OTTAWA – NAC Presents, in partnership with BMO Financial Group, has put together an eclectic and entertaining lineup for the month of October. From pop of all kinds to dreamy folk, from trans-Atlantic rock to roots and jazz, live music fans have lots to choose from, with five great concerts in the intimate NAC Studio and the cabaret-style Fourth Stage.

 

October 3

Alex Nevsky with opener Chloé Lacasse

Studio – 8 p.m.

Tickets: $25

He’s topped the Quebec radio charts for weeks, and she’s just released a fantastic second album. He is Alex Nevsky, she is Chloé Lacasse. For Nevsky, the September 2013 release of his second album, Himalaya, mon amour (rated “★★★★” by Voir entertainment weekly), unleashed a wave of popular and critical praise fuelled by such hits as “On leur a fait croire,” “Les coloriés,” and “Vivre pauvre,” and earned him several nominations at the 2014 ADISQ awards gala, including Pop Album of the Year and Male Performer of the Year. Part poet, part rocker, Alex Nevsky delivers a fusion of light and dark that delights his audiences.

 

Chloé Lacasse, grand prize winner at the 2011 Les Francouvertes festival of emerging Francophone music artists, made a welcome return to the studio in spring 2014. The result is her second album, Lunes, a refreshing collection of delicate, stylized pop-rock. In the intimate setting of the Studio, you’re sure to fall under the spell of Chloé’s authenticity and incredible talent.

 

October 16

Klô Pelgag

Fourth Stage – 7:30 p.m.

Tickets: $25

Surreal, unconventional and unique, Klô Pelgag and her music are truly amazing. Her orchestral pop debut album, L’alchimie des monstres, is nominated in six categories (including the prestigious Discovery of the Year) at the upcoming ADISQ awards gala; as well, she was named Radio-Canada’s 2014–15 Révélation de l’année (“Newcomer of the Year”) in the songwriting category.

 

Her poetic, evocative lyrics, intricate melodies and straightforward delivery have charmed audiences across Quebec and in France, Switzerland, Belgium, and even the fabled “rest of Canada”—she was recently nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award (French Songwriter of the Year). Backed by five energetic musicians, illustrating her performance with stage props that are highly original, to say the least, Klô Pelgag welcomes you to a world inhabited by women and men with fascinating stories to tell.

 

October 18

Thus Owls with guest Michael Feuerstack

Fourth Stage – 7:30 p.m.

Tickets: $25

 

Thus Owls are a five-piece Montreal/Stockholm band based around husband-and-wife duo Erika and Simon Angell. Whereas their two previous recordings were split between Europe and Canada, their winter 2014 release, Turning Rocks, is 100% Canadian. The album draws inspiration from our human connection to family and place, to the past, and to the often hidden stories of those who have gone before. An instant critical success, Turning Rocks was longlisted for the prestigious Polaris Prize earlier this year.

After working for years under the alias Snailhouse, in 2013 Michael Feuerstack released Tambourine Death Bed, his first album under his own name. His latest release, the collective project Singer Songer, features his original material performed by such talents as John K. Samson, Jim Bryson, Bry Webb, Little Scream and more. A member of the Luyas, Bell Orchestre and Wooden Stars, Feuerstack is among Canada’s most talented yet least known singer-songwriters.

 

October 25
Marianne Trudel and Guests
with Ingrid Jensen, Robie Kuster, Morgan Moore and Jonathan Stewart
Fourth Stage – 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $33

Marianne Trudel is full of surprises! An acclaimed composer, improviser, arranger and pianist, she is equally comfortable with jazz and improvisational music, and has shared the stage with such illustrious names as Evan Parker, René Lussier, Charles Aznavour, Farida and Juan Carlos Caceres. As well, she has recorded five albums and earned a 2013 JUNO nomination (Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year) for her release Trifolia: le refuge. In this concert, Marianne offers us her latest album and project, La vie commence ici (Life Begins Here).

 

October 30

Petr Cancura with Down Home

Fourth Stage – 7:30 p.m.

Tickets: $33

 

Petr Cancura was born in Eastern Europe and raised in the wilderness of the Great White North, so it’s no surprise that his musical palette is wide and diverse. Known for his distinctive voice and accomplished saxophone playing, he has recorded over a dozen albums. In 2011 he was appointed programming director of the Ottawa International Jazz Festival. With his latest album and project, Down Home, Cancura takes jazz out of the city and back to a rural place, inspired by his travels from Brooklyn to Mississippi. Joined onstage by Richie Barshay (drums), Garth Stevenson (bass), Brian Drye (trombone, piano) and Kirk Knuffke (cornet), Cancura invites the audience along on an unforgettable jazz journey!

 

NAC Presents thanks title partner BMO Financial Group for their long-standing leadership support of this series. NAC Presents is grateful to The Slaight Family Foundation, whose Slaight Family Fund for Emerging Artists supports performances by emerging artists featured in the NAC Presents 2014–15 season. They include Klô Pelgag, Thus Owls, David Marin, Les Chercheurs d’or, Salomé Leclerc, Alejandra Ribera, Philippe B, Pierre Kwenders, MASTIK, Sarah McDougall, Karim Diouf, Willows, Emie R Roussel Trio. Boogat Andy Shauf and Laura Crema.

NAC Presents would also like to acknowledge Official Hotel Partner, Hotel Indigo Ottawa and Official Car of NAC Presents, Mark Motors of Ottawa - Audi.

 

ABOUT NAC PRESENTS

Showcasing the country’s established artists and those at the forefront of the next generation, NAC Presents, in partnership with BMO Financial Group promises a dynamic range of incredible performers who represent the best in Canadian contemporary music. NAC Presents is the place to be if you want to experience a concert by a Canadian icon, or be right up close with the icons of the future.

That ear-to-the ground music lover is Producer Simone Deneau, whose musical taste and keen sense of what’s hot in the Canadian music scene have shaped the fifth NAC’s programming stream into one of the most important music series in the country.

Watch the season trailer

Tickets are on sale now.  To purchase tickets, log on to nac-cna.ca/presents, visit the NAC Box Office, or call Ticketmaster at 1-888-991-2787 (ARTS).

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For more information:

Marie-Chantale Labbé, Marketing and Communication Officer

NAC Presents

(613) 947-7000, ext. 526