"From the deeply rooted Celtic traditions of Cape Breton to the rapid fire guitar work of Chet Atkins and Doc Watson, Cormier sings the songs in a mellow baritone and frames them with virtuosic playing on a bevy of instruments, including fiddle, guitar, banjo, mandolin, and piano” ACOUSTIC GUITAR
“Gunning is the next big thing in the True North of Song, an artist as compelling, as assured and attentive to every nuance of the writing process, as Lightfoot, Cockburn and Stan Rogers before him” TORONTO STAR
Two of Canada’s greatest much-honored solo roots singer-songwriters introduce their soon-to-be-released second duo CD Leather and Dust, following on the heels of their critically acclaimed, blockbuster inaugural recording Two. Gunning & Cormier are great friends, frequent collaborators, co-writers and touring partner; the pair share a rare musical and personal affinity. For the past few years they've lived down the road from one another in Canada's beautiful Nova Scotia and the neighborhood has exploded with great music.
Every song has to meet their very high, combined standards and they don't take it lightly. “We really put our heart into it,” says Gunning.
Gunning & Cormier go back 23 years when Dave's fiddle player dropped out of a show at the last minute. “He hired me for a gig when I was just back from Nashville, nobody knew me here,” says Cormier. Widely celebrated for both his Celtic and Blues music, Cormier had spent 10 years immersed in the U.S. Blues world, playing memorable nights at the Grand Ole Opry with artists such as Waylon Jennings, Marty Stuart, Earl Scruggs, Bill Monroe, Charlie Louvin and Vince Gill. Now he was back home in Canada.
“We were totally blown away by J.P.’s playing,” recalls Gunning. “I remember him saying if you ever do a CD, I want to play on it.” That happened, and much more. They played together and wrote together whenever they could, coming up with songs that graced both their projects, over the years showered with awards and nominations on the East Coast and nationally.
“Dave is such a part of my life,” says Cormier. “Dave is like my family, he’s like a blood relative to me, and he’s always been that way.” Gunning feels the same way. “Absolutely, we just became fast friends, and we’ve been working together ever since.”
In their music you can hear that affinity, their passion, power and delight in their otherworldly guitar interplay, and in their gorgeous vocals. "You sometimes can’t tell us apart," says Gunning, "or sometimes even our vocals you can’t tell apart, which is really weird because our voices are nothing alike, but when we sing together, we have a sibling harmony, we blend like brothers.”
Two songwriters, interpreters, guitar players, and singers at their peak bring to the stage the power of song between two friends, brothers, uncompromising performers. We're thrilled to listen - in person!
Gunning boils it down. “We love singing together, we love playing guitar together, it just works.”
The formal album release in scheduled for April, but for their tour starting right here on Sunday, they’ll sing from the new album - with a few copies on hand!
Tickets: $28 Advance / $30 Day of Show / $50 Gold Circle
Location: GE Theatre