Downtown Concert Series opens with The McCartney Years
A free concert series back to rock a downtown London parking lot and the arrival of Ireland's Celtic Woman at the John Labatt Centre heat up the summer concert calendar. The City Centre Sizzles Concert Series opens Thursday at noon with The McCartney Years, a tribute to Sir Paul's music in many phases of the ex-Beatle's career. London rocker Yuri Pool fronts the band.
Like other 45-minute concerts in the series, it's free, outdoors on the City Centre parking lot 275 Dundas St. (east of Wellington) and sponsored by City Centre towers' landlords. The first series was in 2009. "With one series under our belts and cooperation with the local arts groups we were able to take it up a notch this year and add some sponsors," says Allan Taylor, senior vice-president, leasing (Ontario), Redbourne Realty Advisors. "These concerts are a way of giving back to our tenants and the neighbourhood." Rain date for The McCartney Years' gig is Thursday, June 10.
The noon-hour series continues with London pop rock soul funk band Two Crown King on July 8.
On Aug. 5, London drummer Sandy MacKay leads a quartet. The Crystal Kage and MayaK are also on the bill.
At the RBC Theatre at the John Labatt Centre, Celtic Woman brings the Irish group's Songs from the Heart tour on July 20 at 7:30 p.m. Vocalists Chloe Agnew, Lynn Hilary and Lisa Kelly and fiddler Mairead Nesbitt comprise Celtic Woman on the tour.
Yo Gabba Gabba! Live brings a family-themed troupe, based on a U.S. kids' TV show, to the downtown arena's RBC Theatre format on Sept. 18 at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.
In other concert news, LOLA finishes up its pre-fest 2010 concert series on June 10 at 8 p.m. Museum London, 421 Ridout St. N. The headliner is Grouper (a.k.a. Liz Harris, Portland, Oregon). Also performing that evening are cellist Julia Kent (Vancouver, now based in NYC) and guitarists M. Mucci (Guelph) and Les Beyond (Montreal). Grouper's 2008 release Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill was named one of the top albums of the year by Pitchfork webzine which hailed it as "druggy and sexy and arty and pretty, but never pretentious."
The 2010 LOLA fest goes Sept. 16-19 at Victoria Park and locations around London.
