Mark Allan

Special to The Record

April Verch is a fiddler on the move, travelling the globe and continually meeting new people.

When she comes to the Comox Valley to perform May 12 at the Sid Williams Theatre, there鈥檚 at least one face she鈥檒l recognize.

MusicFest maestro and dobro pro Doug Cox, who was in a quartet called Strung with Verch almost a decade ago, will produce her next album in Nashville, she said in a recent interview.

Cox, who will be busy with the annual MusicFest volunteers鈥� appreciation event the same night as Verch is at The Sid, said he hopes to drop by and say hello.

Her next album will follow the 2017 release of the 18-tune April Verch Anthology.

鈥淚t was pretty cool,鈥� she recalled. 鈥淎 part of me dreaded it 鈥� looking back and listening to all that stuff because, like a lot of artists sometimes listening to yourself through the years is not the most pleasurable thing. I thought, 鈥業s it going to make me cringe?鈥�

鈥淏ut it wasn鈥檛 like that at all. I was surprised to find that it just felt like looking back through an old photo album.

鈥淓very album and specific track reminded me of the people who surrounded me at that time, who was in the band at that time. It was more of a trip down memory lane than anything.鈥�

The Ottawa Valley native said her travel schedule, which included recent dates in the U.S. Northeast, the U.K. and Austria, is both energizing and challenging.

鈥淚 find that travelling and getting to a new audience, and sharing music with new people can be invigorating, but the actual travel itself is pretty exhausting. It hasn鈥檛 got any easier over the years.鈥�

That would include performing in England just three days after a show in Pennsylvania. The Comox Valley is her second concert back in Canada (after Duncan) before heading to the U.S. again.

鈥淚 tend to take things in stride. I think I鈥檝e learned through the years of my career to sort of level out the real highs and the real lows,鈥� which mirrors an old sports adage about not getting too high or too low.

A multiple fiddle competition winner as a girl, Verch evolved over time from high-energy stepdancer to fiddle prodigy and appealing singer. Her music grew to include regional Canadian, American old-time, bluegrass, country and Americana influences.

Was that evolution intentional or organic?

鈥淚 guess it鈥檚 deliberate in the sense that you have to make up your mind that it鈥檚 OK to do that. I was being exposed to stuff and becoming passionate about things that were different than what I grew up with.

鈥淚t was a conscious, deliberate decision at some point to say, 鈥榊ou know what? It鈥檚 OK for me to experiment with that and play that,鈥� and I鈥檓 OK playing what I love rather than what I first knew.鈥�

How does the multi-talented Verch find a healthy balance between playing, singing, dancing and songwriting?

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 trickiest in the live show, and there was a bit of a learning curve there as I started adding more 鈥� knowing how to pace a show so that if you鈥檙e going to sing you鈥檙e not out of breath from dancing.鈥�

That being said, she鈥檚 looking forward to playing at The Sid with Cody Walters (upright electric bass and banjo) and Alex Rubin (guitar and mandolin).

Their setlist will include new music along with a healthy slice of favourites.

For concert details and tickets, visit sidwilliamstheatre.com, phone 250-338-2430 or visit 442 Cliffe Ave.