – While most of us in the area south of Ottawa know that there is an exceptional live theatre playhouse in Morrisburg there is another less known cultural venue in Morrisburg, the St. Lawrence Acoustic Stage.

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Last night the St. Lawrence Acoustic Stage put on a performance which featured a pair of great Canadian singer/songwriters, Suzie Vinnick and J.D. Edwards.  This was my first time at the stage and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised.

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It is located in the OETC building on the east side of Morrisburg and to be honest I didn’t really expect to find such a comfortable small theatre there. The size of the theatre made it a more intimate musical experience and was just perfect for the night’s entertainment.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVVMimSdqkw

J. D. Edwards opened the show with his casual style of folk & blues. His humorous descriptions of the inspiration for his songs reminded me of a young Arlo Guthrey with a Toronto accent.  You can’t really compare J.D.’s music or singing voice to anyone.  His casual presentation of his folk-blues style songs and wonderfully unique voice impressed all of the audience. Hey, I bought a CD.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=perM6hdI03k

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Suzie Vinnick took the stage and immediately began to wow the audience. Her charming presence and her revelation that she was the voice singing in a series of Tim Horton’s commercials made a connection with the audience right from the start. During the show she gave everyone a cookie as an intro to the Oreo Cookie Blues song.  I started to think of her as a favourite niece who would bring her old uncle cookies to brighten his day.

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And then there was her music…incredible. Her strong true voice covered a range of styles from folk, jazz, R&B to country, flawlessly. The literature provided with the tickets describes her voice as distinctly alluring, spun with gold with the power and grace to project it through finely crafted songs. I can’t say it any better and I can’t argue with it. To top it all off her guitar playing was as impressive as her vocals and song writing skills. She is truly an accomplished musician. I bought another CD.

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httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G4FGjCXNLA

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This was the second of 5 shows for this season of the St. Lawrence Acoustic Stage productions. I missed the first one last month because of a snow storm but I did buy season tickets. I am now looking forward to the next performance.  For more information about the remaining performances you can follow this LINK.

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