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Lost Identities: BECAUSE OF ILLNESS, THE SHOW HAS HAD TO BE CANCELLED. See schedule below. $9 at the door. This astonishing and relevant story needs to be told and in order to get their hair-raising tale out there, the playwrights have BYOV  (brought their own venue, obviously to The Pearl Company) to Hamilton’s Fringe Festival. Lost Identities is a life drama– a true story: One man is challenged to do the right thing – keep silent or report an extortion to the authorities. He calls them, and his life goes from a semi-conventional existence to an inconceivably aberrant reality where nothing normal can be taken for granted ever again. Not even now. Playwright/Author: Mr. X, AJ Hodges. Featuring: Philip Zelazny, Robbie Brewer. Memories Productions.

THE MERCER SISTERS: Friday July 6 @ 12.30pm @ The Pearl. Free Classical Concert
Akemi Mercer (violin) & Rachel Mercer (cello) present a lunchtime concert in support of the “5 at the First” Chamber Music Series. Akemi is a member of the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra. This will be Rachel’s last Hamilton performance on the 1696 Bonjour Stradivarius cello.
Music by Handel-Halvorsen, Paganini, Haydn & Gliere.
FREE ADMISSION – donations accepted for “5 at the First” Chamber Music Series
Rachel:  www.rachelmercercellist.com

Kevin Morse: Saturday, June 30, at 8:00. Tickets: $15 / $10 students/all artists.  Kev Morse makes music. He has been making music for over twenty years. Now, finally, he is doing it on his own! Kev was a runner up in the prestigious Q107 Home Grown competition and in one of the first indie bands featured on Much Music.  Since 1998, he has performed at festivals, conferences, theatres, cafes, prisons, churches and pubs as singer/songwriter in The Great Wooden Trio. Kev writes from experience, sings from the heart, and plays guitar as though it was designed just for him.  An evening spent listening to Kevin play and sing his songs is an evening spent with an old friend; the songs reach out and grab you, they hold on tight and they stay with you. He has recently recorded a live solo album (Under The Broom Tree) and is in the process of writing and recording material for a follow up project. He’s bringing some great musicians with him: Sharon Tiessen on Cello and Sahra Featherstone (who is currently on tour with Nelly Furtado) on violin.   http://www.myspace.com/454591522

The Jazz Connection Big Band: Friday, June 29. Doors at 8:00, jazz at 8:30. $15 /$10 students/all artists: Catch the powerful sound of a big band in this relaxed, funky venue.  The JCBB is a well-established 17-piece jazz ensemble comprised of professional and semi-professional musicians from the Hamilton/Toronto area. They perform only the best modern big band charts from the books of Goodwin, Martin, Menza, Rich, Basie, and many other great contemporary composers. Jazz Connection delivers a high energy, uncompromising, straight ahead jazz performance combining the highest level of musicianship with these great charts in an entertaining show that engages both the jazz enthusiast and the casual listener equally. The incredible acoustics at The Pearl easily accommodate their very cool (but hot!) surround-sound. It is always a great evening!  http://www.jazzconnection.ca

Chloe Charles: Thursday, June 28 at 8:00. Tickets: $15 / $10 students/all artists.  Poised, charismatic and quirky, Chloe Charles’ limber vocal talents combine the depth and intellectual prowess of a beat poet and the sound of a modern day, folk-infused soul songstress; a sort of chamber-soul music, with jazzy detours. She’s been compared to everyone from Amy Winehouse, Feist and Bjork to Etta James and Nina Simone. Chloe’s new EP, Little Green Bud, is an intriguing fusion of old, new, sophistication and edge with large amounts of depth and warmth tossed in.  “She’s something onto herself, this one…”  THE GLOBE & MAIL
“Her voice is striking; beautiful and atypical, rich and lush while possessing the sort of vocal anomalies that create interest rather than discord. …. Chloe Charles has the pipes to go far, and the performances on Little Green Bud indicate an artist who is very comfortable in her own shoes. Be certain that we’ll be hearing more from Chloe Charles.” WILDY’S WORLD, USA  www.chloecharles.com

Light of the East Ensemble in Concert with Gary Santucci: DUE TO UNEXPECTED CIRCUMSTANCES, CANCELLED! Saturday, June 23 at 8:00. Tickets: $15 / $10 students/all artists. Based in London, Ontario, this exhilarating group performs music of the Near East and Middle East. With more than a bit of Flamenco thrown in this time! Their repertoire includes traditional, folk, classical Arabic, Greek Rembetika, and modern urban world music of the 20th century.  The rhythms and melodies are instantly captivating and listeners of all types are quickly drawn into the intensity of the music. For people of Near East and Middle East descent, the music becomes a vehicle for a nostalgic journey back to their home country as they experience melodies and rhythms they may not have heard in a live performance for many years. Every show finds such audience members expressing their delight in hearing the ensemble play popular pieces from their homeland. www.lightofeastensemble.com

