Legendary folk singer Valdy has been coming to play in Brackendale for more than 40 years, and this Saturday he鈥檒l be back.
He and his bandmates will be performing at the annual Wing Ding, and with the Brackendale Art Gallery up for sale, there is a thought this could be the coda for the event.
鈥淧eople are coming because they don鈥檛 know how much longer the Brackendale Art Gallery will be an art gallery, so that does spur it on,鈥� Valdy told The 劲爆大瓜. 鈥淚t鈥檚 fun. It鈥檚 just darned fun.鈥�
The concert is one of the fixtures for the BAG鈥檚 Eagle Fest and the annual eagle count every January.
鈥淲e support the gallery and the counting of the eagles is a valuable bit of data to have鈥� It鈥檚 worth supporting,鈥� he said.聽
Valdy says he tries to change things up every time by making a point of mixing up his sets.
鈥淚t changes every year. I seldom do the same set twice,鈥� he said.聽
He is also looking to have another guest player come up on the stage, but he was still trying to line this up earlier in the week.
One other change this year will be the lineup. Longtime guitar player Doug Edwards passed away recently, and Valdy and friends held a celebration of his life a couple of weeks ago at the Arts Club Theatre in Vancouver.
For this Saturday鈥檚 show, Valdy will have Norman MacPherson joining him on guitar, Laurent Boucher on drums and longtime collaborator Lee Morin, also known as 鈥淭he man of a thousand songs,鈥� on bass and guitar, while Valdy will play guitar and spell off Morin on bass.
Valdy often plays on his own, but he says the BAG show is one of only a couple of gigs each year he does with the band, along with one in Big White.聽
At 71, he is still impressed to see young people in the crowd.
鈥淲e鈥檙e still playing for 18- to 25-year olds,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd they鈥檙e having a ball 鈥檆ause it鈥檚 rock and roll.鈥�
Valdy first played in Brackendale in 1976, but his ties to the BAG鈥檚 Thor Froslev go back even further to the late 1960s and early 1970s when Froslev met the singer at the Classical Joint, the former musical heart of Vancouver鈥檚 Gastown.
鈥淲e go way, way back. Probably 50 years,鈥� Froslev said.
The Wing Ding dinner and dance takes place at the BAG on Saturday. Dinner, which includes Caesar salad, salmon bisque, bread and 鈥渞eal Danish鈥� lemon mousse, is at 7 p.m. and Valdy and the band take to the stage about 8 p.m.聽
Tickets are available at XOCO and the BAG.
Also at Eagle Festival on Sunday at the BAG is researcher Michael Allen鈥檚 presentation on bears and wolves at 7 p.m.
