Two Creston born and raised musicians are among the 2,000-plus participants in the 2018 CBC Searchlight musical competition.
Searchlight is CBC Music’s annual hunt for Canada’s best-undiscovered talent, and each entrant’s original song is up for public voting online at www.cbcmusic.ca searchlight. The winner will be declared on Monday, March 19.
Prizes to be won this year include a spot in the prestigious Allan Slaight Juno Master Class in Toronto, which is considered Canada’s premiere talent development program. As well, there is a week-long residency at Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre in Calgary, and performances at JunoFest 2019 in London, and the 2018 CBC Music Festival at Echo Beach in Toronto.
The two performers of particular interest to Advance readers are Velle (Weitman) and Kootenay Soul, and Adam Winn, a firefighter in Fort St. John who came home to visit last summer and did several public performances. Weitman co-ordinated last summer’s live performances at the 3-Eh Outdoor Stage and performs throughout the Kootenays.
The artist bios from the Searchlight page:
“Velle and Kootenay Soul met in Creston BC as Velle started piecing her arrangements together for her album. She began collecting incredible musicians scattered around the Kootenays to do her recordings with her, and they haven’t looked back. Velle took a 10-year sabbatical from performing/touring to raise her children. She transports the audience to the jazz clubs of New York and the back alleys of New Orleans, yet challenges the ears with its depth, emotional sensitivity by producer Adrian Dolan.”
“Adam Winn is a singer-songwriter from Northern British Columbia, Canada. He was classically trained as a vocalist and studied voice in college. His style can be described as folk/acoustic and his lyrics have a definite storytelling appeal to them. His self-titled debut EP Adam Winn features five tracks about love, life, and friendship and have a grassroots, raw quality to them.”
To vote for your favourites go to www.cbcmusic.ca searchlight, search your artists and click on the Vote icon on each one.