Shane Philip will make Courtenay his new home at the end of this month, but before that, he is celebrating the Summer Solstice with his first performance at The Bridge Lounge.
While Philip, a multi-instrumentalist who combines reggae, blues, funk and ska, has played the Waverley Hotel and The Big Time Out in Cumberland, this will be his first time playing in Courtenay.
"I can't wait," he said. "I'm excited about it."
Philip lives on Quadra Island, and he likes playing in the Valley because he finds it pretty similar to Quadra.
"It has kindred spirits, like-minded people who want to come to a show and be moved by the music, by the lyrical content and the visceral sounds of the instruments," he said. "People respond well to my music ... it's a really good energy catch back between the audience and myself."
Philip plays a variety of instruments and is known for playing the didgeridoo, a wind instrument developed by Indigenous Australians.
Philip was inspired to play the didgeridoo by Zach Sukuweh, and he will be joined by Sukuweh this Saturday at The Bridge.
About seven years ago, Philip went to a concert on Quadra Island, and he heard Sukuweh, who lives on Cortes Island, play the didgeridoo.
"I was astounded by how the didgeridoo felt," he said "It sounded amazing, and something went right through my bones. I was really inspired by that concert."
Philip bought a didgeridoo from Sukuweh and took it back to Smithers, where he was living and teaching.
Philip taught himself to play, and to improve, he would phone Sukuweh and ask him to play something over the telephone. Philip would record the music and then teach himself.
"I never told him I was doing this," he said. "By the next summer, I was doing all his tricks. Eventually, I developed my own style. It was the spark that got me going. We've been friends ever since, and we play as often as we can."
Swelling in primordial pulses and wholloping whoops, the tacit tones of Philip's didgeridoo hold the power to still listeners into silence or encourage audiences to rise up in a tribal swell of intoxicating spirit, according to his biography. Meanwhile, his hands will be skillfully juggling between shaking up rhythms with his aslatua, driving the dance floor with his djembe and sliding out grooves on his Weissenborn-style guitar, while his foot taps in earthshaking electronic kicks wherever they might fit.
From early childhood moments of drumming kitchen tables and car dashboards to the present, Philip's musical stylings have been self-taught and self-motivated every step of the way.
Borrowing from folk, reggae, blues and beyond, Philip blurs the boundaries of expectation and music into an altogether unique soundscape.
Philip's latest album, Life. Love. Music., which came out in late January, was recorded in Victoria and produced by Joby Baker, who also plays bass and drums on the record.
The album features songs from all across the musical spectrum, and Philip says its influences include reggae, Hawaii and nature.
Philip plays kona lap steel guitar, Weissenborn guitar, acoustic and electric six string guitars, ukulele, djembe drum, shakers and didgeridoos on the record.
"When a musician puts out an album, it's part of themselves they're putting out to the world," he said. "It's exciting because it's celebrating what's going on in my life. I have a two-year-old boy, and a lot of it was written when he was young, at a time in my life that was very uplifting."
Saturday's Summer Solstice celebration at The Bridge Lounge will also feature the Methuselah Dancers, Fiftieth Parallel, Mickey Reggae and more.
Doors open at 9:30 p.m.
Tickets are $12 in advance or $15 at the door and are available at Bop City Records, Eco-Centric Naturals, Tarbell's Coffee Bar and Roots the Salon, by phone at 250-338-9996 or online at https://store.cumberlandvillageworks.com.
The event is being produced by Lightburn Entertainment and Cumberland Village Works.
writer@comoxvalleyrecord.com
