Saturday night concerts are coming to Theatre Northwest this Fall

Music is coming to the stage at Theatre NorthWest.

The theatre has partnered with Mad Loon Entertainment to bring a new Saturday night concert series to Prince George beginning this fall.

Canadian accordion player, singer-songwriter, and novelist Geoff Berner will kick off the series on Saturday, Oct. 12.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Vancouver-based musician, his witty klezmer-folk songwriting has brought him around the world several times, currently on tour in Norway.

Berner’s latest album Canadiana Gortesquica reached number one on Canada’s folk/roots/blues radio charts.

“Theatre NorthWest is unique because it’s over a 200-person capacity so there’s a lot of people that can fit in there,” said Mad Loon owner and operator Danny Bell. “The main benefit of doing shows here is that even though you can fit a lot of people in the room it’s still going to feel really close and intimate.”

Bell and Theatre NorthWest executive Director Marni Hamagami first met when Bell was performing as the drummer in Theatre NorthWest’s Million Dollar Quartet last December.

“Marnie and I were talking one time before a rehearsal and I said ‘Hey this would be a really cool space to have live music and like a folk-concert series’ and she was really excited about it and finally it’s come to a point where we are ready to announce it and start moving forward.”

Bell says Berner’s performance will be the pilot concert in the series, but he hopes to schedule musicians from a variety of genres and from across the country.

“I’m hoping to pair up with local openers as well and also have nights where we just have local performers,” says Bell. “I want it to be a great experience for the musicians as well as the people that come to listen to the music.”

Hamagami says the partnership with Mad Loon is a fantastic fit.

“There’s not always a play on at Theatre Northwest so we want to make sure that our space is useable and accessible to the community during our off times and having a concert series here is just the perfect fit for us,” says Hamagami.

“It’s live performance art, it brings people into the space and it makes sure that space is being used in times when it would have otherwise been quiet.”

Tickets Geoff Berner's Oct. 12 performance are already on sale.

A single adult ticket is about $30 and you can purchase tickets online.