Friday, December 23, 2011

Live the Laughter – A Comedic Hypnosis Show

What does it mean to Live the Laughter? With Wayne Lee, it means a rollicking, highly-interactive hypnosis show, as unique as it is hilarious. It means side-splitting laughter and improbable scenes acted out by audience members no longer inhibited by their fears. Wayne Lee can break down the barriers of even the most cynical and resistant individuals through laughter and hypnosis, in the process showing them how to access their own subconscious.

If there’s one thing peak-performance experts like Wayne Lee agree on, it’s that the mind is capable of leading us anywhere. He also knows that, for many of us, our minds are littered with detours, potholes and accidents waiting to happen. Fear, self-doubt, inhibitions of all kinds, these beliefs reside in our subconscious and prevent us from reaching our conscious goals. But if you set your GPS (Great Programmable Subconscious) for success, you can achieve anything. Wayne Lee takes his audiences on the ride of their lives with a message of empowerment that lasts long after the laughter fades away.

Wayne’s own journey to excellence was fueled with an unrelenting passion for entertaining and empowering people. Starting from a childhood fascination with magic, Wayne’s gift for seeing and acting on what’s possible has grown to international proportions: He is one of North America’s premier corporate presenters, a veteran of thousands of successful shows, a published author, and peak-performance coach to professionals from all walks of life.

And he practices what he preaches. Wayne was a former, five-time Canadian amateur wrestling champion, before taking the stage in the corporate world. More recently, he was named “Entertainer of the Year” by the Canadian Events Industry.

Which brings us back to the power of the mind. Through humor and hypnosis, Wayne helps people drop their defenses and access their personal GPS. Wayne shows how what you put in--beliefs, attitudes, goals and vision--act as coordinates that absolutely determine whether or not you reach your destination. Get it wrong and you're stuck in traffic. Get it right and you'll get to your goal faster than you ever thought possible.

Wayne invites members of the audience to explore their creativity, engage their passion, and experience deep insight– all while having fun, as they explore the power of their imagination and subconscious mind. Wayne helps individuals and groups get out of their comfort zone and truly become the performer they are meant to be. In this highly energizing and exciting show, the audience can either see the show or be the show. It's like being handed the keys to the ride of their lives.

Wayne Lee performs at Horizon Stage, 1001 Calahoo Road in Spruce Grove at 9 p.m. (new time!) on Friday, January 20, 2012. Tickets are $25 for Adults, $20 for Students/Seniors and $5 eyeGo tickets for High School students. Tickets are available by phone at 780-962-8995, in person at the City Hall Ticket Centre, 315 Jespersen Avenue, Spruce Grove, or at www.ticketmaster.ca.

The One and Only - Both performances are SOLD-OUT!

Internationally-acclaimed singer-songwriter and multi award-winner, Ian Tyson, is celebrating five decades of performance in 2011 with a full schedule of concerts planned from coast to coast in both Canada and the United States. He comes to the intimate setting of Horizon Stage in Spruce Grove for two concerts on Friday, January 13 and Saturday, January 14.

From the superstar status of folk-duo, Ian & Sylvia, in the 1960s to the legendary Tyson of today, Ian continues to keep his loyal fans in awe with songs that range from his classics – Four Strong Winds (named Canada’s top song of the 20th century), Someday Soon, and Navajo Rug, to his newest works, which he continues to write with inspired vigor. Now in his mid 70s, Tyson combines a busy touring performance schedule with work on his Alberta ranch, nestled in the foothills of the Rockies south of Calgary. It’s a workload that would exceed that of most people generations his junior.

At the age of 24, Tyson left behind the itinerant logging and rodeo life of British Columbia and hitchhiked to Toronto. Caught up in the folk-music revival, he formed, along with a very young Sylvia Fricker, the legendary duo of Ian and Sylvia. Ian married Sylvia in 1964, and together they recorded over a dozen timeless albums, including their best known and often-covered hits, among them Ian’s Four Strong Winds and Sylvia’s You Were On My Mind.

During the British Invasion, Ian and Sylvia evolved into pioneers of country-rock. Their band, Great Speckled Bird, rivaled the Byrds and other groups which helped create modern country, a decade before the Urban Cowboy phase of contemporary “new traditionalists”.

