JEREMY LEDBETTER TRIO
Where: Mary Winspear Centre, 2243 Beacon Ave., Sidney
When: Saturday, Nov. 2, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $42 from tickets.marywinspear.ca or 250-656-0275
Why: Few bands in recent few years have earned a loyal local following comparable to that of Snarky Puppy, the Grammy-winning jazz collective with a fondness for fusion and funk. The concert this weekend by Toronto’s Jeremy Ledbetter Trio immediately becomes must-see entertainment based of the involvement of Snarky Puppy drummer Larnell Lewis, a Toronto-born, Brooklyn-based behemoth who holds down the bottom end as well as anyone in music today (for fun, see the YouTube video of Lewis learning to play Metallica’s Enter Sandman, which has been viewed 18 million times.) He’ll join bassist Rich Brown and the piano-playing Ledbetter for what should be one of the jazz concerts of the year. Don’t miss it.
JAMES KENNEDY
Where: Capital Ballroom, 858 Yates St.
When: Wednesday, Nov. 6, 9 p.m.
Tickets: $76 from capitalballroom.com
Why: Square-jawed reality TV star James Kennedy (the dastardly one from Vanderpump Rules, not Jamie Kennedy from the Scream franchise) has played electronic music festivals across North America in recent years, but it’s unclear if those are talent-based or star-related bookings. No matter. Given the audience reaction to Paris Hilton’s set at Rifflandia in 2023, the lure of a celebrity cannot be underestimated, especially when it comes to dance music; Instagram is liable to crash on Wednesday, with all the activity. But if members of Jersey Shore can get paid to DJ, who are we to take food off Kennedy’s table?
What: GOLDBERG VARIATIONS FOR STRING TRIO
Where: Phillip T. Young Recital Hall, MacLaurin Building, University of Victoria
When: Tuesday, Nov. 5, 8 p.m.
Tickets: Pay What You Can (suggested donation of $12-$35)
Why: Current and former UVic faculty members Joanna Hood (viola), Christi Meyers (violin) and Amy Laing (cello) will perform Goldberg Variations, a Johann Sebastian Bach composition famously associated with pianist Glenn Gould, at Phillip T. Young Recital Hall next week. The trio (who are performing Dmitry Sitkovetsky’s innovative arrangement, which was composed for strings, rather than Bach’s preferred harpsichord) are among the best in their field locally, so expect great things.
