New concert comes to town

By Melissa Piche Times Contributor

The Arts on 817 Concert Series is excited to host Dave Gunning and J.P. Cormier on March 17 for a special evening to celebrate the release of the duos newest album titled Leather and Dust. 

Their first album together titled Two was released in 2017. It was a collaboration dreamt about for years, something the duo talked about almost from the first time they met. 

Gunning released an album before Christmas and Cormier has a YouTube channel that he’s been heavily invested in for the past two years. 

“I could just stay home and do that if I wanted,” said Cormier of his YouTube channel (@JPCormier) that keeps him extremely busy with over 27,000 subscribers. “I enjoy being out on the road. Not so much by myself but with Dave I’d go to the ends of the world to have him sing with me.”

The two met in the mid 90’s and have had very successful solo careers. Cormier began playing when he was 13 years old.

“I’m 41 years in,” he says with a laugh. 

Cormier has over 17 albums under his belt. He’s won many East Coast Music Association (ECMA) Awards and he’s been nominated twice for Junos. In 2005, the Bravo Network aired J.P Cormier – The Man and His Music, a one-hour documentary that explores his life. 

Gunning was born in Pictou County, N.S. and credits his passion for music to when he attended his first concert in 1981 when he saw John Allen Carmen and Stan Rogers.

He has released 13 albums and has collected numerous Canadian Folk Music Awards, ECMA’s and Juno nominations to say the least. Gunning’s shows are particularly special because he incorporates storytelling, anecdotes and even throws in some musical impressions of musicians he’s worked with. Gunning also has a YouTube channel where you can watch him singing Gunning originals and follow along on his daily life adventures (@DaveGunningSingerSongwriter).

“It’s fun getting together to hang out and do these shows,” said Gunning. 

The tour began on Feb. 19 and will conclude on March 31 with very few rest days in between shows.  

“(We) feel pretty fortunate to be doing this,” said Gunning. “We miss home, but it feels good to be on a big tour like this after not being for so long. Something we aren’t taking for grated for sure.”

The concert stop in Strathmore falls on St. Patrick’s Day. 

“We’re going to have written almost all of the material,” he said. “We do a few covers of people who are obscure and nobody else does. A couple of Stompin’ Tom songs that nobody knows. A bit of the old traditional stuff. There’s a bit of guitar pickin’ a bit of stories and songs.”  

The all-ages show is on Friday, March 17 at 7:30 p.m. at the Strathmore United Church. Tickets are $35 for adults and just $10 for youth.

Tickets can be purchased at the door, online (smoreuc.com) and picked up at the door, or you can pop into The Vault Collective.