Concerts postponed by floods ready to take Bozzini’s stage in Chilliwack

The folks at Bozzini’s are celebrating the change in COVID restrictions with three weekends of music in March.

Kicking things off on Saturday, March 5 will be the Chilliwack debut of Doug Andrew and The Circus in Flames featuring Brian Barr on guitar and mandolin. In a career that started in Vancouver’s independent music scene of the early 1980s, Andrew has shared bills with everyone from The Ramones to Raffi to Ramblin’ Jack Elliott.

Pinning down The Circus In Flames sound can sometimes be difficult, although there is a certain familiarity about the music, stemming from its roots in traditional country, folk, and blues. Their newly released album, Outside America, also resonates with the influences of gospel and R&B as well as the Anthology of American Folk Music.

Andrew describes the music as “sheet metal country.”

“It bangs and rattles and booms, generally making a fair amount of noise, but it can also be light and quiet. It can go from sounding like a runaway locomotive thundering down the mountain without any brakes to a wind slipping through the forest at midnight.”

Next up is Joe Nolan on Friday, March 11. He was scheduled to perform in November but had to postpone due to the closure of the Coquihalla Highway.

Nolan is a Canadian rising star to watch out for in 2022. He has been a staple songwriter in the music industry for more than a decade making his first two albums in Nashville with heavyweight producer Colin Linden (Lucinda Williams). He’s also recorded an EP with Hawksley Workman and John Gullmarstam in Sweden. Now he continues to build upon the massive year that came in the wake of his 2018 independently released album Cry Baby and his 2020 release Drifters.

During the pandemic, the singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist took the learnings from previous setbacks and channeled them into song after song. Those songs coalesced to become his latest heavyweight album, Scrapper released in October 2021. The music covers themes of loneliness on the road, the struggles of not having a rooted home and the misunderstandings that divide friends and lovers. It’s a look outside the ring of a touring musician, with a sadness hidden beneath the melodic beauty.

To top off the March concerts, Ryan McMahon performs on Saturday, March 19. His show was also rescheduled due to the flooding in November.

Whether it has been as a solo act, or with the harmony-driven trio Lion Bear Fox, McMahon has toured the globe, giving memorable performances everywhere he’s been for more than 20 years. Having shared the stage with everyone from Burton Cummings and Buffy Ste. Marie to Mother Mother and Aaron Pritchett, McMahon has proven himself to be as adaptable as anyone in Canadian music. His new single, One More Fire, was released on Feb. 4.

Showtimes: Doug Andrew and The Circus in Flames on March 5 at 9 p.m.; Joe Nolan on March 11 at 9 p.m.; Ryan McMahon on March 19 at 9:30 p.m.

Tickets range from $20 to $25 and are available at Bozzini’s (4-45739 Hocking Ave.) or by calling 604-792-0744. More details at www.bozzinisrestaurant.ca.

RELATED: ‘Power of Colour’ exhibition brightens Chilliwack Cultural Centre art gallery