Three Juno-nominated and -award-winning acts will fire up Coquitlam's Evergreen Cultural Centre this summer for the eighth annual Music on the Grill series.
The first of indoor shows — each of which starts with an alfresco barbecue dinner overlooking Lafarge Lake — launches Saturday with the Marc Atkinson Trio, a gypsy jazz ensemble.
Best known for his work with the folk/roots band The Bills, Atkinson will appear alongside Brett Martens (acoustic rhythm guitar) and Joey Smith (stand up bass) for the July 9 performance.
Formed in 2000, the trio has toured internationally and played numerous jazz festivals including in Montreal and Vancouver as well as DjangoFest Northwest.
Next up on the platter are The Good Lovelies, who take the stage July 16 (they replace the previously lined-up group, Novel Voz).
Promoting their latest album Burn The Plan, The Good Lovelies are folk/country artists Caroline Brooks, Kerri Ought and Sue Passmore.
The trio came together 10 years ago for a Christmas concert at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto; a year later, they released their debut EP and, two years after that, a full-length CD that clinched the 2010 Juno Award for Best Roots and Traditional Album of the Year for a group.
Meanwhile, Jaclyn Guillou serve up a show on Aug. 13. A Juno nominee for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year, Guillou has a background in musical theatre, tap dance and opera and, last year, released her fourth album This Bitter Earth, a tribute to her hero, Dinah Washington.
Guillou will perform tunes from that CD at Music on the Grill with her jazz trio plus a string quartet.
David Mann, ECC's performing arts manager who this year was named the BC Touring Council's Presenter of the Year, said Guillou is a "very special talent. If people aren't aware of her, now's the time to get on board."
Still, Mann said while the series' programming is top-notch, the opening acts are not to be missed.
West My Friend — an emerging band from Victoria that features Eden Oliver on vocals — will be with Marc Atkinson to launch their new folk album that was recorded at Fiddlehead Studios on Mayne Island and produced by Juno-nominee David Travers-Smith.
For The Good Lovelies show is another Vancouver Island music group, Three Worlds, while local bands Clavinova Nights, the Leo Bae Jazz Quartet and the Audinos have also been given a spot during the series.
• For tickets, call the Evergreen Cultural Centre (1205 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam) or visit evergreenculturalcentre.ca. Music on the Grill is sponsored by Greenline Dental.
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