Kim Churchill: Friday, June 22 at 8:00. Tickets: $15 / $10 students/all artists. Touring from Australia; Kim Churchill’s style is explosive, with intricate fingerpicking, percussive beats on the body of the guitar, and two-handed tapping intertwined with an earthy stomp box, powerful harmonica melodies and soulful voice.   His songwriting reflects his coastal lifestyle – growing up on the East Coast of  Australia, with the surf at his front door – and his nomadic life on the road.  Kim Churchill has been living and breathing guitar for over a decade. When he plays you can hear the dedication and countless hours of rehearsal and you can’t help but have an appreciation for his talent. When you find out he’s only 20, it puts him in an entirely other league.  His flawless guitar technique and his lyrical outlook surpass his age and these skills have allowed his career to blossom! http://www.kimchurchill.com

StandUp Theatre Company presents “My Lucky Stars”: Saturday, June 23 / Sunday, June 24 at 2:00 pm. Tickets are $12.00. Written and directed by Colin Leversidge, based on a story by Horatio Alger, the play follows our hero as he rises from boot-black to a ‘spectable young man through his own good character and good deeds.  My Lucky Stars is a musical… the twelfth musical production in StandUp’s short history… Colin Leversidge has been producing plays for young actors ages 9-14 for many years.  He has worked with The Disney Company Lion King, Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museums, and dozens of classrooms and art/music camps throughout the province.  Colin writes the music and the book, teaches the children three- and five-part harmonies, and trains them well in the theatrical arts. Outstanding performances in store!  This is their grand finale They are presenting the play that they have been working on since February.   All ages welcome. Call 905 517 1054 now to order your tickets!

“Down The Rhodes“ A musical and visual tribute to the Fender Rhodes electric piano: Wednesday, June 20, at 8:00. Tickets: $10 / $8 students/all artists. Down The Rhodes: The Fender Rhodes Story is a historical, film tribute to the Fender Rhodes electric piano, brought to life through performances, insightful interviews, and stories from a remarkable cast of music notables. Interviews with: George Benson, Stanley Clarke, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Ramsey Lewis, John Novello, and more! From this insider’s look we see how a war-era rehabilitation tool developed into one of the core elements in creating music today. Fresh from the Trane Studio and it’s Canadian premiere film screening.  Don’t miss the Hamilton premiere of this insider’s view of how a war-era rehabilitation tool developed into one of the core elements in creating music today.  Live Performance from the film maker and musician/producer Gerald McCauley (West Coast All-Stars) http://fenderrhodesstory.com/

Pearl Review 2^nd Edition Launch! Saturday, June 16. Open House! The Pearl Review Quarterly Lifts off from the Loft on Saturday beginning @ 8:00pm.  Another packed issue of 76 pages for $2.95.  Compelling, inquiring diverse opinions, Photo Essays and Stories.  Join the party; purchase a copy; become a Patron subscriber.  Special patron subscriber packages include Art Bus Certificates, discounts on Pearl Company events and Pearl District products, and a free Gary Santucci CD. (If you are already a subscriber, come by and get your copy and your package!)  Food and refreshments available.

Lynn Miles with Wendell Ferguson: Friday, June 15at 8:00pm. Tickets: $20 advance/$25 at the door. Lynn Miles is a musician in the rarest sense of the word, an unmistakable talent, an eye for both the subtle and sweet that can only be unearthed with experience. She is undeniably one of Canada’s most accomplished singer/songwriters. With seven albums to her credit, the winner of multiple Canadian Folk Music Awards, and a Juno Award for Roots & Traditional Solo Album of the Year, Lynn has certainly found her strength over time. She writes music with unbridled feeling, depth of emotion and vulnerability and has been unflinching in putting herself out there. Therein is the powerful secret behind Miles’ music – her astute observations of life, its trials and triumphs, are the hallmarks. The gritty honesty never falters; her lyrics always brim with hope and grace. Now with her eighth studio offering “Fall for Beauty” that voice of  experience has truly elevated her songwriting to its richest depth of emotion. http://www.lynnmilesmusic.com

“Fall for Beauty” is not only one of the best albums of the year, but one of the best recordings of any year. She may be Canada’s troubadour, but she belongs to all of us. Her talent is a shining light on a dark day; a beacon of timeless beauty.” – Roberta B. Schwartz