Big Sugar, Daniel Lanois, and special guest Julian Taylor join Hagersville Rocks’ Saturday lineup

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To The Haldimand Press

HAGERSVILLE—It will be a night to remember in Hagersville. The concert on Saturday, July 15, 2023 has bolstered its electrifying all-star, all-Canadian lineup with the additions of Big Sugar, Daniel Lanois, and Julian Taylor. These new additions to the lineup will join the previously announced headliner: multi-award-winning, eight-time Juno Award–winning Canadian musician Colin James with special guests David Wilcox and My Son the Hurricane. The concert will be held at the Heaslip Ford Amphitheatre at Grant Kett Memorial Park. For tickets, visit ticketscene.ca.

ABOUT COLIN JAMES: Colin James’ career has spanned over 30 years and includes 20 studio albums, eight Juno Awards, 27 Maple Blues Awards, and multi-platinum record sales. His latest release, Open Road, is a celebration of personal connections. It includes original tunes written with collaborators such as Colin Linden, Craig Northey, and Tom Wilson, and covers by a diverse group of songwriters including Bob Dylan, Albert King, and Tony Joe White. Colin has set the bar for consistency and talent in Canadian music and remains at the top of his game. 

A consummate professional and a superb guitarist, Colin is a musician’s musician. The confidence that comes with maturity can be heard in his voice and seen in his electrifying stage performance. He does what comes naturally – he always has – he knows no other way and no other life.

For more information on Colin James visit: colinjames.com.

ABOUT BIG SUGAR: Big Sugar’s much anticipated “Heated 25th Anniversary Tour” continues through 2023. Gordie Johnson returns to the stage with a new lineup to play this classic album live. New bassist, Ben Lowe, is the 23-year-old son of original Big Sugar bassist Garry Lowe. Gordie Johnson spent the past four years reimagining the band as a Power Trio, completed by 21-year-old drummer Root Valach: “Our music has always been about roots and culture, and this is a perfect piece of that evolution.”

Since the 90s Big Sugar has been a staple on the airwaves and highways with a unique combination of Jamaican rhythms, blues tonality, and heavy rock aggression. Songs like ‘Diggin A Hole’, ‘If I Had My Way’, ‘Turn The Lights On’ and ‘Roads Ahead’ with their roots/rock/reggae style featuring Gordie Johnson’s signature guitar playing have built a loyal following, earning Big Sugar a Road Gold Award as they continue to sell out concerts across North America.

For more information on Big Sugar visit: bigsugar.com.

ABOUT DAVID WILCOX: A superb entertainer. A master guitar player. A great, soulful singer. A unique songwriter. These are a few of the ways David Wilcox has been described. None of them do him justice. Until you have seen David in concert, you have yet to experience something truly remarkable. Multiple gold and platinum albums, countless fans of all ages. His music has been skated to by Olympic champions and appeared in movies like Cocktail with Tom Cruise. Whether it’s a backyard barbecue, a TV theme (Street Legal), Carnegie Hall, the Montreux Jazz Festival with John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin – the music of David Wilcox is a blend of rock, blues, country, ragtime, and other roots styles that keeps evolving and growing.

For more information on David Wilcox visit: davidwilcox.net.

  ABOUT DANIEL LANOIS: Daniel Lanois has enjoyed a long career as a highly acclaimed producer, musician, songwriter, and vocalist. His career includes long-standing working relationships with Eno, Peter Gabriel, U2, Emmylou Harris, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and more! He will play as part of the Daniel Lanois Trio, a three-part harmony with Jermaine Holmes on drums and vocals and the mighty Jim Wilson on bass and vocals.

The Lanois Trio started on the outskirts of Berlin in a small chapel, where the acoustics made vocals sound beautiful; they kept their instruments quiet and let the vocals fill the night. 

“The original instrument, that being the voice, is alive and well in this trio configuration,” said Lanois. For more information visit: daniellanois.com.

ABOUT JULIAN TAYLOR: Julian Taylor is a Toronto-based, award-winning singer-songwriter, radio host, and label owner. His 2020 LP, The Ridge, earned two Juno Award nominations, along with a pair of Canadian Folk Music Awards for Solo Artist and English Songwriter of the Year, five Native American Music Award nominations, plus a nomination for Canada’s most prestigious music accolade, the Polaris Music Prize.

Julian’s new album, Beyond the Reservoir, released October 14, 2022, includes the singles “Seeds”, “Wide Awake” and “Opening the Sky” that builds on the soul-folk sound and autobiographical themes first explored on The Ridge. Julian received a 2023 Juno nomination for Contemporary Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year.

For more information on Julian Taylor visit: juliantaylormusic.ca.

ABOUT MY SON THE HURRICANE: My Son the Hurricane is a multi-horn, multi-drummer, multi-singer brass funk beast from Niagara. The 12-piece brass-dance crew has toured over multiple countries and played some of Canada, USA,  and Europe’s biggest festivals. Over 45 sold out shows in 2022 proves that there is no live show like My Son the Hurricane. The band features trumpets, saxophones, trombones, drums, guitar, keys, percussion, and a wild front woman. We dare you not to dance! In 2023, the band will take on over 70 dates in a Canada, United States, and Europe-wide tour.

For more information on My Son the Hurricane visit: msthofficial.com.