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Fall concert series from Central Music Festival brings a profusion of roots sounds

Charlie Jacobson and Shiv Shanks paired with Matt Minglewood and Guy Davis
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Musician Guy Davis (promotional photo).

From Guy Davis to Matt Minglewood, live roots music concerts — with openers by local musicians — are coming this fall to Red Deer’s Elks Lodge.

The Central Music Festival fall season kicks off with a high-energy Oct. 12 show with Guy Davis and Fabrizio Poggi. The special guest opener is local musician Shiv Shanks, playing unplugged.

American blues musician Davis has done it all, from acting in movies (Beat Street with Raw Dawn Chong) to Off-Broadway productions (he portrayed legendary blues player Robert Johnson to rave previews and a Blues Foundation Award).

For the last two decades he’s been focusing on making music — both by paying tribute to old blues masters and forging a new path with his own powerful original tunes. He’s appeared on stage with with musicians such as Pete Seeger and won residencies at the Kennedy Centre. His third album, You Don’t Know My Mind was chosen as ‘Blues Album of the Year’ by the Association For Independent Music.

Poggi is an Italian-born, much awarded, harmonica player, who’s performed with The Blind Boys of Alabama and many other groups. And Shanks, an ex-bouncer and Frank Zappa devotee, has a performing style that’s has been compared to Tom Waits. He has performed at the Calgary Folk Festival, among other venues.

The Davis-Poggi-Shanks show isn’t the only one this month at Red Deer’s Elks Lodge.

The following Central Music Festival concert is on Oct. 18 with the Matt Minglewood Band. Special guests are Red Deer’s own father and son blues duo of Bruce and Charlie Jacobson.

Then, on Oct. 25, Jimmy Rankin (formerly of The Rankin Family) will perform a concert that’s opened by Art Barker.

And on Nov. 2, the Lennie Gallant Trio will play, with special guest Red Deer artist Elvin Berthiaume.

As has been the CMF tradition for the past two years, The Red Deer Food Bank will be at all concerts to accept donations of non-perishable food and cash. And the Central Music Festival Society will match all cash donations dollar for dollar.

For more information or tickets, please visit www.centralmusicfest.com.