On the third day of Christmas, Harrison Festival Society gives to us three folk acts, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.
Okay, maybe not those last two.
Harrison Festival Society is set to host the 8th annual Cool Yule concert, this time via live stream, on Friday, Dec. 18, at 7 p.m., which will feature Van Django and their guests LJ Mounteney and Andy Hillhouse in a festive, holiday concert.
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The Vancouver-based Van Django trio promises a variety show of festive Christmas hits, nostalgic favourite, jazz, pop, sing-alongs and a few surprises. Van Django has been performing at Cool Yule for the past seven years, infusing their music with their own, swinging jazz style. The trio is Cameron Wilson (violin), Finn Man Manniche (cello/guitar) and Brent Gubbels (bass).
Andy Hillhouse is an accomplished guitarist and vocalist joining the trio for Cool Yule. Hillhouse has been performing across North America and Europe since the 90s as a founding member of the folk rock-funk band Mad Pudding. He’s been on the Anglo-Celtic music scene since at least 2000, touring with the likes of Canadian fiddler Pierre Schryer, The McDanes and Irish flautist Nuala Kennedy.
Based in Vancouver, jazz and blues vocalist LJ Mounteney offers her versatile voice to the festivities, blending a mix of jazz blues, pop and R&B. She released her first solo CD – Here in the Dark – in 2016.
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The concert is hosted through Side Door Access, powered by Zoom. Side Door Access gives the audience another way to interact with the performers through live chat.
Tickets are going for the low price of $10, priced low as a way of saying thank you for the continued support through the trying year. Harrison Festival Society is further suggesting a donation to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank; the link to purchase tickets and donate to the food bank can both be found at harrisonfestival.com, along with a playlist of Cool Yule hits to get fans in the Christmas mood.
Some Harrison residents and local art patrons may recall the 2017 Cool Yule concert that supported Harrison Festival Society’s 40th anniversary set for summer 2018.
Harrison Festival Society has hosted a variety of COVID-safe events throughout 2020 and the pandemic in lieu of the canceled Harrison Festival of the Arts. Through virtual performances and intimate concerts that sold out within hours, it can without a doubt be said that the Festival Society made the most of a challenging year.
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