Deep Roots: Musician to Musician: Donna Holmes Interviews Valdy

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Deep Roots: Musician to Musician: Donna Holmes Interviews Valdy

Wolfville’s own Donna Holmes will be opening for Valdy at the 2018 Deep Roots Festival, so we asked her to interview the distinctive Canadian singer-songwriter for our readers:

Donna Holmes: Like all good Canadians I love the winter, the “u” in “colour,” and your “Rock and Roll Song”. Do you ever get tired of playing it?

Valdy: No, I still play it every gig, and still in original key, which means I didn’t go for the stratosphere when I wrote it. Anytime we can connect on that level with an audience, playing something we enjoy, and that will please the listeners, we are in that rare territory that makes touring worthwhile.

DH: As a nod to our shared venue this year, what books are you currently clamouring to read?

V: I’ve been going through early sci-fi recently, Larry Niven in particular, of which Ringworld stands out. Clamouring to read is not the verb I choose. My time is full, and I sneak reading time: flying, eating, and even robbing sleep time. When I get home in October, I’m diving into Beverley McLachlin’s Full Disclosure.

DH: If I treated you to an ice cream cone at our local ice cream parlour, what flavour would you want?

V: Salted Caramel: if I’m going for sweet, I want SWEET.

DH: At Deep Roots you’ll be playing on the patio at the library on Friday and at Festival Theatre (a renovated ice-rink) on Saturday. What’s your favourite kind of venue/performance space?

V: I like all venues, from house concerts to stadiums. Each venue is a challenge, it’s our gig to create a space for magic to happen, and the wider variety of venues we play, the greater the challenge. Truly, I do not have a favourite size, although the Mary Webb Centre in SW Ontario, an old church, where a square and a circle of equal size were imposed on each other, sonically surpassed any place I’ve performed. Good sound and good sight lines rock, so I even adjust chairs when possible, so I can look at an arc of people, rather than rectangular blocks.

Valdy will be performing on Friday September 28 at 12pm on the Wolfville Memorial Library patio, with Donna Holmes. He will also perform on Saturday September 29 in the 1pm Songwriters’ Circle in the Festival Theatre, and at the Saturday Main Stage concert at 7pm with Ryan Cook, Tomato/Tomato, and Vishten at the Festival Theatre. Donna Holmes will also be performing on Saturday September 29 at 9:30am at Deep Roots at the Wolfville Farmers’ Market

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