April Verch
When you see April Verch perform, the first thing that strikes you is the pure energy that infuses her fiddle playing and stepdancing ... then, what draws you in, are more subtle things:
Confident, winsome singing, the finely detailed elegance of her fiddle phrasing and the depth of a repertoire that ranges through material from Bluegrass to Brazilian to Celtic, from a jaunty Canadian folksong to a poignant contemporary ballad.
Festivals:
Canada & USA 2012
Europe - UK - Sweden July 2013
On Tour:
Feb 2012 - Alberta
Mar / Apr 2012 - Australia
May 2012 - Ontario, Quebec & Nunavut
March 2013 - Ontario & Belgium
Nov 2013 - Canada
2013 - Canada & Europe (selected dates)
For over a decade now, April Verch has mesmerized audiences with her fiddling virtuosity, flawless step dancing and soulful vocals. The April Verch Band entrances audiences around the world with their skill, energy and charm, touring on average, 250 days a year. This year they toured in China and next year they'll return to Australia. On her brand new (eighth) release, "That’s How We Run", the April Verch Band swaps hot licks with guests, like Riley Baugus, Dirk Powell, Bobby Hicks and Rayna Gellert.
"She digs deep into the heart of traditional music and melds influences from her native Ottawa Valley with those of the Appalachian mountains mixing in other styles such as funk, jazz, and Eastern European motifs in her fine bluegrass fiddling, but even traditionalists will find much to admire in the mix of folk and original tunes on this disc." - Sean Hickey, Daily Local News
April is a world-class fiddler, a champion Ottawa Valley stepdancer, an acclaimed composer, and a vocalist whose voice has been hailed as “absolutely captivating” by the Toronto Star.
April Verch doesn’t just perform music, she exudes it. Her passion is performing and her goal is to touch the lives of those who are listening, in whatever way they are needing it on that given day, in that particular moment. “The world is this amazing puzzle that we can’t fully understand and music is the joy that pulls it all together and helps us make sense of it” says Verch with an excitement and confidence that makes you believe her in a heartbeat.
Verch was born to traditional music, in Canada’s hard-working, hard-dancing Ottawa Valley. She was a local star at four, step dancing with her sister and winning awards at contests. She became the first woman in history to win both of Canada’s most prestigious fiddle championships, the Grand Masters and Canadian Open; and when Canada hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics, she was asked to represent her country’s music at the opening ceremonies.
Ottawa Valley music is a foot-stomping, open-minded fusion of Irish, Scottish, French, German, and Polish influences, sprinkled with tangy spices of American country music. The twang of the banjo and the driving Franco-Celtic pulse of the fiddle are as ingrained in April as snowbound winters and Saturday dances.
“What makes the Ottawa Valley unique,” she says, “is that it’s melting-pot music. People there work hard, and when it was time to let loose, you went out and had fun together; you danced and played music. Growing up around that, being able to perform and see how happy it made people feel, I’m sure that’s what drew me into music.”
That desire to share music is why she’s among the most in-demand performers in roots music today, both with her own crack three-piece band and Bowfire, with whom she occasionally tours. The April Verch Band consists of April at the helm and world-class musicians Hayes Griffin on guitar and Cody Walters on upright-electric bass and banjo. They have toured across Canada, the United States, the U.K., Europe, Australia and China. Together they have established a reputation as consummate performers with boundless energy on stage that inevitably brings audiences to their feet.
Fred Kaiser programmed the storied Philadelphia Folk Festival for over 20 years, and now runs the 125-seat Mainstay in Maryland. He’s booked her at both. “Not every performer can adapt from large to small venues,” he says, “but I know April’s show will work, and I know audiences will want her back. That’s because of her talent, energy, showmanship, and the quality of musicians she brings with her; but it’s also because of her performing intelligence. She has a great way of keeping things changing and moving, not only with her energy level, but the different kinds of tunes she plays.”
On her eighth recording, That’s How We Run, April explores the Southern mountain traditions known as old time music, but always brings her Northern roots with her. Plucky, straight-backed Canadian tunes fit so snugly beside ancient Appalachian airs that you’d think they’d been neighbors for centuries. When she sings her own songs, you feel sultry Southern air blowing through every wet, bluesy slide of “That’s How We Run,” just as you feel the tight-shouldered Northern chill in her heartbroken “Still Trying.” Through sinewy old time American reels or crisp Canadian hops, singing the happy Ontario chestnut “Moonshine Mac,” or swapping hot licks with the cream of old time’s new breed, like Riley Baugus, and Rayna Gellert, April is always being April.
Dirk Powell, who produced one of April’s previous releases and appears as a special guest on That’s How We Run, is a multi-instrumentalist, who has worked with Jack White, Joan Baez, and Riverdance. He is awed by April’s ability to play any kind of roots music as though it was her native tongue. “She’s so fluent in the language of music that she never needs to imitate. She hears the heart of it and lets that become part of her core. April’s just got that, man; she’s always speaking the language for real. She is a rare mix of all the technique and super-flashy things, along with the deep soul and tradition that comes from having grown up with the music,” Powell says.
But it’s this insight from Powell that sums it up best. “April has an amazing ability to touch people’s hearts, get them having fun, and sharing the whole range of human emotions. She’s a grand master fiddler and a very expressive singer, but what sets her apart is the openness, humor and social fun she got growing up in the music. It's not always easy for professionals to keep that social joy in their music. Even though April is playing at a very high level, she brings that explosive joy with her.”
Click here to view new video clips of the April Verch Band live in concert!
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April Verch in the Opening Ceremonies at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. (photo courtesy of IOC/Juilliart)
Booking inquiries: Frank Hoorn - Email: Frank Hoorn/Near North Music Phone: (250) 847-5228
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