The Atlantic String Machine Xmas with Tara MacLean is a dynamic collaboration between award-winning recording and touring artist Tara MacLean and PEI’s favourite string quintet, Atlantic String Machine. This special holiday concert is sure to lift the spirits, as these accomplished musicians share songs and stories from their own family traditions. Saturday, December 11th at 2:00pm and 7:30pm at the Victoria Playhouse.
Theatre PEI
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5, 7:30 PM at the Harbourfront Theatre
All Seats: $32.00 (tax & fees included)
Rachel Beck and The Atlantic String Machine
Glowing with catchy pop hooks, Rachel Beck’s distinctive piano melodies and emotive vocals are captivating audiences across Canada. The PEI songbird’s first single, Reckless Heart, hit #1 on the CBC Music Top 20 in March 2018 after earning the most online votes for six weeks straight. The Atlantic String Machine is a multi award-winning classical crossover string quintet based on Prince Edward Island. As a collective, they have performed with Canadian treasures Sarah Slean, Lennie Gallant, and The Once, to name a few.
Rachel Beck featuring The Atlantic String Machine is an exciting new collaboration which invites audiences to experience Beck’s original compositions against a lush soundscape of piano, strings, and percussion. Exposed. Confessional. Connective. Beck’s warm stage presence and superb vocals envelope listeners as they collectively journey across a wide emotional range – from regret and grief to wonder and joy.
PEI Professional Theatre Network
The ’17-18 season kicks off on October 16 with major pop-rock icons, The Barenaked Ladies and their Canada 1-FIVE-0 TOUR, presented by the National Arts Centre. October 24 marks the return of Canadian troubadour Joel Plaskett, joining his father Bill Plaskett for a collaborative show in the Homburg Theatre to celebrate their duo album, Solidarity.
November is jam-packed month with 11 shows on deck. These include Liam Corcoran’s album release for Nevahland; the Island premiere of A Passage to Bollywood, a rollicking family musical experience; the return of Classic Albums LIVE with the prog-rock classic 2112 by Rush; and a one night only musical comedy performance of the international hit, Menopause the Musical.
The holiday season is equally busy in December with Tomato/Tomato’s A Maritime Christmas channeling old school holiday concerts with special guests Heather Rankin and Dave Gunning. From December 14-16, Adam Brazier’s Holiday Spectacular variety show brings big laughs, guest stars, stunning dance and musical numbers, and sketches to the mainstage.
Sprinkled throughout December, the Choral Music Programme – under the direction of Donald Fraser – presents three beloved annual concerts, with Handel’s Messiah, Sing Noël, and Sing Along Messiah.
The 2018 portion of the LIVE calendar is equally exciting, and more stacked than ever with the theatre renovations now complete and no more closures planned. January offers critically acclaimed Indigenous artist Susan Aglukark as well as the return of Toronto Dance Theatre (TDT). TDT has produced an exceptional body of original Canadian choreography and had a major impact on the development of national dance audiences.
Other highlights in 2017 include Island artists The East Pointers, Dennis Ellsworth and Kinley Dowling, and The Atlantic String Machine. The Songwriters Series also returns with three heavy hitting raconteurs from Canada’s East Coast: Old Man Luedecke, Hillsburn, and Fortunate Ones, each performing for one night only in the intimate listening space of The Mack. Fellow Maritimer, Classified makes a rare Charlottetown appearance on April 14, with a special acoustic performance with guest artists entitled Classified and Friends.
The Centre’s own dance umbrella program culminates their 2017-18 instructional season with four public performances — musical theatre romps The Nifty Fifties and All the World’s A Stage in March and April at The Mack, and the matinee and evening Annual Showcases, May 5 on the mainstage.
For ticket information and the entire Sobeys LIVE @ the Centre season calendar please visit confederationcentre.com/live or contact the Confederation Centre box office at (902) 566.1267 or toll free, at 1-800-565-0278. Special thanks are extended to the Government of Canada for their support of Confederation Centre; as well to Sobeys, the returning title sponsor for LIVE @ The Centre. Media sponsors are The Guardian, Hot 105.5, and Ocean 100.
The cultural fabric of our island has been woven from the many threads of settlers hailing from all corners of the earth. When these ancestral settlers came to Prince Edward Island, they brought their music with them.
Join the Atlantic String Machine as they trace our musical heritage from Mi’kmaq Lullabies to Celtic Airs to Acadian Laments. This entertaining show, featuring actor/narrator Cameron MacDuffee, is sure to delight islanders and visitors alike. Come discover the music of our island’s peoples, past and present, and truly experience the “Heartbeat of the Island”!
The Atlantic String Machine was formed in April 2015 and is based on Prince Edward Island. The group is made up of five string players who have performed worldwide with internationally recognized symphony and chamber orchestras, ensembles, bands and artists. They have recently joined together to present a wide range of repertoire from classical to jazz, pop, world music and their own compositions.
The Atlantic String Machine is at the Victoria Playhouse on July 17th
Theatre PEI 