After hosting a national Canadian television music show from 1970 to 1975, Tyson realized his dream of returning to the Canadian West. The music and marriage of Ian and Sylvia had ended, and disillusioned with the Canadian country music scene, Tyson decided the time had come to return to his first love – training horses in the ranch country of southern Alberta.

After three idyllic years cowboying in the Rockies at Pincher Creek, Tyson recorded the album, Old Corrals & Sagebrush, consisting of cowboy songs, both traditional and new. “Kind of a musical Christmas card for my friends,” he recalls. “We weren’t looking for a hit radio play or anything like that”. Unbeknownst to Tyson and his friends, the cowboy renaissance was about to find expression at the inaugural Elko Cowboy Poetry Gathering in 1983. A small coterie of saddle makers, rawhide braiders, cowboy poets and pickers discovered one another in this small cow-town in Northern Nevada. Tyson was invited to perform his “new western music” and the overwhelming response at Stockman’s Casino brought Tyson the realization that he had found his true audience.

Tyson considers himself a very fortunate man. His music career takes him to concerts all over North America, where he is able to ride the deserts and sage hills with his friends from Alberta to Mexico. “I like to surround myself with the most talented musicians,” Tyson says, “so that people not directly from the ranch culture can enjoy an evening with us through the music alone. Everyone, it seems, can relate to a song like Someday Soon and that’s the kind of communication I strive for.”

The striving continues and the songs keep coming from this word painter of the west. His current album, Yellowhead to Yellowstone and other Love Stories, was recorded in 2008 and has been critically acclaimed in both Canada and the United States. This latest CD is the 13th release in Tyson’s steady stream of recordings since 1973. In December 2010, Ian’s memoir for Random House of Canada – “The Long Trail” – became an instant Best Seller.

Ian Tyson is the recipient of The Order of Canada and has been inducted into five industry Halls of Fame. He has garnered three Honorary Doctorates and received numerous citations and awards from every corner of the entertainment industry.

SOLD OUT - Ian Tyson plays at Horizon Stage, 1001 Calahoo Road in Spruce Grove at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, January 13 and Saturday, January 14, 2012. Tickets are $35 for Adults, $30 for Students/Seniors and $5 eyeGo tickets for High School students. Tickets are available by phone at 780-962-8995, in person at the City Hall Ticket Centre, 315 Jespersen Avenue, Spruce Grove, or at ticketmaster.ca.

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

The emotional power and beauty of Celtic music

The Tannahill Weavers are one of Scotland's premier traditional bands. Their diverse repertoire spans the centuries with the rich and varied musical heritage of the Celtic people. Born of a session in Paisley, Scotland and named for the town's historic weaving industry and local poet laureate, Robert Tannahill, the group has made an international name for its special brand of Scottish music, blending the beauty of traditional melodies with the power of modern rhythms.

Over the years, the “Tannies” have been trailblazers for Scottish music, and their tight harmonies and inventive arrangements have won them fans from beyond the folk and Celtic music scenes. They are firmly established as one of the most exciting groups on the concert stage. From reflective ballads to footstomping reels and jigs, the variety and range of the material they perform is matched only by their enthusiasm and lively Celtic spirits.

Combining live recordings of favorites from their 2005 US tour and studio recordings of new material, the Tannahill Weavers produced their first release on Nashville-based Compass Records, Live and In Session. Their exuberant performances and outstanding recording efforts seemingly can't get any better...yet continue to do just that. As the Winnipeg Free Press noted, "The Tannahill Weavers - properly harnessed - could probably power an entire city for a year on the strength of last night's concert alone. The music may be old time Celtic, but the drive and enthusiasm are akin to straight ahead rock and roll."

The Tannahill Weavers perform at Horizon Stage (1001 Calahoo Road, Spruce Grove) at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, September 24, 2011. Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for students/seniors and $5 eyeGo tickets for high school students. Tickets are available by phone (780-962-8995), in person at the City Hall Ticket Centre (315 Jespersen Avenue, Spruce Grove) or at www.ticketmaster.ca. For more information, please visit www.horizonstage.com or call 780-962-8995.