Kreviazuk coming home for Christmas Singer's holiday show one of many in Winnipeg this season
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/11/2019 (1857 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The holiday season tends to bring out the best in people. We’re more generous with our time and money, we volunteer and make an extra effort to see our family and friends.
And it’s this attitude Winnipeg-bred, L.A.-based singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk wanted to not only capture but extend with her new holiday record, Christmas Is a Way Of Life, My Dear.
“I’m up for that challenge of keeping that thoughtfulness and intentional-ness that we have at Christmas, that generousness, that gentleness — we’re more forgiving, we’re more community-oriented, we come together with our families, we’re charitable,” Kreviazuk says.
“There’s so much that we are doing during the holidays I just feel like it’s challenging me to be better throughout the year, to balance it out. Like, don’t throw it all into Christmas, take it with you after Christmas into the rest of life, and that’s the exciting thing for me, is to be able to actually express that and articulate that in my project.”
Kreviazuk, 45, never really had a desire to create a holiday record, but the idea came to her in a specific vision: she dreamed she would write a “Christmas banger” while riding bikes with her dad in Winnipeg. Sure enough, a few months later, that exact situation organically came about.
“We went on the bikes out in the country and the next thing I know, this song came in and I was singing it on the whole car ride home, and then I came back to my parents’ house and I was playing them the song on the piano that I grew up playing, and it was all right there happening,” Kreviazuk says, noting the album’s cover photo is her around the age of four celebrating Christmas at her parents’ home in Winnipeg.
The 10-song album features Christmas classics such as Winter Wonderland, Silent Night and Blue Christmas (which Kreviazuk’s husband, Raine Maida, sings on), as well five original tracks penned by Kreviazuk. And Maida isn’t the only family member who makes an appearance; the couple’s 11-year-old son, Salvador Maida, sings on two tracks as well: Wonderful Christmas Time and The Christmas Train.
Having Salvador on the record meant a lot to Kreviazuk — the proud mama says the opportunity to capture this specific moment in her son’s life and this specific version of his voice was a true gift.
“I think ultimately as a mom, you want to find ways to bottle up the impossible and preserve something that cannot be preserved, and there’s nothing like the sound of a boy child’s voice, it’s adorable!” Kreviazuk says.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e3fV_S-5ck
“And Sal has this speaking and singing voice that’s a little bit scruffy, a little bit rough and so cute. He’s had it since he was born, that voice, and we used to take him to the doctor and make sure it was OK because it was so scratchy. You know, as a mom I would say that’s the huge gift in it for me, that forever and ever we have recorded Sal’s voice at this age before it turns into a man’s voice, that’s what’s so special.”
Kreviazuk is doing a quick holiday tour of Canada in support of the new record; she will be at Club Regent Event Centre on Dec. 8. Tickets that are still available are $40.43, including fees, and are available at Ticketmaster and casinosofwinnipeg.com.
And in case your December calendar isn’t quite full to the brim just yet, here’s a few other holiday concerts for your consideration:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQ5vD-Yj9rw
Nov. 30
The Nightmare Before Christmas — In Concert (WSO)
Centennial Concert Hall, to Dec. 1
Tickets $25 to $105 at wso.ca
The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra will tackle Danny Elfman’s score to Tim Burton’s creepy Christmas classic, The Nightmare Before Christmas, live along with a screening of the film. The Nov. 30 concert begins at 7:30 p.m., while the Dec. 1 show is a matinee, beginning at 2 p.m.
Dec. 4
Johnny Reid — My Kind of Christmas
Centennial Concert Hall, 7 p.m.
Sold out
Canadian-Scottish singer Johnny Reid is hitting the road this holiday season in support of his new EP, My Kind of Christmas. The brief five-song album includes covers of holiday classics and originals, or “soon to be classics,” as Reid calls them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arBPggx8b-o
Dec. 5
Janelle Nadeau Ensemble — A Prairie Christmas
Burton Cummings Theatre, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets $38-$43 at Ticketmaster
Manitoba-born and internationally renowned harpist Janelle Nadeau returns to her home province with an ensemble for A Prairie Christmas, a family-friendly concert featuring Christmas classics. Nadeau, now based in Vancouver, has played alongside some of the most recognizable names in music including Kanye West, Eddie Vedder, the Who, Liam Gallagher, Andrea Bocelli and Diana Krall, among others.
Dec. 5
Club Regent Event Centre, 7 p.m.
Sold out
Christmas With Boney M, a 19-song epic of a holiday album, has been a favourite of many since its release in 1984. Now, the Euro-Caribbean band is back on the road touring it 25 years later. If you’ve ever dreamed of hearing Mary’s Boy Child live, this is your chance.
