Empire of Nothing open for AV and the Inner City – Music in the Park

Trail and District Arts Council presents Kootenay Savings Music in the Park AV and the Inner City with opening act Empire of Nothing on Thursday July 6th at 6:15 pm at Gyro Park, Trail.

The Trail & District Arts Council is very excited to get the community back together this Summer at Gyro Park for Music in The Park. With eleven shows and two acts per night, from June 22 to August 31, it’s the perfect opportunity for all the family to get together outside and listen to great live music!

This season we have a great mix of music from local favourites to touring talent!

On July 6 Empire of Nothing turns up the sound with alt and indie rock and blues. Then AV and The Inner City, a soul/roots group made up of award-winning female singers, take the stage.

Empire of Nothing brings a unique blend of Prog-Rock, funk, and blues to their sound. A 5-piece Alt Rock band with upbeat original music, featuring rock guitar, synthesizer, powerful vocals, and a rock-solid rhythm section to bring epic textures and soundscapes to their music. The band is Chris Ovington and Newton Szabo, former members of Whispering Polly and 19 Satellite, lead singer Stasia Rezansoff, drummer Steve Stefoniuk, and bassist Aaron Covington.

AV & the Inner City is a soul/roots group from Edmonton made up of 6 singers: band leader and multi award-winning soul singer-songwriter AV (Ann Vriend); Debbie Houle, co-founder of the Juno-nominated international touring Indigenous a cappella group Asani; jazz radio host, jazz singer, and professional pickle company owner Johanna Alleyne; Crystal Eyo, lead singer and songwriter of pop/RnB band Mercy Funk; Alenka Lundell; and marching band and choral singer, Jenn Dahlen.
Their repertoire includes AV’s own songs, with a cover song or 2 thrown in for good measure, and 3 part harmony soul/gospel style arrangements based around her voice and keyboard playing. From their humble inner city beginnings they joke that they have the goal of “world domination”– but really they are thrilled to be developing their sound to audiences beyond the front porch.

Bring a lawn chair. Admission is by donation – $3 minimum suggested. Or support the Trail Arts Council’s programming by buying a Season Pass for the whole summer for $50! Passes will be available soon.

As part of Music in the Park 2023 we will once again be collaborating with Trail’s Incredible Farmers Market. Our two Night Markets on July 20 and August 17 are awesome events that bring the community together with Music, Food, Beer Garden and Farmers Market. So much fun in Gyro Park.

This show is made possible thanks to support from Kootenay Savings Credit Union, Teck Trail Operations, Columbia Basin Trust, BC Arts Council, BC Touring Council, the Government of Canada, Tourism South Kootenay, Pharmasave Trail and our media partner Bounce Radio. We also gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia.

Upcoming shows

.July 13: The Oot n’ Oots, a JUNO nominated family that makes rock n’ roll music for families and Selkirk College fiddle camp instructors play East Coast Old Time Fiddling tunes.

.July 20: Night Market: Doggone Brothers mixing bluegrass, old country and old-time music before Diyet and The Love Soldiers play their alternative country, folk, roots originals.

.July 27: Elise Boulanger brings her Indie-Folk 3 piece to play a unique chamber music/indie folk mix, followed by Tanika Charles and her band playing a contemporary twist on classic soul and R & B sounds.

.August 3: Vibetown is a 5-piece horn band playing uplifting covers. Followed by Coco Jaffro, a global 7-piece that plays Afro-Funk-Latin-Soul fusion that you can’t resist dancing to.

.August 10: Penny Shades is a five-piece alt-soul group with modern grooves and pychedelic flair. Plus, Paula Neder is an Argentinian solo artist mixing Latin American folk music with pop and rock roots.

.August 17: Night Market: Dinosaur Fight’s danceable keys and acoustic guitar with looping and vocals, and Baker Street Blues Band’s electric blues, and Andrew Allen Duo, a beachy blend of pop and R&B.

.August 24: UCRA Mountain String Band fine, homegrown Kootenay greygrass and Petunia and The Vipers and their fun mix of hillbilly-flavoured-swing inflected-ragtime.

.August 31: White Lightning get you dancing with their blues, rock and Boogie Band vibes before before the 2 Bit Jug Band’s old time jazz and blues from the 1920s and 40s.