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Flamenco guitarist gets standing ovation in Kamsack

Residents of Kamsack were treated to a concert at the Playhouse Theatre on February 11 by a performer who has been getting rave reviews while on tour for the Stars for Saskatchewan Concert Series.

            Residents of Kamsack were treated to a concert at the Playhouse Theatre on February 11 by a performer who has been getting rave reviews while on tour for the Stars for Saskatchewan Concert Series.

            “Please give a warm Kamsack welcome to a performer who has gotten rave reviews so far at every stop on his Saskatchewan tour, including Humboldt, Melville, and Yorkton,” said Nikki Lachambre of the Kamsack Arts Council as she introduced Eric Harper, award winning Flamenco guitarist.

            Those who were in attendance were treated to a rather different kind of concert, as Harper combines his self-styled “heavy metal, trained classical guitarist, faking it as a flamenco player” style of music interwoven with a narrative dialogue of his life story.

            Harper said that during his formative years, he, along with his family, moved around the globe a lot, so he was heavily influenced by the music of the different countries he lived in while growing up in Portugal, Brazil and especially Italy.

            Harper seemed very much at ease performing his distinctive brand of music on stage, and encouraged audience participation in both his dialogue and songs.

            Harper’s affable, congenial delivery of his life story during his performance proved to be a stark contrast to the intensity he displayed while playing his flamenco-influenced musical numbers. His right hand moved with lightening speed and absolute intense control and his feet moved along with the beat. During the concert Harper explained that the intensity of his music style was why his guitar looked “so beat up.”

            The Kamsack crowd gave Harper a standing ovation and he rewarded them by performing the song he had written for his son, Shiloh, entitled Boy to Man, a soulful tune filled with a father’s reluctant sentiment at seeing his young son grow up too quickly.

            Before leaving the stage Harper thanked the audience.

“I think it’s great that people are open-minded and courageous enough to actually come out and see a musician they’ve never heard of before,” he said. “Thank you for your support because without your support I wouldn’t be able to do this.”

            The Kamsack Arts Council will be presenting The Middle Coast in concert on March 10 as the last performance in the 2066-2017 Stars for Saskatchewan concert series.