Get ready for fast fiddling: Verch celebrates Canadian, Appalachian sounds at CD release concert

Canada’s Ottawa Valley will meet old-time Appalachia - crack fiddling, electric step dancing, sweet singing — when JUNO Award nominee April Verch and her band debuts "Bright Like Gold" 7:30 p.m. Saturday March 16 at the Zumbrota State Theatre.

"Bright Like Gold" is her ninth album. The April Verch Band includes bassist and clawhammer banjo player Cody Walters and guitarist Hayes Griffin.

The show’s grand finale will feature Verch fiddling and step dancing, often executing two entirely different intricate rhythmic patterns at once, promoters said.

Verch said she is fluent in two folk traditions - the Canadian ones she was born into and the American ones she found her way to years later. The audience will hear old fiddle tunes “Dusty Miller,” “Fiddle Fingers” and “Grizzly Bear” in a Caandian medley and a Appalachian medley will feature “Edward in the Treetop,” “Yellow Jacket” and “Quit That Ticking Me.”

Verch’s visit to Zumbrota will include a fiddler workshop March 16. The class is 3 to 4:30 p.m. and costs $35.

There are several different regional styles of fiddling in Canada from coast to coast, including Ottawa Valley, Western Canadian, Metis, Maritime, Cape Breton and French Canadian. This class will provide an overview of these different styles and explore what makes each of them unique, she said.

Tickets to the concert are $20 in advance and $22 day of show, available through Crossings. Call 507-732-7616 or stop in to Crossings at 320 East Ave. Zumbrota. For more information, visit www.crossingsatcarnegie.com.

At a glance …

Who: April Verch

Where: Zumbrota State Theatre

When: 7:30 p.m.

Where: 88 E. Fourth St., Zumbrota

Cost: $20 in advance, $22 at the door

More info: 507-732-7616 or www.crossingsatcarnegie.com

Tags: arts and entertainment, zumbrota state theatre, arts, entertainment