Renowned Canadian songwriter Rodney DeCroo is touring Western Canada in celebration of the release of his sixth album, Allegheny, and the companion book of poetry, Allegheny, BC (Nightwood Editions, $18.95). Join DeCroo and double bass player Mark Haney for a live concert in Creston at the Snoring Sasquatch on Oct. 9.
DeCroo is well-known in Canadian music circles. He has released six critically acclaimed albums and collaborated with musicians across Canada, including Sam Parton (Be Good Tanyas), Ida Nilsen (Great Aunt Ida), Buck 65, Rae Spoon, Carolyn Mark, Cam Penner, Jon Wood and Linda McCrae.
His debut book of poetry takes his already impressive body of work in a new and captivating direction. To hear DeCroo perform his poetry and music is a rare chance to witness the emergence of beauty from an abrasive world.
The book, Allegheny, BC, expands upon the lyrics in DeCroo’s album, Allegheny. With over 40 poems, it reveals a new dimension of his craftsmanship. Both the book and album deliver raw footage of a childhood marred by violence, sudden uprootings and abuse. They offer a candid, gritty tour through DeCroo’s past in a small coal town outside of Pittsburg, Pa., the bush of northern B.C. and his young adult years in Vancouver. Scenes of boys growing up along the banks of the filthy Allegheny River cut to hunting trips with an unpredictable father haunted by the Vietnam War and to the bars, strip clubs, seedy hotels and bleak streets of both large Canadian cities and small isolated towns.
This event was made possible in part with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts. For more information about DeCroo’s music, poetry, and tour dates, visit www.rodneydecroo.com.
Tickets are $12 in advance at Black Bear Books and Kingfisher Used Books, and $15 at the door, which open at 7 p.m.; the show begins at 8.
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