Bragg Creek Performing Arts will kick-off their first show of 2020 with Halifax band Hillsburn on Feb. 8 at the Bragg Creek Community Centre.
Hillsburn is a powerhouse. Their songs are timeless, their sound every bit as anthemic as Florence + The Machine’s, but with soaring three-part harmonies thrown in for good measure. After touring extensively in support of their award-winning debut, the band released a follow-up, The Wilder Beyond, in February 2018, and a deluxe version of the album in February 2019.
Hillsburn’s indie-rock sound draws on the songwriting focus of folk music and combines it with a pop sensibility. The band’s performances are dynamic, energized, and emotive. You won’t want to miss this band that is already on its way to becoming a national treasure.
All of the band members contribute something unique here. Multi-instrumentalist Jackson Fairfax-Perry plays bass, keys, and saxophone while scoring the strings and horns for the album’s guest players. Siblings Rosanna and Clayton Burrill complete the three-part vocal battery, and Rosanna puts her classical training to use throughout, layering violins on many of the tracks. Newest member Clare Macdonald brings understated power to the proceedings. Her drumming is complex at times, direct at others, but never demands undue attention. It is plain that, although Aarntzen sparks the process, Hillsburn is a deeply collaborative affair.
Doors for the concert open at 6:30 p.m. with the concert starting up at 7:30. Tickets are priced at $35 for adults while seniors and students get a slight discount at $33 per ticket.
