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Kimberley’s Green Door presents Michael Occhipinti and vocalst Pilar

The local event company is hosting a concert at Centre 64 for the first time
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Ilaria ‘Pilar’ Patassini performs in Kimberley on July 13.

For years, The Green Door has been a popular venue for musicians and artists of all kinds. The community-driven business is well known for their Thursday night live music sessions, their catering and their unique venue in Kimberley’s Platzl.

For the first time, The Green Door will be hosting a concert at a different venue, in order to accommodate the talent they are bringing in.

On Thursday, July 13 The Green Door presents Musician Michael Occhipinti with Vocalist Ilaria ‘Pilar’ Patassini, at Centre 64.

Green Door Manager, Duane Funk says this show is a bigger show than they are used to, “Pilar has an amazing, booming voice. When I heard her sing at the green door, I had to take a step back.”

Hence the decision to host the concert at Centre 64, where the music can fill the theatre, and also allow for up to 130 guests.

Funk says that Occhipinti has played in Kimberley a couple of times over the years, and is often heard on CBC’s Jazz Radio, where he plays with people all over the world.

Both Occhipinti and Pilar have been granted fellowships, allowing them to travel around the world and across Canada. Occhipinti created The Sicilian Project out of his fellowship in Sicily, where he uses music sung by Sicilian fisherman, sulphur miners, and folk musicians as a starting point.

Funk says that Occhipinti’s music has been dazzling audiences worldwide with its intriguing mix of rare Old World Sicilian folk material and the New World sounds of electric guitar, chamber music, funk, reggae, and modern jazz.

“Vocalist Ilaria Pilar Patassini is an astonishing vocalist from Rome who pours her soul into everything she sings, and joins the group for her fourth tour of Canada in four years. The touring quartet is completed by bassist Scott Kemp and drummer Tony Ferraro.”

The concert will also be recorded live by sound engineer, John Siega of Rocky Mountain Media.

Alayne McGregor of the Ottawa Jazz Scene said in a review, “Rarely have I seen performers - and particularly singers - who immersed themselves in the music as much as Italian vocalist, Pilar…It was an emphatically ‘hot’ concert.”

Raul da Gama of the JazzdaGama also said in a review, “Michael Occhipinti’s miraculous sounding guitar, the divine Pilar. No pomp; no circumstance; just wonderfully and magically made music.”

Doors open at 7p.m. with the show starting at 7:30p.m. Tickets are $35 and are available at The Snowdrift Cafe in Kimberley and Lotus Books in Cranbrook. The ticket price includes appetizers and wine in the Gallery at the Kimberley Arts Centre, and the chance to mingle with the performers after the show.



Corey Bullock

About the Author: Corey Bullock

Corey Bullock is a multimedia journalist and writer who grew up in Burlington, Ontario.
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