OTTAWA, Canada, June 17, 2016 – The NAC Presents all-Canadian music series, in partnership with BMO Financial Group, is pleased to announce the return of the successful CROSSROADS Jazz Series curated by NAC Presents producer Simone Deneau and directed by Ottawa Jazz Festival programming manager Petr Cancura. The four-concert series will feature Kathleen Edwards, Lynne Hanson, Justin Rutledge, and a fourth Ottawa singer–songwriter to be announced in October. Each performance is unique, as Petr Cancura creates new arrangements that showcase the singer-songwriters’ songs with a jazz twist added by a special live “house band.” The series is presented in collaboration with the Ottawa Jazz Festival.

PETR CANCURA’S CROSSROADS

The “house band” performing with the featured artists for the four concerts is composed of Roddy Ellias on bass, John Geggie on double bass, Greg Ritchie on drums, and Petr Cancura on saxophone. All the band members are involved in creating the music, which will leave room for onstage improvisation!

Watch the video where Petr Cancura explains the concept behind the “CROSSROADS” series

KATHLEEN EDWARDS – November 24, 2016
NAC Theatre, 7:30 PM
Tickets from $35

The Ottawa-based multi-JUNO Award nominee recently took a break from performing to run a Stittsville coffee shop named Quitters. She will return to the stage for this special concert with longtime musician friend Petr Cancura.

“This music collaboration is a dream scenario for me,” says Kathleen, “because I’ll be able to sing on a totally clean slate, reinvent my songs, fit into a group of world-class musicians, and start something completely fresh artistically. It’s also a fitting pairing given that Petr played on my first album when we were both just zygotes on the Ottawa music scene ... now it feels that we’ve come back full circle with a project where we bring so much more to the table.”

Kathleen’s highly decorated work frequently celebrates the many pleasures of survival and reinvention, all with a seductively quiet strength. A musical raconteur, lyrical poet, and gifted performer, the music of Kathleen Edwards is beautifully honed artistry. Her songs have topped the Billboard charts, been featured in the pages of Rolling Stone, graced the cameras on The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, as well as earning her several Juno nominations, and short-list for Polaris Music Prize.  A consummate collaborator, she has also appeared on projects with Iron & Wine, Calexico, Jim James (My Morning Jacket), John Doe and Bryan Adams, and shared stages with the likes of Bon Iver, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, and The Rolling Stones.  In 2012, Kathleen released her fourth studio album, Voyageur, co-produced with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, which garnered critical acclaim and won her the 2012 SOCAN Echo Songwriting Prize.

LYNNE HANSON – January 14, 2017
NAC Studio, 8 PM
Tickets $39

Roots music, rough-around-the-edges folk—Ottawa’s own singer-songwriter Lynne Hanson prefers porch music with a little red dirt. In the fall of 2014 Lynne released her fourth studio album, River of Sand, to stellar reviews, making numerous best of 2014 lists, including the Indie Acoustic Project best Alt Country CD of 2014, while the track “This Too Shall Pass” placed second in the Indie International Songwriting Contest in summer 2015. Recently, Lynne indulged in the darker side of storytelling and embraced her love of murder ballads and songs of reckoning with the Halloween 2015 release of 7 Deadly Spins.

ARTIST TO BE ANNOUNCED – April 21, 2017
NAC Studio, 8 PM
Tickets $39

The fourth concert in the Crossroads series will be announced in October 2016.

JUSTIN RUTLEDGE – May 27, 2017
NAC Studio, 8 PM
Tickets $39

No stranger to the NAC Presents series, Justin Rutledge has performed to sold-out houses at the NAC in the past few years. His albums have garnered impressive critical acclaim, from his debut No Never Alone (2005) to his sophomore release The Devil on a Bench in Stanley Park (2006) and third album Man Descending (2008). His 2014 release Valleyheart earned him a JUNO Award, a spot on the 2008 Polaris Prize long list, and a Canadian Folk Music Award nomination. Justin has shared the stage with such acclaimed artists as Blue Rodeo, Dolly Parton, Martha Wainwright and Great Lake Swimmers.

 

Tickets for the concerts in the CROSSROADS series go on sale Tuesday, June 21 at 10 AM. A three-concert “Crossroads Series” package is available from $99.

In person at the NAC Box Office or the Welcome Centre/Satellite Box Office;
At all Ticketmaster outlets;
By telephone from Ticketmaster, 1-888-991-2787 (ARTS); and
Online through the Ticketmaster link on the NAC’s website (http://www.nac-cna.ca).

A service charge applies on all purchases made through Ticketmaster.

Groups of 10 or more save 15% to 20% off regular ticket prices. To reserve your seats, call 613-947-7000 x634 or e-mail grp@nac-cna.ca.

ABOUT NAC PRESENTS

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 2016–17 season.

NAC Presents would also like to acknowledge its official hotel partner, Hotel Indigo Ottawa, and the official car of NAC Presents, Mark Motors of Ottawa – Audi.