Extraordinary Harmony Concert lineup August 11-13 at the winery

Phillip-Michael Scales (left), Shirley Jackson & Her Good Rockin’ Daddys (centre), and Scott Cook (right) perform this weekend at Stone Crop Acres winery as part of the Harmony Concert series.

MORRISBURG – If you are looking for some of the best musical entertainment around, Harmony Concerts is bringing three shows to Stone Crop Acres Winery this weekend that are going to leave you breathless.

On Friday, August 11, direct from Nashville, comes the terrific singer Phillip-Michael Scales. “I call my style Indie-rock, with some jazz and blues blended in. I have a passion for story telling,” Phillip said, in an interview with The Leader, “and my music comes out of where I am in life. I really feel that the most important thing you can do is tell the truth.” He comes by his passion for music and performing very naturally. “My uncle was B.B. King, and as he got older, we got closer. After his death, I became much more interested in the blues, and in exploring them. The Blues, why the blues are everything – emotional music tied to themes from love to politics and race. There is real depth to this music. And when I perform the blues, I feel like I am honouring my uncle.”

Phillip-Michael Scales is looking forward to performing at Stone Crop Acres. “I love performing live. There is a real energy from crowds. It makes no difference whether I am in large halls or an intimate setting, it’s just super fun and great energy when we connect. In my music, there is a pursuit of passion, a search for love; my music explores heartbreak and all the realities that make up life. When I am at the Winery, I am going to love sharing my stories with the audience.”

On Saturday, August 12, in a marvellous change of pace, comes the swinging, jiving Shirley Jackson & Her Good Rockin’ Daddys. These are international award-winning musicians who will have the audience up on its feet, singing, and very likely dancing too. Originally, a group of musicians who got together in 1995, they were players who “wanted to make some fun dancing music.”

“Our six piece band has been fuelling the dance floor with a mix of horn-powered east coast blues, jump and swing.” Shirley Jackson said in an interview with The Leader. “Our band hails back to a sound inspired by the early years of big horn bands when horn sections were an integral part of the sound of a swingin’ and rockin’ good time, and the music is stylized by my own song writing and arranging.”

Shirley and the Rockin’ Daddys appeal to a wide range of ages and backgrounds. Conventionally unconventional, Shirley said “This is music I love to perform. I love to watch people enjoy themselves and have a great time. And I love how audiences can connect with the lyrics of the songs and relate to the stories behind the music.”

The audience at Stone Crop Acres is going to be thrilled by this musical style, and by the musicians who will be creating it. “There are two Maple Blues Awards winners in our group, including me,” Shirley said, “for horn player in 2003 and 2018, along with Tom Bona on drums, an eight time Maple Blues winner. My son, Jef Wirchenko, will be on acoustic bass, Dawn Hatfield on baritone sax, Dave ‘Hot Lips’ Harrison on trumpet and flugelhorn and J.F. Laflesche on guitar.” It’s going to be a memorable musical evening at the Winery on Saturday night. “I really look forward to the energy and the tight arrangements,” Shirley Jackson said, “along with a band that loves to have fun.”

Rounding out a tremendous Harmony Concerts weekend will be the sensational Alberta-born troubadour, Scott Cook, performing at the Winery on Sunday, August 13. Opening for Scott Cook will be another sensational artist, and a well known local singer, Claude Plamondon, who, with some band mates, will start the evening off on a ‘high note.’

Singer Scott Cook, a true travelling troubadour, has performed everywhere from Canada and the US to Europe, Australia and New Zealand. He has won extensive critical and fan praise for his “plain spoken, keenly observant verse.” He has been nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award, and for English Songwriter of the year. His single, “Say Can You See,” 2020, was the second most played song on the Folk Alliances stations and charts. He took top honours that year from the UK Songwriting Competition and the Great American Song Contest. Scott Cook is a folk phenomena, whose style has been compared to Woody Guthrie and Steve Goodman.

“He is one of Canada’s most inspiring and imaginative story tellers… with beautifully written lyrics.”(Emily Saxton) Dan Joseph described his album Tangle of Souls as “one of the finest folk albums of the last 30 years.”

In short, Scott Cook is an artist, a composer and a brilliant purveyor of true life, its joys, its sorrows, its challenges. He will share his wonderful musical journeys at the Winery on August 13.

Don’t miss any of the fantastic musical delights in store from Harmony Concerts at Stone Crop Acres August 11-13. It’s going to be a memorable three days of music.

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