The Performance Hour
with Jamie Fitzpatrick

Like many a Newfoundlander before him, Chris Picco set out for the bright lights of Toronto at a young age.

That's where he got started as a singer and songwriter, releasing his first album in 2004.

But a few years later, Chris was back in his hometown of St. John's, and it's proved to be a productive return.

After releasing another solo album in 2007, he formed a band called The Long Distance Runners.

Their debut CD is nominated for Rock Recording of the Year at the upcoming East Coast Music Awards, and a new album by the Long Distance Runners will be ready by April.

Meanwhile, Chris Picco continues his solo work, and he's our studio guest this Saturday (February 11) on the Performance Hour.

He'll play a song from the upcoming Long Distance Runners CD, plus a couple of brand new tunes, and talk about his slow and steady approach to his music career.

Also this week, we'll hear "Mainland Man" and several other poems read by St. John's poet Danielle Devereaux, and chat with the local jazz-funk trio Evry7th.

(Photo: Sandra Lee.)

Terry Penney made the drive from Lewisporte to join us for this Saturday's edition of the Performance Hour (February 4).

From his session in Studio F at CBC St. John's, here's a preview of the show.

Terry Penney performs the title track from his new album, The Last Guitar.

A childhood memory from Shoal Harbour, a romance stretching from Lewisporte to Colorado, a motorcycle club in central Newfoundland...

Those are just a few of the subjects addressed in the latest batch of songs by Terry Penney.

The Lewisporte singer and songwriter is about to release his fifth album, The Last Guitar.

This Saturday (February 4) he drops by the Performance Hour studio, guitar in hand.

He'll discuss the new album and play several songs from it.

Also this week, new music from the Navigators. Lead singer and songwriter Arthur O'Brien talks about Soldiers and Sailors, the latest CD from a much-loved trad band.

(Photo credit: Angie Wilmott)

A restless spirit and a touring band brought Chris Hennessy from Ireland to Canada in the 1970s, and when he reached Newfoundland he never looked back.

He's spent most of his life in Torbay, playing original and traditional songs at pubs around St. John's.

Chris dropped by Studio F at CBC St. John's to record a session for the Performance Hour.

We captured that session on video as well, and from it, here's Chris Hennessy doing one of his signature songs. "The Sea Town of Torbay."

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They are cited as an influence and inspiration by countless traditional bands and musicians.

But for many years, most of the music of Ryan's Fancy was unavailable. The band made a dozen LPs between 1971 and 1983, all of them long since out of print.

That all changes earlier this year, with the release of What a Time: A Forty Year Celebration.

The two-CD set assembles 42 favourites from the days when Ryan's Fancy was a household name, renowned for their live shows and known to all as television stars who travelled and filmed across Newfoundland and the Maritimes.

This Saturday, the Performance Hour reviews the remarkable career of Ryan's Fancy. Surviving members Dennis Ryan and Fergus O'Byrne join me to talk about the new release and hear a few of the old tunes.

They'll recall their younger days, pay tribute to their late friend and colleague Dermot O'Rielly, tell a few stories, and remember what a time it was.

 

He cut his teeth in the folk clubs of Toronto. She grew up in the east end of St. John's.

Duncan Cameron and Charlotte-Anne Malischewski share a love of Newfoundland tunes, traditional standards, and songs from Quebec.

We'll hear them this Saturday (December 10) on the Performance Hour, in a Folk Night session recorded at the Ship Pub in St. John's.

Charlotte-Anne is a fiddle player steeped in the Newfoundland tradition, with a fondness for the "crooked tune." Duncan is a multi-instrumentalist who brought bouzouki, guitar, fiddle, and concertina to the session. And they both sing.

The result is a rich and varied take on the trad sound, featuring songs and tunes, old and new, in French and English, from near and far.

(Photo by Rick West.)

She's a regular outside the Sobey's on Merrymeeting Road in St. John's.

If you're picking up groceries or seeking a libation at the adjacent liquor store, you might hear Danielle Bailey sing a Dylan song, or a John Prine song, or maybe one of her own.

Danielle came in from the cold to record a session in Studio F at CBC St. John's, and talk about her music. You'll hear it this Saturday (Dec. 3) on the Performance Hour.

For a preview of the show, check out this video of Danielle Bailey, made during her visit to Studio F. She sings "Whiskey and Women," one of three original songs you'll hear this Saturday.

And if you see her on your next shopping trip, singing her heart out on the sidewalk, toss a Loonie her way. It will be another small boost for a burgeoning songwriter.

This week's edition of the CBC-MusicNL Songwriters' Circle calls on voices from around the province.

Megan Warren (left) is from Grand Falls-Windsor. She's the lead singer and songwriter in the band Repartee, which released an outstanding self-titled album in September.

Lewisporte's Dan Bursey delivers songs in a voice that has been described as "gentle, pure, and inviting." He won Gospel Album of the Year at the 2011 Music Newfoundland and Labrador Awards.

Born and raised on the southwest coast, Craig Young is an acclaimed session guitarist who first made his name in Nashville. He's another 2011 MusicNL winner, for Country Album of the Year.

Mark Bragg is the "delightfully disturbing" rock n' roll man from St. John's. His new album, Your Kiss, is an acclaimed collection of songs ranging from the poignant to the absurd.

They came together at the Delta Hotel in St. John's during the 2011 Music Newfoundland and Labrador Awards weekend.

Our CBC Radio recording crew was on hand to capture it all, and you'll hear that show this Saturday (November 26) on the Performance Hour.