It has been a year or two since Ron Irving has been in his hometown, but he will be back in Powell River performing on April 27 and 28.
“We’re looking forward to it,” he said. “It’s going to be great because I still have some good friends and a brother and a sister and a few other people I haven’t seen in a long time.”
Irving was born and raised in Powell River before leaving town at 18 to pursue his aspirations of a music career. He said he and his friend Ron Campbell, like many of their generation, were awestruck by the Beatles.
“We both got really smitten with them long before we could play musical instruments or anything. It was so exciting to be a kid during the Beatles’ invasion because there was so much hype in North America and when they came on the Ed Sullivan Show. So right from when I was a kid I went ‘oh that’s what I want to do.’”
Irving will be accompanied by fellow musician Michael Vincent, a regular singer and host on the TV shows Let’s Go and Music Hop. The pair will perform at 6:30 pm on Friday, April 27 at Eagles Landing Bistro and at 7:30 pm on Saturday, April 28 at St. David and St. Paul Anglican Church.
In the last 40 years, Irving has accomplished many things in the music industry. He led the number one Canadian country group Bootleg, was a staff songwriter at BMG Music in Nashville, started the Bluebird North’s songwriters’ nights and over 100 of his songs were recorded by artists like Anne Murray, Michael Bublé and Lisa Brokop. Irving said he has over 100 songs recorded in seven languages with about 300 songs in his catalogue.
Irving returned to Vancouver and started his own publishing company, SueCo Music. He currently lives in South Surrey.
“We had a big song last year that we wrote for the troops, called “Standing Strong and True,” and it was a ‘we are the world’ event where all the Canadian country artists got together and recorded the song,” he said. “We made a video and it was on CMT [Country Music Television] and all the radio stations played it. The proceeds went to the families who had lost loved ones in the war in Afghanistan. It won song of the year from BC Country Music.”
Friday night will be a dinner show which Campbell’s press release called “a close-up and intimate musical experience.”
“I wanted Powell River to hear these guys,” said Campbell. “Michael’s singing will give you shivers.”
He added that partial proceeds from the Saturday show at the church will go toward repairing the church’s historic pipe organ.
“That show will include some of Ron and Michael’s inspirational songs,” he explained. “Music that is not necessarily religious but certainly spiritual and uplifting. It’ll be a full concert. I’ll be performing as a supporting artist and so will the EnsemBelles, a local 13-piece women’s choir.”
Interested readers can call 604.487.1050 for reservations at Eagles Landing for the Friday show. Tickets for the Saturday show are available at Rockit Music on Alberni Street or the Anglican church office.
