Hello, sports fans! Folklorist and musician Henry Adam Svec is bringing the intersection of football, music and Canadiana on the road for the first time in over a decade.
Back in 2009, Svec launched The CFL Sessions: a nine-track album exploring the possibility that, in the basement of the Library and Archives Canada, the researcher had uncovered a slew of original songs recorded by CFL players in the late 1970s, as captured on tape by the late Staunton R. Livingston (or so the story goes).
Alongside ethnomusicologist and composer WL Altman, Svec wiped off manifold layers of dust to transpose the rough recordings into contemporary folk arrangements for the 2009 release. The following year, he brought the collection to life with live performances in a selection of Canadian cities, including Sackville, St. John's and Dawson.
In 2021, the University of Waterloo professor published Life Is Like Canadian Football and Other Authentic Folk Songs — a novel and "grossly inaccurate 'memoir' about Canadian folk legends," which also happens to finally share the lyrics to those football tunes — and now he's getting to make a (belated) occasion of it with a musical book launch at Toronto's Tranzac Club on June 1, with guest appearances from Laura Barrett and Sam Shelstad.
Svec will follow up the launch with more forthcoming Ontario dates in Windsor and London, recounting his folkloristic experiences and playing hits like "Song Written Upon Getting Cut by the Argos" and "'E' for Endzone."
The Tranzac Club performance is available to attend at a pay-what-you-can rate. You can check out Svec's full tour itinerary below.
Henry Adam Svec 2022 Tour Dates:
06/01 Toronto, ON - Tranzac Main Hall *
06/08 Windsor, ON - Phog Lounge ^
06/09 London, ON - TBA
* with Laura Barrett and Sam Shelstad
^ with Ron Leary
Back in 2009, Svec launched The CFL Sessions: a nine-track album exploring the possibility that, in the basement of the Library and Archives Canada, the researcher had uncovered a slew of original songs recorded by CFL players in the late 1970s, as captured on tape by the late Staunton R. Livingston (or so the story goes).
Alongside ethnomusicologist and composer WL Altman, Svec wiped off manifold layers of dust to transpose the rough recordings into contemporary folk arrangements for the 2009 release. The following year, he brought the collection to life with live performances in a selection of Canadian cities, including Sackville, St. John's and Dawson.
In 2021, the University of Waterloo professor published Life Is Like Canadian Football and Other Authentic Folk Songs — a novel and "grossly inaccurate 'memoir' about Canadian folk legends," which also happens to finally share the lyrics to those football tunes — and now he's getting to make a (belated) occasion of it with a musical book launch at Toronto's Tranzac Club on June 1, with guest appearances from Laura Barrett and Sam Shelstad.
Svec will follow up the launch with more forthcoming Ontario dates in Windsor and London, recounting his folkloristic experiences and playing hits like "Song Written Upon Getting Cut by the Argos" and "'E' for Endzone."
The Tranzac Club performance is available to attend at a pay-what-you-can rate. You can check out Svec's full tour itinerary below.
Henry Adam Svec 2022 Tour Dates:
06/01 Toronto, ON - Tranzac Main Hall *
06/08 Windsor, ON - Phog Lounge ^
06/09 London, ON - TBA
* with Laura Barrett and Sam Shelstad
^ with Ron Leary
