If David Lynch and Nick Cave had a hillbilly baby that yodeled, the result might sound something like Petunia.
Described as “The Savior of Country Music”, the mysterious Canadian singer-songwriter is bringing his gloriously strange and unpredictable solo show to Medina Bookshop in Cowes on Saturday 26th September at 7pm.
Who is Petunia?
Petunia is not your average country singer.
He’s a wandering troubadour, poker player, musical historian, theatre-maker and self-confessed adventurer whose music sounds as though it has travelled through a hundred years of American roots music before arriving, slightly dishevelled, in the present day.
His musical style and influences
His songs weave together country, folk, ragtime and old-time roots, with stories of love, loss, gambling, wandering and misadventure.
One minute tender and intimate, the next wild and weather-beaten, his performances have the strange quality of making the past feel suddenly and vividly alive.
Or, if that description isn’t doing the job, try this: Tom Waits meets Elvis at Woody Guthrie’s hobo junction.
From street corners to international stages
Born in rural Quebec, Petunia began his musical wanderings by playing street corners across Canada and the New York City subway system before graduating to international touring.
He now lives in Vancouver and performs throughout Canada, the US and Europe, both solo and with his band, The Vipers.
Theatre, creativity and beyond
Away from music, he has an equally eclectic life in theatre, writing scores, acting and collaborating with theatre artists. He is, in short, difficult to categorise – which is probably exactly how he likes it.
Poet Al Mader perhaps gets closest to capturing the Petunia phenomenon in his description of a “razor sharp hombre / all snake eyes and boxcars”, who slips out of a 1920s speakeasy, hops a train and eventually pitches camp beneath a prairie sky, watched over by a full moon and a lovesick coyote.
It’s an unlikely journey, but one that promises to make for a memorable night at Medina Bookshop.
Event details and tickets
Petunia performs at Medina Bookshop on Saturday 26th September from 7pm.
Tickets are priced at £15 and available in person from Medina Bookshop or through their website.
Pull on your cowboy boots. Bring a flask of hooch. And prepare to meet Petunia.
News shared by Paul on behalf of Medina Bookshop. Ed
