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Time: 8 p.m.

 Tickets: $32

Juno Award winning musician and actor well known to Canadians for his humanitarian work with special performances by Pear and One More Girl.  The Empress performances are part of Tom's "Singing for Supper" cross-Canada tour.  The tour's goal is to raise needed financial support and food for food banks, ministries and other organizations feeding Canada's needy.  Non-perishable food items and cash donations will be accepted at the Empress Theatre performances to benefit the hungry in Canada.

    * Opening Night Series: December 11, 2010
    * Second Night Series: December 12, 2010
    * Showtime: 8:00 pm
    * Single tickets: $32.00 each

Tom Jackson: http://www.tomali.com/

Appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2000 for his music and humanitarian work, Tom is well known to Canadians as an accomplished musician and actor dedicated to helping the less fortunate.   At the 2007 Junos, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) bestowed Tom with the Humanitarian Award in recognition for his positive contributions to the social landscape of Canada. That same year, the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television also presented Tom with their prestigious Humanitarian Award at the annual Gemini events.  Tom received the Queen’s Jubilee medal in 2002 and Centennial Medals from Alberta and Saskatchewan in 2005.  Time Magazine named him one of Canada’s best activists and Honorary Degrees have been conferred upon him from the University of Regina, Alberta, Laurentian, Winnipeg, Victoria, Trent, Lakehead, Calgary and Lethbridge.  Tom begins a 3-year appointment as Chancellor of Trent University in September 2009.

Born on the One Arrow reserve in Saskatchewan and raised in Winnipeg, Tom left school at the age of 15 and spent seven years living on the back streets of Winnipeg. This experience built the foundation of his character - tenacity, leadership, determination to succeed and an altruistic capacity to care for others.

As a singer and songwriter, Tom has recorded 14 albums, two of which have received Juno nominations. His rich bass baritone is recognizable to music fans and concertgoers across the country.  Tom is also an award-winning actor. Fans of the CBC hit television series North of 60 will know him as Chief Peter Kenidi, a role he portrayed for six seasons. From Shining Time Station to Star Trek to Law & Order, Tom is no stranger to film and notes his favourites - three North of 60 movies, The Diviners, Grizzly Falls, Meeshee The Water Giant and Skinwalkers.  Tom’s distinctive voice can also be heard narrating television projects such as Life & Times, The Snow Eater and Great Canadian Rivers.

When Tom was working on North of 60, fellow cast member Mervin Good Eagle committed suicide. His tragic and untimely death exposed Tom to the devastating effects of suicide in Aboriginal communities. His response was to create and initiate the Dreamcatcher Tour.  After a dozen years, 170 urban and reserve locations across Canada have benefited from Tom’s workshops, music, and overall messages of empowerment.

One of Tom's prime motivators is his drive to end hunger. He has applied his musical and entrepreneurial gifts to his Huron Carole Benefit Concert Series (retired after 17 years) and his more recent Singing for Supper and Swinging for Supper Tours.  Singing for Supper carries on his annual Christmas tradition, with over 20 concerts performed in churches and community halls from coast to coast.  Swinging for Supper matches Tom’s love of golf and live music – events raising money and awareness for food banks and agencies meeting the needs of at-risk youth.  Tom’s passion for travel across Canada forged his commitment to tour with Canadian Pacific Railway’s fundraiser The Holiday Train from 1999 to 2003.  From that experience he produced 2 compilation CDs, which, along with The Huron Carole, Singing for Supper and Swinging for Supper, have helped raise over $5.6M dollars for food banks and family agencies across the country.

Tom has a unique way of uniting people to create change and this instinct prevails despite all odds.  The Vigil, a post-9/11 concert fundraiser held September 12, 2001, engaged Canadian Country Music industry professionals, raising money for the Red Cross and marking the first of many similar events around the globe.  Tom spearheaded and hosted the CBC Newsworld coverage of Say Hay, an Alberta event that raised $1.8M for drought-stricken prairie farmers.  In 2003, Tom collaborated with Calgary-based industries to create Beef Relief in aid of cattle ranchers devastated by border closures.  Combined cash and beef contributions for the Calgary Inter-Faith Food Bank topped the $600,000 mark.  And in May 2009, Tom enlisted the help of many musical friends to stage Rise Again a nationally broadcast concert to aid victims of recent flooding in Manitoba.  Moved by increasing issues surrounding global food insecurity and homelessness, Tom’s next foray in elevating the quality of life for Canadians is the manufacture of affordable housing. 

One More Girl 

http://www.onemoregirlmusic.com
http://www.myspace.com/onemoregirlmusic
http://www.youtube.com/onemoregirlmusic
http://www.thesixtyone.com/onemoregirl

We’re called One More Girl. Except actually we’re two, Britt and Carly McKillip, and we’ve been singing and playing music since we were little. Only back then it was a hairbrush for a microphone and the coffee table for a stage. We’re nineteen and twenty-one now, and even though it feels like we’ve been doing this a long time, nothing could have prepared us for the last 2 years, ‘cause it’s been REALLY crazy. Here’s the reader’s digest: we finished recording our first album, got signed to a major label, showcased at the CCMA’s last September, opened for Darius Rucker and Dierks Bentley in January, shot four videos, released four singles, and went on a sold-out cross-Canada tour opening for Johnny Reid.

There's been so many firsts... first album, first video, first single, first time you hear your song on the radio, first time someone knows all the words and sings along, first time a stadium full of people scream when they hear it. Just a whole lot of firsts, and all this in less than a year! Not bad for a couple of girls from Maple Ridge. Now we're looking forward to recording our second album and taking on the world!

We want you to hear our music and feel like you instantly know us; like you can relate to what we’re feeling and saying, and recognize yourself somewhere in our songs.

 

Pear http://www.pearband.com

That's PEAR! Being labelled as "the most accomplished band you've never heard of" PEAR is taking the crossover market by storm with their infectious blends of alternative, pop and country music.

When Lynae and Denis Dufresne came off the road after fronting one of the most successful fiddle acts in history, they decided on a domestic life in Calgary. They become a bit antsy... Together, this group of musicians have performed all over the world: including Europe, Scandanavia, France, Germany, China and throughout North America. With Lynae as the songstress and Denis as the musical backbone, the two have joined together to become alternative country group PEAR: a sweet yet gritty new band that is juicier than most of the other apples out there in country music. As the core of PEAR the two are both celebrated and accomplished musicians on the country, folk and world music scenes and individually have backed up some of the biggest names in these styles of music.

PEAR weaves a signature sound that is clever and assured.

PEAR is young and sexy.

PEAR is fresh and different.