Pallmer, Blue Lobelia and Jasmine Michel will come together for an all-ages triple bill at Wilmot United Church on November 18.
Matt Carter
Friends new and old will share the stage for a unique string performance at Wilmot United Church on November 18. The evening’s lineup will feature Fredericton neo-classical duo Pallmer (Emily Kennedy and Mark Kleyn), Kjipuktuk (Halifax) based multi-instrumentalist Blue Lobelia (Rachel Bruch), and emerging Fredericton-based string performer Jasmine Michel.
The evening will reunite two friends and musicians, Emily Kennedy and Rachel Bruch, who met while attending Wilfrid Laurier University in Kitchener-Waterloo and have maintained a friendship rooted in music over the past decade.
“Emily and I went to the same hip little parties while we were music students at Wilfrid Laurier,” said Bruch. “The kind of parties where people actually played music. Although it wasn’t all that long ago, it was before you did it for the internet.”
The pair reconnected in 2017 on the eve of Bruch’s first major tour with partner and collaborator Kurtis Eugene.
“Since then, we’ve stayed in touch and organized a handful of shows together when in the same town. I think I can say we have been mutually inspired by each other’s music making and looping.”
Aided by the use of looping pedals in both the studio and live performance, Pallmer and Blue Lobelia have taken the classical tradition closely associated with their instrumental makeup – one through voice, cello and viola, and the other through voice, guitar and violin – in bold new directions, helping to introduce new audiences to old and familiar instruments.
Bruch’s latest release as Blue Lobelia, Resilient Moon, is a stunning combination of voice and string arrangements for violin and cello, and includes contributions from Kurtis Eugene and multitalented award-winning instrumentalist Joshua Van Tassel. But for her upcoming performance in Fredericton, Bruch will perform solo, reinterpreting the many layers that define her latest recording as loops created live on stage.
“It was a fun and scary process to translate my arrangements to the loop pedal for the live performance,” said Bruch. “I’m really pleased with the outcome and can’t wait to share these songs and arrangements on the 18th.”
Pallmer’s latest release, the five song Quiet Clapping, was released digitally in 2021 and rereleased on limited edition vinyl earlier this year.
Jasmine Michel will round out the evening’s lineup. Michel is a violinist, improviser and songwriter living in Fredericton. Her music features layered string sounds, lulling cyclical drones, and earnest words.
Have a listen to each of the artists below. Cover photo: Blue Lobelia
Pallmer + Blue Lobelia + Jasmine Michel | November 18 | Wilmot United Church | 7:30 p.m. | View Event
