Manitoba Hal, Shawna Caspi & Allison Brown at the Tranzac

Wednesday, February 20th at the TRANZAC
Allison Brown, Manitoba Hal & Shawna Caspi
SONG SWAP
7:30pm, PWYC
Southern Cross Lounge
292 Brunswick Avenue
www.tranzac.org
www.allisonbrown.ca
www.manitobahal.com
www.shawnacaspi.com

Join Allison, Shawna & Manitoba Hal as they song swap for an early set at the Tranzac in the Southern Cross Lounge..!

Roots Songstress Allison Brown likes her religion a little bit gritty, takes her country music with a side of syrup and keeps her folk as dusty as the ol’ cabin floor. With a hatful of broken hearts, bad weather, toils of the road and leaps of faith, Allison’s crafted originals matched with classic roots repertoire reflect the striking conviction she brings to her sweet and powerful singing. Allison brings her truest self to her collection of songs and to the stage in a refreshing conversation with the audience. There will be a couple of brand new ones and new old ones in this set, haven't been to Toronto in a while so looking forward to seeing you all there!

Manitoba Hal is an accomplished guitarist and songwriter, but he is best known for his ukulele chops. Hal proves that the uke can be small but mighty as he pulls out powerful blues riffs and melodies. Hal uses a looping technology to produce a one-man-band experience, adding subtle but important background beats to his extraordinary ukulele strumming and riffing. Many wouldn’t associate the ukulele as a blues instrument, but Hal takes out all the hula, leaving only room for deep blues to prevail. After his grandfather gave him a uke in ’95, Hal found that it transferred easily from his blues guitar style, complimenting his combination of finger picking and strumming, and gospel vocal style. Hal writes his own blues tunes, and also covers traditional songs after giving them his own flavor. His songs also breathe with hints of Tin Pan Alley, hit parade, rock, gospel, and folk. Hal is influenced by artists like Robert Johnson and Taj Mahal, Colin Linden, and Big Dave Mclean. As a big blues man with a tiny ukulele, Manitoba Hal makes music with this instrument like no other.

Shawna Caspi is a guitar-picking, classically-trained folkie with a sweet-tooth for a good story, a sly lyrical wit, and a rich, powerful voice. Shanwa sings of love, travel, home, and heart, distilling each experience into a series of vibrant snapshots, coloured with humour and grace and arranged with care and craft. Her sophomore release, Skyline, showcases her clever storytelling and skillful fingerpicking guitar style.