Derina Harvey Band ready to get your toes tapping and hands clapping

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Edmonton based Celtic band the Derina Harvey  Band are excited to return to the Slice, Jan. 19.

The Derina Harvey band return to the Slice, Jan 19. Photo by Richard Amery
They have added  a new member to the family in  new fiddle player Jessica Blenis.


“ Our other fiddle player moved to a different part of the province. We’ve played with a lot of different fiddle players. She played her first gig with us last weekend in Fort McMurray. Though she has got on stage with us before,” observed lead singer Derina Harvey.


“ She’s from New Brunswick, so we’re still the most authentic eastern band in the west,” Harvey continued, adding the transplanted Newfoundlanders released two CDs including their most recent “Rove and Go” in 2016, has been playing together for many years.


“ Me and Steve (Pinsent, drummer) were in the same music program in 1998 where we met our guitar player Scott (Greene) who was in the recording program. As it happens, he has been playing with our bass player Ed Smith since they were 14, so we’ve been playing together for a long time. We’re like family,” she added.


They have spent most of the  year playing all around the province as well as into Saskatchewan and Manitoba. They returned to Newfoundland during a summer filled with festivals including the George Street Festival in St. John’s the North Country Fair in Driftpile, Alberta, Springfest in East Coulee, went to Ontario for the Ontario Contact in Petrolia and even played Yellowknife for the first time at the East Coast Garden party this summer under the midnight sun.

They enjoyed playing Newfoundland.

“ It was great to be back home and share a stage with so many great musicians,” she said.

 


They also dipped down into the United States for the Arts Northwest Booking Conference festival in Tacoma Washington, where they won a $5,000 award for best showcase.

“We only played an 11 minute set. We won $5,000 to tour in  the United States, so we’re looking forward to using that this year to play for people who haven’t seen us before,” she said. They are also playing a showcase at the Pacific Contact in Burnaby, B.C in April.


They are also working on new music for a new album, though they haven’t started recording it yet.


“ ‘Rove and Go’ come out in may 2016 and we still like playing it for people. People are singing along with it as soon as they hear the first few notes. So that is a wonderful feeling, ” she said.

She is looking forward to bringing the band back to the Slice.
“Everyone there was so nice, so we’re excited to be coming back. Hopefully we’ll see some new faces  and people who are ready to have a little fun who are ready to get their toes tapping and their hands clapping,” Harvey said.

Harvey has begun a new radio show on CKXU Friday nights,.
“I start off slow with traditional folk music and that morphs into a mixture of folk, country and blues music,” she said.
“It’s definitely new territory for me. But it’s been really fun,” she said.
“There’s lots to learn, but it”s been great,” she enthused.
 The Derina Harvey band take the stage at 9 p.m. Tickets are $15.

— By Richard Amery, L.A Beat Editor
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