Dec. 6
Amero Little Christmas
Burton Cummings Theatre, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets $36-$46.25 at Ticketmaster
Local roots/country/pop artist Don Amero brings his long-running holiday variety show, Amero Little Christmas, to the Burton Cummings Theatre. In addition to the slate of holiday music, each year, the concert also includes “witty banter, lots of laughs and inspiring stories,” Amero’s website says. Joining Amero will be Manitoba artists Doc Walker, Those Guys and Olivia Lunny.
Dec. 6
Rockin’ Elvis Christmas
Club Regent Event Centre, 7 p.m.
Tickets $40 at Ticketmaster
Elvis tribute artist Rory Allen performs a selection of holiday classics as the King of Rock ’n’ Roll.
Dec. 7 (and 8)
Those Guys — Under the Mistletoe
Centre culturel franco-manitobain, to Dec. 8
Tickets $20 at Brownpapertickets
Winnipeg a capella group Those Guys sings a selection of holiday songs without any instrumentation other than their voices. Evening shows on Dec. 7 and 8 begin at 7:30 p.m., while the matinee on Dec. 8 is at 2:30 p.m.
Dec. 7
Messiah — WSO
Centennial Concert Hall, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets $25 to $105 at wso.ca
One of the sacred musical traditions of Christmas is a performance of Handel’s Messiah, which the WSO takes once again this winter with guests Winnipeg soprano Andrea Lett, Calgary mezzo-soprano Andrea Hill, Seattle tenor Zach Finkelstein, Toronto baritone Stephen Hegedus and the Canadian Mennonite University Chorus. The orchestra will be led by British conductor Jane Glover.
Dec. 12
The Tenors — Wonder of Christmas
Club Regent Event Centre, 8 p.m.
Less than 10 tickets remain, and range in price from $73-$289 (VIP package) at Ticketmaster and casinosofwinnipeg.com.
Juno Award-winning group the Tenors are hitting up 13 cities across Canada and the U.S. this holiday season, performing tracks from their two Christmas albums, along with other festive favourites.
Dec. 13
JP Hoe Hoe Hoe Holiday Show
Burton Cummings Theatre, 7:30 p.m.
Sold out
Winnipeg folk-pop artist JP Hoe is returning to the Burt for his much-beloved annual holiday show. This is the 15th edition of the concert, which features “more musicians than bulbs on the tree, songs that blink nostalgia and tinselled trimming decorations to bring it all together.” A portion of the proceeds go to the Christmas Cheer Board, and similarly to last year, an after-party will be held at the Park Theatre starting at 11 p.m. Tickets for the Burton Cummings Theatre show are sold out, but after-party tickets are available for $10 online at myparktheatre.com.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InggN-z2k-o
Dec. 13-15
New York Voices Christmas Special, with the WSO Pops
Centennial Concert Hall
Tickets $25 to $105 at wso.ca
Jazz vocal quartet New York Voices, founded in 1988, is known for their “unparallelled vocal blend” and this winter they are lending their skills to a collection of holiday classics while performing shows all over the world, including at the Centennial Concert Hall on Dec. 13 and 14 at 8 p.m. and Dec. 15 at 2 p.m.
Dec. 14
Tom Jackson — The Huron Carole
My Church Winnipeg (955 Wilkes Ave.), 7 p.m.
Tickets $35 at Eventbrite.ca
Tom Jackson is touring across the country once again to perform The Huron Carole, a “seasonal music institution” that has spanned more than three decades. Combining holiday music and stories crafted by Jackson, The Huron Carole raises funds for local food banks and family service agencies (proceeds from the Winnipeg show go to Winnipeg Harvest, and tins for the bin are requested).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK0A6k6wR0Q
Dec. 16
Tyler and Cassandra — Home for the Holidays
Park Theatre, 6:30 p.m.
Tickets $15 at Brownpapertickets
Tyler Leighton and Cassandra Consiglio offer up a festive evening of holiday music and Broadway hits at Home for the Holidays — a Crazy Christmas Cabaret. A portion from each ticket will be donated to the Children’s Cancer Unit through the Children’s Hospital Foundation and Live Different, a non-profit dedicated to empowering Canadian youth and providing safe, clean shelter to families living in Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
erin.lebar@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @NireRabel
Erin Lebar
Manager of audience engagement for news
Erin Lebar spends her time thinking of, and implementing, ways to improve the interaction and connection between the Free Press newsroom and its readership.
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History
Updated on Friday, November 29, 2019 9:27 AM CST: Thumbnail replaced.
