Tickets on sale Friday, June 17 at 10:00am.
Gee Dan Production Presents
Downchild Blues Band – The Longest 50th Anniversary Tour Ever
With guest Miss Emily
Monday, October 17, 2022 - 7:30pm
After 19 albums, countless awards and wowing sold-out audiences around the globe, THE LEGENDARY DOWNCHILD BLUES BAND are celebrating over 50 years of playing the blues with a brand-new show featuring their hits like “Flip, Flop & Fly,” as well as fan favourites and hidden gems from throughout their illustrious career.
Downchild came to international prominence as the inspiration for Hollywood stars Dan Aykroyd and the late John Belushi’s hit film, The Blues Brothers. In fact, two Downchild songs, “Shotgun Blues” and “I Got Everything I Need (Almost)” were even covered on The Blues Brothers’ 1978 multi-platinum album Briefcase Full of Blues.
Founder, Donnie Walsh, the band's main songwriter, was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2019, alongside some of the greatest songwriters of our time, like Leonard Cohen, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell.
Downchild continues to be led by, Donnie “Mr. Downchild” Walsh on guitar and harmonica, singer Chuck Jackson, who also plays harmonica, tenor sax man Pat Carey, Gary Kendall on bass, drummer Jim Casson and Tyler Yarema on keyboards.
With their signature jump-blues style and infectious, soulful sound, Juno Award winners Downchild deliver a live performance that is second to none and good times guaranteed!
Miss Emily
On Monday June 20th at the Maple Blues Awards in Toronto, Miss Emily took home her second Female Vocalist of the Year award, bookending her 2020 award in the same category. 2022 continues to be a banner year for Emily Fennell, known to the world as “Miss Emily.” In March she was a Juno nominee for Blues Album of the Year; recognizing her album “LIVE at the Isabel.” In May she won the International Songwriting Competition for her song “Three Words,” and now she’s a two-time recipient of Canada’s national award for female blues vocalists.
From the moment she finished her jaw-dropping appearance at the Toronto Blues Society Blues Summit three years ago, Miss Emily has rocketed from provincial to national & international recognition. Her 2019 Canadian tour stretched from Nanaimo to Fredericton and was followed by 2020 Maples Blues awards for New Artist, Female Vocalist and the inaugural Sapphire Blues video award for “Hold Back the River.” Celebrated in her adopted hometown of Kingston, this Prince Edward County native holds the record for sellouts at Kingston’s Isabel Bader Center for the Performing Arts, which prompted the release of “LIVE at the Isabel” and its subsequent Juno nomination for Blues Album of the Year.
On September 30th she will release her newest album “Defined by Love”; the long-awaited follow-up to her breakout record “In Between.” Produced by Canadian blues stalwart Steve Marriner, “Defined by Love” is Emily’s diary of a year filled with confusion, anger, lost relationships and found humanity. ““Defined by Love” has been one of the greatest gifts of my career thus far,” says Fennell. “Getting to work with the super human Steve Marriner and a slew of friendly, kind and talented musicians and singers helped to infuse this album with so much goodness and love. My heart is so full.”
This fall, Emily will be touring Canada, the US, the UK and Europe to promote “Defined by Love” and she’ll be making special appearances with The Legendary Downchild Blues Band during some of their dates in Western Canada. Full tour information will be available on her website and via social media.
Background – Miss Emily is Emily Fennell, a Prince Edward County singer/songwriter who’s been performing for more than 20 years. In that time, she’s recorded six studio albums, received a Juno nomination, is a two-time Maple Blues Female Vocalist of the year as well as New Artist of the year and Sapphire Blues Video of the year. She continues to tour Canada, the US, the UK and Europe and has worked tirelessly for dozens of charitable organizations including the internationally renowned Light of Day Foundation for Parkinson’s research.
For more information on Miss Emily check out her website - www.themissemily.com