Collette Savard: News

Fresh from their Whimsical Wedding in the Woods last month up near North Bay, Collette and John are very excited about resuming their musical partnership on stage. Their monthly shows at the Tranzac Club in Toronto start up again on Tuesday Sept 7th at 7:30 PM. They will be there again on the first Tuesday of each month for the rest of the year. Come on down to hear songs new and old, hear some crazy stories and, of course, win some of the most sought-after prizes available anywhere!

 

...an authentic image of a three-headed ukulele ensemble! Actually it's Collette, John and special guest Steve McNie as seen at The Tranzac Club in Toronto playing Bob Dylan's "I'll Keep It With Mine."

 

Collette and John will be at the Tranzac Club in Toronto on Sunday June 6th from 5-7 PM for the last show of their current residency there. They'll be taking a little time off this summer to do more work on the next CD and also to get married! There will be a few shows here and there and they hope to be back at the Tranzac for  regular shows in the fall.

Collette and John are honoured and very excited to have been chosen to travel, later this month, to the remote northern Ontario First Nations community of Pikangikum as part of an Artscan Circle trip. While there they will conduct music workshops and teach ukulele to schoolchildren. The kids will be receiving 30 ukuleles which were generously donated by the Corktown Ukulele Jam of Toronto. Check back here later for an update on how the trip went and to see photos of what is sure to be a unique experience!

Here's a live video shot by Paul Yedema at the Tranzac Club in Toronto featuring Collette's new song "Nicer Things." Collette is playing her "Lovelele" the new custom engagement ukulele made by Dave Talsma. John is accompanying her on his dobro...

Collette and John are pleased to announce that they will have a special guest at their next show at the Tranzac on March 2nd. Steve McNie will be sitting in with them on cello, accordion and lord knows what else (he can play just about anything he picks up it seems!) Steve is the co-founder of the Corktown Ukulele Jam where John and Collette can often be found on Wednesdays down at the Dominion on Queen. Steve also plays with The McFlies and is involved in a multitude of projects at any given time. Come on down for an extra-special evening of great music (click on the poster below for show details or go to the Calendar section of the website.)

Collette and John are pleased to announce that their regular monthly shows at the wonderful Tranzac Club in Toronto have been extended to June! Come on down to the Southern Cross Lounge on the first Tuesday of every month at 7:30 PM to enjoy Collette and John playing music from Collette's last two CDs as well as material from her forthcoming third (along with the usual assortment of covers from the folk, blues, jazz and pop worlds.) Add to that Collette's uniquely entertaining stage presence and the wacky prizes and you'll be sure to have a great evening!

To celebrate the holidays Collette is posting her melancholy Christmas song "I'm So Cold." She wrote this on dulcimer last year just before Christmas and it was up on her MySpace page for a little while but, other than that, it hasn't been available until now. Feel free to download it, cry along in your eggnog with it, and share it with whomever you like!

I'm So Cold by collettesavard

Thanks to all who came out to see us at the Moonshine Cafe in Oakville and especially to William & Polly for sharing their fine music with everyone.

For those in the Oakville and Toronto areas Collette will be performing at The Moonshine Cafe on Dec. 3rd and at The Tranzac Club on Dec 6th. Click on the thumbnail poster for more details. Hope to see you there!

One of the highlights of the OCFF conference was appearing at the Ukulele Speakeasy Showcase (following the surprise appearance by James Hill!) Here's a photo courtesy of Candace Shaw

Collette and John are excited to be attending the annual Ontario Council Of Folk Festivals Coference in Ottawa this weekend where they will be showcasing, attending seminars, workshops, and spending time with friends-new and old. They are especially looking forward to performing in the Ukulele Speakeasy which will be presented by the Cortown Ukulele Jam and filmed for future YouTube enjoyment. Look here for new footage soon!

Collette and John are delighted to announce that, starting in the new year, they will be performing monthly at the Tranzac Club in downtown Toronto. They will be playing in the Southern Cross Lounge from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM on the first Tuesday of each month. Special guests, prizes, fun for all and lot's of great music (of course!) Check the Calendar section for specific dates and location info. for the Tranzac.

It's been quiet this summer as Collette has been taking some time off working on new songs and re-charging the batteries. There will be some exciting new projects and more shows starting next month-stay tuned for news!

We were informed yesterday that, due to logistical problems related to the garbage strike, the BBQ has been cancelled this year. Too bad-it was a lot of fun last year...

One could say that Collette and John have now graduated to the arenas with their recent appearance at the Strawberry and Asparagus Festival in Toronto. (Due to rain the event was moved indoors to the Phil White Arena.) Here we see Collette passing some time before the show while sitting in the penalty box (the "green room" for the day.)

Collette and John just got back from four days of workshops and performances in the Midland, Penatanguishine area. As participants in the Stellula Music in Schools program they worked with student songwriting groups and conducted workshops. They also performed numerous concerts in front of students from kindergarten level all the way up to high school. Already looking forward to next year!

Collette tries out a Frost fretless gourd banjo-real roots music!

New photo gallery in the "Photos" section with pictures chronicling the making of Collett'e last CD "Zen Boyfriend."

Here's Collette and John performing Collette's song "I See You" at Toronto's Corktown Ukelele Jam. Most viewing on YouTube will win Collette some sort of prize so... view away!

Collette and John were delighted to perform on the unique radio show "Phoning It In" this past Sun. Mar 8th. Host Nadav Carmel spoke with Collette and got to hear her play seven songs over the phone from her kitchen (accompanied by John.) You can hear the whole thing here.

Collette has been invited to appear on the acclaimed radio show from Providence, Rhode Island Phoning It In where indie artists perform live over the telephone! Previous guests include Jolie Holland, Daniel Johnston, Julie Doiron and many more so she will be in good company. As soon as the date has been confirmed it will be posted here. (All past shows are available on the show's website so, even if you miss it live, you'll have a chance to hear it.)

Collette (and John) have been invited to perform as guests with the incredible multi-instrumentalist Steafan Hannigan and his partner Saskia Tomkins (who provided violin and viola on Collette's last CD) at a St. Patrick's Day concert at the Flying Cloud Folk Club in Toronto on March 15th. (See the "Calendar Dates" page for details.)

Finally, John Zytaruk is honored to have been invited to play at a special tribute concert for Toronto folk legend Rick Fielding-one of his banjo inspirations. Click on the poster below for more details.

Collette and John enjoyed another lovely visit to the Barrie area on Dec. 19th when then performed at the Rama Elementary School as part of the Stellulla Music in Schools program. Later that evening they performed at the Fireside Lounge at the Horseshoe Resort. Much thanks to Don Beaulieu for his writeup and beautiful photos. (scroll down after the jump)

Oct. 6th found Collette and John in Elmvale Ontario where they helped launch the Stellula Music In Schools Program with several workshops conducted at a local high school. You can read more about it from here.