By Don Urquhart, Times Chronicle
The music, energy and stage presence of Amy Winehouse will come alive at Venables Theatre on 24 November featuring the multi-award winning Saskatchewan vocalist/ performer, Heidi Munro.
The “Back to Black, Passion of Amy Winehouse” show is performed with a stellar A-list of musicians well known across Canada, including Heidi Munro and the Back To Black Band with Scott Patrick, Carley Bailey, Justin Glibbery, Mike Schell, Zach Griffin, Chris Manual, Stephan Bienz and Scott Gamble.
The performance is described as a celebration of a “gifted and raw artist in the truest form, as a songwriter, vocalist, performer and driven young woman.
“Heidi’s trademark ‘no holds barred’ vocal style and passion lends itself to the depth of Amy’s honest, controversial, brilliant, and beautiful artistry, which is beyond what many can understand,” promoter LMS Entertainment said.
Amy Winehouse was a British singer and songwriter known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues, reggae, and jazz.
Winehouse struggled throughout her life with substance abuse, mental illness and addiction, ultimately dying in her London home from alcohol poisoning in 2011 at the age of 27.
Many of Amy’s jazz and hip-hop-infused poetic songs of very raw personal reflection will be featured in the Venables Theatre performance.
Back to Black – The Passion of Amy Winehouse performed by Heidi Munro.
LMS Entertainment photo
In an interview with the Times Chronicle, Heidi Munro said the show is not just about Amy’s music but about the energy and optics of Winehouse’s whole hearted performances.
As far as the music goes, well-known hits like Rehab and Valery are certainly on the playlist, but Munro says there are some “real surprises,” as well.
“Amy loved her Jazz, Reggae, Motown, Blues and what you could call “bubblegum pop” of the 60’s . It will all be showcased by an incredible band that knocks it out of the park,” she says, adding that many of these world class musicians are from the Okanagan.
“I’d be lying if I said that donning all the tatts, big hair and big eyes wasn’t a big part of it. Fans really love the optic and energy that it brings,” she says.
When asked if Munro – an accomplished musician herself – feels any pressure filling the substantial shoes of Winehouse, she says no, but “If you would have asked me that question about 10 years ago I would have answered this differently.
“Now, I don’t feel a pressure to live up to her singing,” she says, adding that she sings all of her songs in the original keys, “which helps.”.
“But, I do feel a ‘healthy’ pressure to give fans a fantastic ‘listening and visual’ experience that I have come to greatly respect from diving into Amy’s albums and videos of her live concerts.”
The biggest pressure is that which she puts on herself and she does that by asking a simple question (which sadly will forever go unanswered): “If Amy had the chance to see this show, would she feel honoured, and respected and would she think it was pretty great?” Judging by the critical acclaim the performance has garnered, it would be hard to imagine there would be any disappointment.
Just what does it take to “be” Amy Winehouse for a couple of hours on stage? “The energy and optic of my performance and that of the overall show, is to celebrate Amy and bring back the nostalgia of her very unique, stand out, controversial individual style and music,” is part of the answer.
Munro is quick to point out this performance isn’t an “impersonation” per se, but instead a “deep dive into an Amy experience and her passion.” Having that word in the show title was very intentional, she adds.
“I can relate to many parts of her style, personality, performance, and insecurities, so that helps. Our vocal range and tone are similar and I have dark features, which is a bonus for the show,” Munro laughs.
“She was very much her own performer, very free. She said what she thought, and didn’t adhere to political and public correctness, especially for a woman in the industry. The stage was her home. Her fans got all of Amy at a concert, not just the best parts, or what they perceived to be the best parts,” Munro relates.
Munro enjoys the intricacy of the lyrics and the “non-cookie cutter, non-commercial writing. The art… I enjoy the art and freedom of expression lyrically, vocally and musically,” she says of Winehouse’s musical world.
She has one main hope for the show, that being for the audience to “remember and celebrate her brilliance as an artist.” Munro notes it’s easy to dwell on her struggles and the “trashy gossip columns, but there is so much more to her.”
After performing Amy Winehouse’s work, and aside from her own busy music career, what artist might she consider doing a similar artistic take? “Oh man, this is not an easy question,” she laughs.
“I have decades of great and diverse music behind me and in my soul. I gravitate to artists that make me want to cry and dance and take on the world, save the world and be vulnerable (that is very hard for me).
“Artists that break down some kind of wall inside me. That is an artist.” Having said that, at her core she’s a huge fan of blues-based artists because blues has that ability to break down those walls, she says.
Possibly Etta James, Beth Hart, Carol King, Linda Ronstadt, Eva Cassidy, Martina Mcbride (so underrated as a singer she adds) and some of Lady Gaga’s earlier music.
“Bonnie Raitt is at the top for me. What she can make you feel cannot even be put into words. That’s what I aspire to. The songs she writes are raw. What you hear and see is what you get. She is as real as it gets. I love her music from the Old Grey Whistle Stop Days and Lowell George right up to the music she is releasing now. In concert, she is incredible.”
Certainly, we’ll be seeing more of the artistic talents of both Munro and her band. “The great thing about being a professional artist all your life is that you weave in and out of music projects and phases of life, sometimes projects overlap, rebrand and change.”
In this case, Heidi Munro & The Real Groovy Band has morphed into the Munro & Patrick Band for many tour dates and branding. “Scott Patrick and I – Munro & Patrick – started as music partners, now life partners and we have toured, written and performed together for seven years. This includes picking up the Saskatchewan Country Music Association Group Of The Year award for 2024.
She says the Munro & Patrick Band adopted the feel-good, blues-rock, slight hints of jazz, high energy “festival” sound of Heidi Munro and Real Groovy Band with the sound reminiscent of the big jam bands of the 70’s. “It leaves you feeling happy and energized, you’ll smile,” she adds.
Meanwhile, Munro and the band are sure to bring a smile to those both familiar with Amy Winehouse and those who may not have yet discovered her amazing talent.
Back to Black – The Passion of Amy Winehouse featuring Heidi Munro and presented by LMS Entertainment is on at Venables Theatre on Sunday, Nov. 24 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $52 and available at the Venables Theatre box office (open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., tel: 250-498-1626) or online.
