Riding on the heels of last weekend’s Juno Award win, Afie Jurvanen – better known in Canadian music as Bahamas – performed to a small but wildly appreciative crowd at the Sault Community Theatre Centre Wednesday night. Concert-goers were also treated to a lovely opening set from Vancouver’s Ben Rogers.
Just a few songs into Jurvanen’s show, a large chunk of the audience jumped to its feet to dance in aisles – an unusual sight for the normally subdued theatre. His set included a number of tracks from his Juno-winning 2018 release, Earthtones, and others that put the troubadour on the Canadian indie map, including All the Time, Lost in the Light, and Caught Me Thinkin’. A highly underrated guitar player himself, Jurvanen’s band Wednesday night included the striking talents of Christine Bougie on guitar and Felicity Williams on backing vocals.
In 20 years of professional playing, this was the very first time Jurvanen has performed in Sault Ste. Marie, he told the crowd near the end of his set. He hopes to be back soon, he said.
Prior to his evening performance, Jurvanen was gracious enough to spend some time with White Pines music students to share a few songs and words of wisdom.
“He’s a really, really engaging, genuine talker,” music teacher Greg MacLachlan told SooToday. “He can go from subject to subject, answering questions in a really genuine way. He had an audience of hyper Grade 7 through 12 kids captivated for an hour and a half.”
After playing a few songs, he spoke to the students about the music industry, songwriting, and what is like to be a “weirdo” in high school. Jurvanen told the concert audience that he never finished high school.
“He talked about using music to find himself, and using songwriting to express himself, and he gave a million little awesome life lessons,” MacLachlan said.
Bahamas’ Earthtones tour continues through Ontario with upcoming dates in Sudbury this evening, Barrie Friday night, and North Bay on March 27.
To learn more about Bahamas, please click here.