Juno Award-winning musical artist Valdy is coming back to Genesis Theatre.
The Saltspring Island resident has performed at the Ladner venue a handful of times and will be back Saturday night for a solo show.
“It’s always nice to come back and play this close to home on the mainland,” he says.
He refers to Genesis as a “lovely” school theatre.
“I could get there on my bike if I didn’t have such a heavy guitar case,” he quips.
Valdy, 72, plans on featuring songs that people remember him by from his “salad days” on radio in the 1970s.
“After that the fame goes away and comes back in waves and ripples,” he says. “So it’s not a continual stream. It’s a tough way to make a living, but who would change being where I am?”
He also plans on performing some new material that he hasn’t recorded yet. He’s recently written songs about the wildfire in Fort McMurray and the late Canadian singer/songwriter Stompin’ Tom Connors.
He has been in the studio lately working on a new album.
“That’s in progress,” he says.
The 2015 release Contenders Three: Off The Floor is his most recent album.
Born Valdemar Horsdal, Valdy has two Junos to his name, one for Folk Singer of the Year and another for Folk Entertainer of the Year. He was invested into the Order of Canada, one of the country’s highest civilian honours, for his achievements as a folk musician and for his support of charitable causes in 2012.
Another memorable highlight from his career happened in Poland at a music festival in the mid to late 1970s. Valdy says after he noticed a Cuban pianist playing backstage he got up, grabbed a guitar and started jamming with him.
“We were jamming away back there and people came up, humming and snapping their fingers,” he says. “No one could speak to each other because we were from different countries.”
The concert is set for Saturday, March 24 at 7:30 p.m. at Genesis Theatre, 5005-45th Ave., Ladner. Tickets are $25.
Visit http://connect37.deltasd.bc.ca and enter “valdy” in the Search for Word box or call 604-940-5550 for tickets.
Valdy says he will have recordings for sale at the show.
