By Lexi McFarlane, Times Chronicle
The festive spirit of the holiday season is coming to Oliver on Saturday, Dec. 6 with something for everyone in store.
Canadian singer Ken Lavigne returns to the Venables Theatre with his Christmas-themed show, titled “Comfort and Joy – A Ken Lavigne Christmas”. The concert blends a lot of traditional Christmas songs with present-day holiday tunes, and includes tracks from his album “Comfort and Joy”.
The array of songs included is evident in the descriptions Lavigne uses, when discussing the lineup.
“We’ve got fiddle tunes, old-timey Bing Crosby classics… more modern ones, like from (Hallmark) movies and stuff,” Lavigne says. “It’s a good mix of songs and stories that I’d like to share.
“(It’ll be) about Christmas, Christmases past, and maybe a little bit of information about each of the songs as well.
This year’s show will include up to 20 holiday tunes, with a runtime of up to an hour and forty-five minutes. The show will feature an intermission at the halfway point.
One of Lavigne’s favourite aspects of these holiday shows is the all-ages appeal they bring.
“The favourite thing for me is watching the audience relaxing to that beautiful nostalgic feeling of… the Christmases that they remember.”
But there’s more to the shows than just unwinding to soothing holiday music.
“One of the feature things that I love doing is trying to get everyone from ages 8 to 80 involved in a massive indoor snowball fight. That is something that they can look forward to. If you have trouble visualizing what that looks like… it’s just something you have to experience, to really understand.”
Lavigne’s current tour is also an anniversary celebration of sorts, when you consider the album, and its integration into these shows.
“We released ‘Comfort and Joy’ in 2015, a while ago,” Lavigne notes. “So we’ll be drawing selections from ‘Comfort and Joy’.
“(That album) was fully orchestrated, a full-orchestra album. Of all my albums, I’m probably the most proud of that one; that took a long time to record, and bring into the world.”
Coming back to the Venables Theatre is also a bit of a trip down memory lane for Lavigne, who was one of the earliest concert performers in the current venue and recalls how the Theatre had to adjust to accommodate concerts.
“(My band and I) were one of the first shows to go through there; they didn’t have – I think they had to go out and buy a bunch of music stands, because they had no music stands for the musicians,” he explains. “I remember, it was a lot of last-minute stuff. (But) I have a lot of fond memories performing in Oliver, so I’m looking forward to coming back.”
Above all else, Lavigne is excited to see the holiday spirit work its natural magic at the show.
“Bringing a little bit of joy – I enjoy just watching the audience enjoy themselves, that’s probably my favourite part for sure,” Lavigne gushes.
Tickets for Ken Lavigne’s concert are $45 for adults, and $20 for students. They can be purchased at the Venables Theatre, or on its website, venablestheatre.ca.
