Fearing & White Calgary Ironwood, Edmonton Folk Festival, August 4-8, 2011

Stephen Fearing and Andy White will be performing songs from their LowdenProud Records release “Fearing & White” on August 4th at the Ironwood. Lucas Chaisson will be opening.

The evening will start at 8:00 PM at the new Ironwood Stage and Grill in the Garry Theatre in Ingelwood at 1229 9th Ave SE.  Seats can be reserved by calling the Ironwood at (403) 269-5581 and are $20 each. The Ironwood has a great menu and excellent beer so you can easily make a night of it and get a better table by ordering dinner.

IThe dynamic duo then head to Edmonton FOlk Festival where they’ll be appearing together on on Saturday at 6pm, as well as taking part in various various workshops. Stephen will also appear in concert with Blackie and The Rodeo Kings, and Andy in a solo performance.

See you there!

Penguin Eggs album review

This debut album, a collaboration of Stephen Fearing and Andy White, features 13 songs that came to life, according to their story, because of a friendship spanning 10 years, with eight years of annual liaisons so they could write together somewhere in the world while working around the crammed schedules of a pair successful touring musicians.

White now calls Melbourne, Australia, home, while Fearing recently moved to Halifax, so hurrah that they found a spare three weeks in Ontario to record it and pull it off. And pull it off they did. Another happy example of the sums of parts being greater as a whole. The duo and the record – not one song stands out above the others and neither one’s voice dominates but blend perfectly – Fearing and White have concocted a fabulous recipe for a terrific listening experience.

Underlying the excellent, gently rocking arrangements is a fabulous, old-timey pop sensibility – in the best sense of whatever that means to you – and a palpable feeling of joy. I instantly get that Andy and Stephen had great fun making this joyful noise. All projects should sound and feel this good.

The result is a group of songs you instantly embrace because of their overall feel rather than any particular snatch of piercingly perceptive lyric or any one of many classy guitar riffs.

Fearing and White have put together a record that they should both be proud of, one that stands tall alone and also fits perfectly as part of the their stellar past performances.

les siemieniuk
Penguin Eggs Issue #50, summer 2011