CFN – If you were paying attention you would have noticed that there was no concert in January and you might have been concerned, but fear no more. The Stage is back with a terrific lineup of talent for the remainder of the 2012-2013 season. The winter season of the St. Lawrence Acoustic Stage opened Saturday night with two terrific artists, Awna Teixeira and Natalia Zukerman. It was just a coincidence that the season opener was on my birthday but it felt like a special gift just for me.
This was not the first time Awna Teixeira appeared on the stage in Morrisburg. She was here a few years ago with the group Po’Girl but now she is touring as a solo act. Actually she is a one person band all on her own but she hasn’t mastered the art of playing all of her instruments at one time. To the great enjoyment of the audience Awna did change from guitar to banjo to accordion as she moved through her program of songs. She even broke out her harmonica when she joined Natalia for a song during the second set.
Awna’s performance was a complete package. She sang her own compositions with a strong clear voice and between songs she entertained us with stories of Po’Girl and her youth. Sometimes she made confessions of misdeeds directly to her father who was also in the audience. I don’t usually record much of the dialogue between songs but I did include it in the first video above. What was really great about Awna’s performance is that you could see how much she enjoyed being there. She bobbed and weaved on stage like a shadow boxer and her positive enlightening attitude came across as pure delight.
Typically the St. Lawrence Acoustic Stage features Canadian artists but for this show they imported Natalia Zukerman from the US. There is a Canadian connection to Natalia however. Her father, Pinchas Zukerman, is the conductor of the NAC Orchestra. Natalia is an outstanding musician in her own right. She is an incredible song writer, guitar player and singer. Her stage presence is very relaxed and personable and at times quite humorous. Even her oops moments were well recovered with humour and a great attitude. Actually at first I thought it was part of the song. Maybe it was.
A well seasoned artist, Natalia was joined on stage by Toronto percussionist Sly Juhas so the Canadian content was well covered, as was the minimum hair content. In spite of my hair envy I have to admit that Sly’s performance blended so well with Natalia’s that you would think they had been playing for years together and not just hours. Fortunately I include videos so you can confirm for yourself.
The stage will be presenting another performance in just two short weeks. Amelia Curran will be taking the stage on Saturday March 2nd. I hope to see you there. For more information please check out their web site.
