A 20-year-old Australian described by Comox Valley music promoter Vig Schulman as 鈥渁 jaw-dropping guitar virtuoso鈥� returns to Cumberland Feb. 26.

Kim Churchill, who opened both days of The Big time Out last year, plays next weekend at the Waverley Hotel.

He 鈥渨as the most talked-about artist at last year鈥檚 Big Time Out,鈥� Schulman says. 鈥淗e sold more discs than Broken Social Scene.鈥�

Churchill鈥檚 style is explosive, with intricate fingerpicking, percussive beats on the body of the guitar, and two-handed tapping intertwined with an earthy stomp box, powerful blues harmonica melodies and soulful voice.

His songwriting reflects his coastal lifestyle 鈥� growing up on the New South Wales south coast with the surf at his front door, and now his nomadic life on the road.

He was a standout act at the recent Woodford Folk Festival and Byron Bay Blues and Roots Festival as well as winning National Youth Folk Artist of the year 2009, going on a national tour with Dallas Frasca, performing alongside Aussie artists such as Ash Grunwald, Jeff Lang, The Fumes and Lloyd Speigel, and sharing the bill with acts such as Xavier Rudd, Ben Harper and John Butler.

His knockout performance on Channel 9鈥檚 Rugby League Footy Show 2009 Grand Final special included him performing his song It鈥檚 This System to over a million viewers.

Churchill鈥檚 debut album With Sword and Shield features the single Loving Home. It鈥檚 receiving regular airplay nationally in Australia.

For more, visit www.kimchurchill.com and www.myspace.com/kimchurchill1.

Tickets for his Waverley show are at Bop City, the Waverley Hotel and by phone at 250-336-8322.

鈥� Cumberland

Village Works