Art Turner News

Just a quick note to let you know about some upcoming shows in the next couple of weeks. I'll be heading up to play the Dawson City Music Festival in the Yukon July 21-23, followed by a concert at Guild Hall in Whitehorse on the 24th. Upon my return to Winnipeg, I'll be playing a concert at Crescent Fort Rouge United Church (I just had a look inside today -- what an exquisite venue!) August 2nd, 7:30 p.m., at 525 Wardlaw (corner of Wardlaw and Nassau in Osborne Village). Tickets will be available for $10 at the door. Any questions, call the church office at 475 6011. It's an incredibly beautiful room, with superb acoustics. Might be my last Winnipeg show for many months, so come on out! It's going to be a memorable evening, for sure.


Meanwhile, my new record, Sonora, is doing very well indeed (best ever, in fact). It's been sent out to Adult Eclectic radio in the U.S., where it just became the 3rd highest debut this month, coming in at #12 on the New Age Reporter Charts (forgive the "new age" moniker; perhaps it would be more germane to point out that Ralph Towner's new CD debuted at #83 on the same chart, while Sam Bush came in at #91, and Bela Fleck's latest climbed from #96 to #85). Just numbers, but still, it's all good, as they say.


The early reviews are pretty encouraging as well:

"One of Canada's most promising acoustic steel-string fingerstyle guitarists, Art Turner released his fourth CD Sonora in 2006 and the accolades keep coming in. Turner is already being compared to greats like Hedges, Fahey, and Basho."
- 20th Century Guitar Magazine

"(Turner) gets amazing sounds out of his guitar and the recorded tone is absolutely stunning! (Sonora) is a treat."
- James Jensen, Solid Air Records (USA)

"From delicate self-penned Celtic airs to emboldened and darkly grooving tunes, Art Turner�s latest offering delivers music for those wishing to sit back and relax or delve into his rich world of instrumental guitar compositions... like a weary traveller the listener can let Art�s landscapes drift past the window or stop the bus and ramble within the music�s forested riches."
- David Ross MacDonald (the Waifs), Penguin Eggs Summer 2006

�Winnipeg's acoustic guitar god Art Turner seemingly has only himself to compete with as his notoriety expands outside the boundaries of this province, and indeed the country. His fourth album is front-to-back virtuosity and his easy-rolling songs paint pictures with their errant flow and fluid delivery. It makes sense, as Turner is a steady-handed photographer as well -- the album sleeve is littered with tiny examples of his captures. Like his music, the images are by turn playful, stark, questioning and evocative, which is what sets him apart from a whole raft of his less-than-thrilling contemporaries.�
- Winnipeg Free Press, June 24, 2006