Joseph Blake

Monday Magazine contributor

For almost a year, Victoria blues musicians and fans have been celebrating Eric LeBlancB次元官网网址檚 contribution to the local music scene with a series of Blues for Eric benefit concerts.

For 33 years LeBlanc was one of the worldB次元官网网址檚 great disc jockeys, serving up an authoritative, weekly radio show on University of VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 tiny CFUV-FM. Listeners all over the world listened to EricB次元官网网址檚 Let the Good Times Roll on the web. LeBlanc also co-authored Blues: A Regional Experience with Australian writer Bob Eagle in 2013 and taught courses in the history of jazz and blues at Victoria Conservatory of Music.

When Eric died of cancer, friends and fans who missed his raspy, Quebecois-accented radio voice, deep knowledge of the blues, and warm and generous personality established the Eric LeBlanc Memorial Scholarship at University of Victoria, for students in the schoolB次元官网网址檚 jazz program.

TheyB次元官网网址檝e hosted a series of inspired, fundraising performances at The Oaks Restaurant and Tea Room in Oak Bay Village, including standout Blues for Eric benefit concerts by Bill Johnson, Dave Harris, David Essig, Trio Espresso featuring jazz vocalist Carol Sokoloff, and a rollicking, sold-out reunion show by Children of Celebrities.

On Saturday, Feb. 23 at The Oaks, Sidewalk Trio reunite for what promises to be one of the highlights of this seasonB次元官网网址檚 local musical offerings. Featuring slide guitar and dobro playing of Vancouver Island Music Festival founder and musical director, Doug Cox, alongside his old bandmates, guitarist Ken Hall and bassist Rick May, the veteran trioB次元官网网址檚 return to a local stage is cause for celebration. Tickets are $20 at The Oaks (2250 Oak Bay Ave. cash only), and the 7 p.m. show is likely to sell out the intimate, 100-seat venue. DonB次元官网网址檛 miss it. Highly recommended.

On March 16 at 7 p.m. SP and JohnnyB次元官网网址檚 Rhumba Kings perform their swampy, New Orleans-inspired music for another Blues for Eric benefit concert at The Oaks. That should be a great evening, too.

You make a to the scholarship fund. Simply select B次元官网网址淥therB次元官网网址� under designation, then type in Eric LeBlanc Memorial Scholarship in the B次元官网网址渙therB次元官网网址� box.

If sending a cheque by mail, label it with B次元官网网址渇or Eric LeBlanc Memorial ScholarshipB次元官网网址� on the envelope and send it to: University of Victoria Development Office, PO Box 1700, STN CSC Victoria, BC, V8W 2Y2. Your tax receipt will be issued by UVic.

editor@mondaymag.com
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