Charlottes Web presents Tanglefoot in Farewell Tour

press release

StoryImage( ‘/Images/Story//Auto-img-1239812250319.jpg’, ‘Photo provided’, ‘Tanglefoots Farewell Tour will be presented at 8 p.m., Friday, April 17, at Mendelssohn Performing Arts Center, 415 N. Church St., Rockford.‘);

As Shakespeare said, Parting is such sweet sorrow. Charlottes Web for the Performing Arts invites you to join them in such a bittersweet moment. Tanglefoot, the Canadian group that debuted at the Web in 2004, loved as an energetic import from the North, is on the final leg of their musical journey. This is a group whose harmonies spread joy, and, it has been rumored, spontaneous bursts of dancing.

Tanglefoots Farewell Tour will be presented at 8 p.m., Friday, April 17, at Mendelssohn Performing Arts Center, 415 N. Church St., Rockford. For everything there is a season, and 2009 will be the last for Tanglefoot. Its been 25-plus years, and weve had a tremendous run. This will be a very busy year, and we hope to see as many of you as possible as we make our farewell tour. Well see you out there! said Al Parrish.

The group consists of Al Parrish, double bass; Rob Ritchie, piano; Steve Ritchie, acoustic guitar; Sandra Swannell, violin, viola; and Terry Young, guitar, mandolin, banjo.

One fan described them as Stan Rogers meets Van Halen, and Tanglefoot is indeed a potent brew of full-throttle energy, musical agility and exquisite vocal polish. They are one of Canadas busiest acoustic/roots bands, and since 1998 have maintained a relentless touring schedule across Canada, the United States and Britain.

Theyre also a noteworthy group of songwriters, … masters of the storytelling tradition, (with) elegant, sensitive musicianship and an impressive range of talent, according to BBC Yorkshire, while the Chester Chronicle exclaimed, The huge impact of their adept songwriting, spectacular vocal harmonies and strong instrumental accompaniment is hard to resist.

Violinist/violist Sandra Swinnell debuted with Tanglefot in January 2006. Guitarist Steve Ritchie has the longest tenure, having joined in 1988. Toronto bass player Al Parrish has been around since 1994. The multi-faceted Terry Young joined in 1999, playing mandolin, guitar, tenor and five-string banjo, harmonica and whistle. Most recently, former Tanglefoot piano player and songwriter Rob Ritchie has returned to the band after a five-year hiatus, during which his first book was published (Orphans of Winter, Seraphim Editions).

Their monumental a cappella song Vimy drew an invitation to perform at the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge on April 9, 2007. Tanglefoots most recent UK tour included a breathtaking a cappella set at Southwell Minster, a 900-year-old Norman cathedralan event that, while part of the Gate To Southwell Festival, became the main talking point in the town for weeks.

On the other end of the spectrum, the band also enjoys the unusual claim-to-fame of having had one of their CDs fly aboard the space shuttle. The Music In the Wood accompanied Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor in April 2001.

Coincidentally, Tanglefoot is also the only Canadian band ever to play at the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.Canadian culture for an auditorium full of rocket scientists.

Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Advance tickets are available at Rockford Area Arts Council, 713 E. State, (815) 963-6765; both of The Postal Shoppe locations, in the Edgebrook Center, (815) 397-7301 and 2205 S. Perryville, (815) 484-0940; The Kilt & Clover, 1414 N. Main, (815) 962-5458; and JustGoods, 201 Seventh St., (815) 965-8903. Tickets can also be ordered with credit card via PayPal ($1 /ticket service charge), at www.charlotteswebconcerts.com. Print your receipt and present it at the door to redeem your tickets.

For more information, call (815) 964-2238 or visit www.charlotteswebconcerts.com.

from the April 15-21, 2009, issue