Here are some of our upcoming special events organized by The Crisp.
What an incredible effort! On August 24, Pender Island’s community came together for a benefit concert that raised an approximate $46,000 for Doctors Without Borders (MSF). Organized in just one week by The Crisp Festival (a SGI CRC Event) and sponsored by Ptarmigan Arts, the event proved the power of community spirit.
The fundraiser began with Crisp Festival organizer Jo Beattie contacting musician Mac Demarco, a new Pender resident. Mac generously offered to have his band perform, kicking off a flurry of community support. Darcie and Alan Whittingham immediately offered their Camp Cowbell as the perfect outdoor venue, and Lisa Fleming of Ptarmigan Arts jumped in managing donations and providing some of the sound equipment. Ripley Stafford and JoJo Beattie then did their magic with social media! Greg Beattie organising production came next, pieces fell into place!
The night was a special moment for young local band The Dip, who opened the show, fulfilling a promise from Mac. The crowd also heard from Georgia Keefe, who came from Vancouver to speak on behalf of MSF, sharing the organization’s important mission.
Volunteers from The Crisp and Ptarmigan Arts worked hard to pull it all off. Thanks to the RCMP, Fire and Ambulance Services for their support! The community responded in full force, with locals and off-island fans showing up to support the cause. In a final act of generosity, Mac Demarco matched all donations, helping to push the total to an impressive $46,000. These funds will directly support MSF’s work providing medical care in over 70 countries.
On behalf of The Crisp, Jo and Greg Beattie wish to thank everyone involved, with a special shout-out to Mac Demarco, his band, Darcie and Alan Whittingham, Todd and Deb Bulled, Lisa Fleming and Ptarmigan Arts, and the other volunteers who made it all possible, especially mcee Ben McConchie, Ian Pirie and his security crew, Janet Fletcher, Art Van Vliet and their parking crew, Chris McKenzie and Sarah Rae for helping with our videographer Joel, The Dip and all their friends! Special thanks also to Barb Grimmer, Karl Hampson and photographers Rose Da Silva and Kenta Kikuchi!
Mac’s comment on the event “I’m so happy the show formulated in the way it did. So much help from tons or awesome people, all for a good cause. Really felt like the perfect way to cap off a summer on Pender. Hopefully we can make a tradition of it. Long live The Dip”
“One of the most charismatic and electrifying performers in Britain today…tough and passionate”
Tom Robinson BBC 6 music
Martyn Joseph is a completely unique and mind blowing artist. Take everything you think you know about singer songwriters….and rip it up. For one man and a guitar he creates a performance with a huge far-reaching sound that is energetic, compelling and passionate. Be it to two hundred people or twenty thousand, he blows the crowd away night after night.
He is gifted with the rare ability to speak to the soul with his expressive and poignant lyrics and has a career spannig over 40 years, 35 albums, over a half a million record sales and thousands of live performances. Compared to Bruce Springsteen, John Mayer, Bruce Cockburn and Dave Matthews, he has created his own style and reputation as a mesmerising live performer and stands in his own right, built on a reputation for giving what thousands have described as the best live music experience of their lives. A unique talent driven by passion, social awareness and love for his trade, he’s a jaw dropping guitar player who has developed a unique percussive style, teamed up with a powerful show stopping voice, and has been called “The Welsh Springsteen”.
In addition to his 5 top 50 UK hits, the importance of his work has been recognised by programmes such as BBC Radio 2’s prime time series on Singer/Songwriters. Social justice has an essential presence throughout his music, which has been recognised with various humanitarian awards and plaudits.
Concerned with making music that is relevant and vital to his audience, he engages with challenging narratives tackling the complexity of the human condition, underpinned with a promise of hope. In his own words “Really what I do is to try and write songs that might step up and make some sense of a moment in time. A good song makes you feel like you’re not alone in the world.”
There is a versatility to Martyn’s music that is hard to categorise. Many have tried, resulting in labels such as Folk, Rock, Soul, Folk Funk and Americana; all of which somehow miss the mark. But sometimes music doesn’t need a defining genre and with the ability to articulate a sense of the bigger picture, Martyn’s music and social commentary manage to empower and speak for many. His songs are pictures, and stories, and feelings all put to music and delivered by a master craftsman.
“A singer-songwriter who is not afraid to take a stand, Joseph eschews sentimentality”
With special guests, Pender’s own Deer and Coyote
Juno award winning singer-songwriter-musician Cara Luft is that rare artist steeped in folk and traditional roots music almost from birth, yet willing to alter the fabric, stretch the boundaries and fearlessly bend genres and styles.
A founding member of Canadian folk super-group The Wailin’ Jennys and the brainchild behind Winnipeg’s acclaimed powerhouse duo The Small Glories, Luft deserves her solid reputation as one of Canada’s finest live performers, armed with amazing tenacity, vision, energy and a contagious hilarity.
Cara has a spirit that drives her to connect with people, and for this she is loved everywhere she goes. Cara’s the real deal, there’s nothing pretentious about her. And that sense of honesty, integrity, personality and spontaneity permeates both her music and her live shows.
As one promoter put it, “I don’t know which is more beguiling… her 1000-watt personality, her wizardry on guitar and banjo, the power of her voice or her songwriting talent? In any event, the audience is in for a real treat!”
CHORUS
We’re turning the tide, coming together, sticking through all the stormy weather
The plan is in motion, we move like the ocean, let the waves take us somewhere better
Cause’ I’m done running, I’m done hiding, I’m here with something to say
We’re turning the tide to a new day
So grab us a kayak, paddle around, from the north down to Puget Sound
With the wind as our sail, we’ll dance with the whales,
until we’re Pender Island bound
Then here comes the singer, singing his song, till’ the whole coast is singing along
Like turning a tide
CHORUS
I’m in love with the islands, in love with the shores,
I don’t think I could love em’ anymore
In love with the people, in love the towns, in love with the sights, I’m in love with the sounds
In love with the feeling, the feeling I get, it’s a feeling I could never forget
Like turning a tide
CHORUS
It’s gonna get higher
BY LUKE WALLACE