Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad Countdown Concert

February 12, 2008 marks the two-year countdown to the opening of the 2010 Winter Games. To commemorate the event, the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad is producing a spectacular evening of music featuring leading young singer-songwriters from across Canada performing with their bands and also with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. The concert brings together the grandeur of symphonic soundscapes with the cutting edge of indie rock, rhythm and blues, folk and acoustic punk.

Headlining the concert will be Feist. Over the past few years, Feist has risen from a shouty “battle of the bands” teen queen in a Calgary punk band, to one of Canada’s leading indie female artists with an international following. Nobody, least of all Feist, anticipated the tremendous response listeners around the world would have to her Let It Die CD, landing her on “Best Of The Year” lists everywhere. A girl who was previously unknown outside of Canada, can now claim Top 10 radio singles around the globe. Feist will perform with her internationally-acclaimed band, including five songs with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, featuring world premier orchestral arrangements commissioned by the Cultural Olympiad.

Joining the roster will be Toronto-based singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith, who has penned songs for Diana Krall, k.d. lang, Gord Downie, Feist, Andy Kim, Daniel Lanois, Sarah McLachlan, Rod Stewart and countless others.

Rounding out the program is Montreal singer-cellist Jorane whose unique style rises above language and borders; Leela Gilday (2007 Juno Award-winner for Aboriginal Album of the Year) and Suzie McNeil who released an “Olympic- and Paralympic-inspired” video of her hit song Believe.