Jim White in concert

Alt Country. Southern gothic. Lo-fi Americana. Folk. Sadcore. If you’re a fan of pigeonholes, this could get difficult. Jim White‘s music, writing, and art are all shot through with wit and deep thought that, despite the weight of all the various descriptions applied, are widely appealing and it’s easy to engage with his storytelling. The music has percolated into many different corners from small screen, BBC documentary and ‘Breaking Bad’ and big screen movies like ‘El Camino’, to the literary Pushcart Prize for his writing in his short fiction, ‘Superwhite’, and exhibiting his visual art in Dublin, Aarhus, New Orleans, and Winston-Salem; a musical score for Sam Shepards’ play ‘The Americans’. Of his album, ‘No Such Place‘ he said, “This is a crackpot love letter to all those lost souls out there like me who won’t settle for wrong, but have no clue how to get to right.” Jim’s ‘Wrong-Eyed Jesus’ album landed at 21 in Josh Jackson’s Paste Magazine ’70 Best Alt-Country Albums of All Time’. ‘Listening to it is enveloping and, at first, slightly disquieting as you try to decide whether the man behind the music is looking to save or possess your soul.’ It’s been 20 years since he’s travelled up here from the Amercian South, and now he’s touring through Toronto and central Ontario and we’re very lucky to have him stop in Markdale and perform for an evening being, in his own words, ‘a crackpot musician’!

Opening for Jim here, and in Collingwood, is local singer/songwriter Amber May. Her diverse range of folk, blues, and country brings some big energy performing her original songs written from the heart. Originally local to Northwestern Ontario, she faced the reality many musicians endure, the battle of a career versus her passion of music. Turning wrenches and covered in grease, she started a career as a heavy duty mechanic, singing away in the shops. Opportunity came knocking when a scout found Amber singing at a bar, and approached her to open for Juno Award recipient, Celeigh Cardinal! It became clear to Amber that music was her calling, and her commitment to her passion was born, taking her out of her comfort zone and into the performing fire.