Sandra Whitworth of the St. Lawrence Acoustic Stage is excited.
“It’s going to be an absolutely fantastic show,” she said. “These are lovely people and amazing musicians too. Having a duo like this on our stage is like getting to have your cake and eat it too.”
Ian Sherwood and Coco Love Alcorn, a dynamic, exciting singer/songwriter duo, and recipients of numerous music awards, will be in Morrisburg on Saturday, October 5, 2013, for a 7 p.m. concert at the Morrisburg Meeting Centre.
The St. Lawrence Acoustic Stage has a sparkling line-up of artists in their 2013-14 concert series: Alcorn and Sherwood are two very bright stars in the musical show case.
“Coco has a jazz, a bit of pop and an R&B sound, with some folk tossed in,” Whitworth explained. “She is the daughter of Canadian jazz singer John Alcorn and has toured extensively (with 54-40, Ani DiFranco and Burton Cummings). She is a mesmerizing performer with an absolutely (absolutely!) fabulous voice.”
Ian Sherwood “starts from ‘folk’ and then he moves from there into …R&B and soul. He’s more of a traditional singer/song writer,” Whitworth said. “There is wonderful story-telling in his songs accompanied by beautiful melodies…He’s also multi-instrumentalist.”
Together, these two artists will guarantee a terrific evening of music on October 5th.
“We like the audience to be close to us,” Ian Sherwood said. “We like the interaction with people, and to build a relationship with the audience. We want people to be truly into our show.”
Already noted solo performers on the concert circuits, Sherwood and Alcorn first got together in Halifax around six years ago.
“Actually, a promoter in Halifax contacted me and asked me if I would be interested in opening for Coco,” Ian Sherwood explained to The Leader. “Well, I looked her up, listened to her music, and said to myself, ‘this chick is pretty good,’” he laughed. “We only met during the sound check, but we seemed to really connect on stage. Our music fit well together. Coco later asked me to tour with her for five weeks around B.C., performing in all these little towns and villages. Well, after five weeks in a van, you really get to know someone as a performer: our marriages remained intact, and we’ve worked together a lot ever since,” he added.
They are planning a studio album together, “although it would be great to tape a live concert one day.”
Sherwood admits he has tried other arts careers, but in the end, “I simply love music.” He tends to write in phases, a group of love songs, perhaps a group of jazz songs, even a wave of children’s songs. Then he re-explores his songs, polishing and developing the work.
When he sings, “I tend to borrow vocally from everything, depending on what I am listening to,” he said “I am not sure myself how to describe my voice. I’ll pick up falsetto, or a country twang, and it will be somewhat unintentional. I like whatever works for me and on stage. I lean more to a story telling narrative when I perform.”
Coco, he feels, has a strong folk background, and rhythm and blues is a powerful force in her vocal style.
“Our work is original. We have begun writing together, and there is real variety to our stage show music. Our songs are different enough in style: Coco approaches melody differently than I do. She plays her instruments differently than me as well. She sings back-up to my songs, and I do the same for hers. The overall aim of our concerts is to create a seamless, blended performance.”
Ian Sherwood has twice been named Music Nova Scotia “Musician of the Year,” He was a 2011 ECMA nominee for Male Solo Artist and was recently named best Male Artist at the 8th annual International Music Awards.
Coco Love Alcorn has been the recipient of multiple ECMA, Music Nova Scotian and West Coast Music Award nominations.
Critics have called Sherwood’s songs “romantic as they are clever and snarky…his are often funny, often poignant lyrics.” (Halifax Chronicle Herald) The Ottawa Xpress described Alcorn’s voice as “sparkling and distinctive…a bright burst of colour amidst many shades of indie grey.”
“Folk, blues, jazz, a little pop, a little country, these are the influences that seep into our music,” said Ian Sherwood. “These are the influences that we will make part of our Morrisburg concert.”
For tickets to the 7 p.m. Ian Sherwood, Coco Love Alcorn concert on October 5, contact www.st-lawrencestage.com. Tickets are $18 in advance or $20 at the door.
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