Sudbury Northern Life
It's been more than a decade since the last Boxing Day Blues Bash. Bringing back the tradition of having a blues concert over the holiday season was the plan for Tim&li Productions co-founder Tim MacKinnon.
Originally started in the early 80s, the Boxing Day Blues Bash, as it was then known, was hosted by local production company Half Nelson Systems. The party, given for friends and clients, featured an impromptu performance at Half Nelson's warehouse with local band The South Bay Honey Drippers, which was mostly made up of members of Half Nelson staff.
The annual party proved so popular it had to be moved to a larger venue, the Mine Mill Hall. Honey Dripper members Paul Dunn, Gary Disalle, Dave Lawler, Dave McCrea, and Barry Seawright, and special guests like Sunny Fournier, Shawn Pitzel and many other local musicians would deliver world-class performances.
At that time, MacKinnon was the manager of Half Nelson's lighting department and remembers many great musical moments that would send tingling sensations up the back of his neck while operating the lights for the show. Although the annual show eventually moved on to be promoted by others, including Sunny Fournier, it maintained its blues origins. The show itself was a reunion of sorts, giving musicians and the audience an opportunity to listen to great music and see many old friends home for the holiday season.
It was an easy decision for Tim&li Productions when choosing the headliner for its first Annual Holiday Blues Bash. While working on Fournier's last two concerts as his production manager and lighting director, Mackinnon was getting the same sensations from Fournier's performances.
"After decades of working with some of the best performers in the business, you instinctively know when a performer has what it takes to be great, Sunny has that. The integrity and dedication to his art form is second to none. His heartfelt, emotional renditions of his own and other writer's songs are incredible. You never leave his show feeling you didn't get value for your ticket price," said Mackinnon.
Sunny Fournier and the Fundamentals will be on stage at The Grand Dec. 28 at 8 p.m.
Fournier has seven albums to his credit and has played on stages around the world. He has performed with many of the blues greats including, James Cotton, Luther Guitar Jr. Johnson, James Thunderbird Davis, Earl King, The Powder Blues Band, and Downchild Blues. He owes, in part, his style of blues to his mentor and arguably the best blues musician alive today, the King of the blues, B.B. King, who Fournier has met with 36 times. Sunny has put together a sensational band for this show, featuring legendary Canadian guitarist Jake Thomas, and his band The Fundamentals, as well as Shawn Pitzel on Hammond organ, JY Begin on sax, Peter Shearzinger on trumpet and Blair McNally on trombone.
Opening the show will be guest artists Paul DiSalle and the Terminators. DiSalle, an accomplished singer/songwriter has ties to the original shows via blood-lines, as his father was the guitar player in the previously mentioned South Bay Honey Drippers. Rumoyr has it Gary DiSalle will be playing with the Terminators for the show.
Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door, and are available at Records on Wheels, Jett Landry Music, Professional Sound, Coyotes Night Club or by calling 670-2328.
