Two musicians will bring their soulful sound to the Foothills next week.
Blues, jazz, and soul duo Shannon Gaye and Kristian Alexandrov are presenting their show R.E.S.P.E.C.T. at the Red Deer Lake United Church on May 6 as part of the On the Edge concert series.
“It’s celebrating trailblazing women of soul, rhythm and blues,” said Gaye. “We include some of our originals because they fit in well in terms of rhythm and genre, but we try to thread the line that shows how those styles are related and evolved.”
They draw on some classics such as Aretha Franklin, Etta James, and Bonnie Raitt.
“Then for modern artists who have a different spin, everything from Jill Scott in the ‘90s and Alicia Keys, Amy Winehouse, we just show how the music has evolved, but it’s still a similar genre,” Gaye said.
Gaye will deliver vocals and percussion while Alexandrov plays piano, and the two will be backed by their ensemble, including drums, bass, saxophone and trumpet.
“I love having horns on stage—they’re so much a part of that genre of music,” Gaye said.
The concert, Alexandrov said, is the first large in-person performance the two have delivered together since the start of the pandemic.
“I think for a lot of us that will be the first kind of bigger show with a bigger band, bigger audience post-pandemic,” he said.
The two are making their return to Calgary after living in Vancouver for 15 years.
“We had a couple of really great opportunities come our way while the pandemic was going on,” Alexandrov said. “We always went back and forth when we lived in Vancouver, and then we decided to flip things around.
“We have lots of projects on the go in B.C. and Vancouver so we’ll always go back and forth.”
Alexandrov has worked with many high-profile Canadian and international acts, including kd Lang, Randy Brecker, The Canadian Tenors, All Star Brass and Order of Canada Big Band.
The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. with doors opening at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets are $25 for adults, $10 for youth, and children 12 and under are free. They can be purchased at the door, online at https://reddeerlakeuc.com/tickets or by calling 403-256-3181 ext. 4.
