Hallelujah!
Powerhouse musicians Oliver Swain and Glenna Garramone are bringing the sounds of Canadian icon Leonard Cohen to the Cowichan Performing Arts Centre stage on Sept. 21 at 7:30 p.m., with Tower of Song: A Creative Tribute to Leonard Cohen.
"Tower of Song is a bit of a different beast," said Swain. "My collaborator, multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter, Glenna Garramone and I drew our inspiration not only from Cohen's original material but also from all the incredible versions of his songs like 'Hallelujah', 'Suzanne', and 'Bird On A Wire' by great vocalists like KD Lang, Jeff Buckly and Joe Cocker. Cohen's lyrics are so perfect and powerful, it gives us an opportunity to really stretch out as vocalists, focusing on intricate harmony arrangements."
'If It Be Your Will' check out the show that is scheduled for the songwriter's, novelist's and poet's birthday, marking 90 years since the talented artist came into this world. Lovers of musical legends will also have the chance to see Swain bring the music of Gordon Lightfoot alive a week prior at the the Chemainus Theatre on Sept. 13 and 14 with fellow musician Dylan Stone, who together have been celebrating the music and life of Lightfoot since his passing in May 2023. For the Tower of Song tribute Garramone will bring her piano and guitar skills to the stage while Swain will showcase his talents on the string bass and banjo.
"Glenna invited me to join her at The Media Club in Vancouver for a one-off Cohen tribute and we knew we had something special that we wanted to explore further," said Swain. "Our vocal harmonies are a huge focus in the show, evoking classic groups like Simon and Garfunkel, The Mamas and the Papas, and the Everly Brothers."
Something that everybody may not know is that the Tower of Song tribute rarely seeks to re-create Cohen's recordings, but instead is aimed at celebrating the writer himself as Swain and Garramone create intricate vocal and instrumental arrangements, including some spoken word versions of some of his poems. The dynamic duo has even been so daring as to put some of his writings to music for the first time allowing them both to draw on all of their musical abilities and apply them to Cohen's powerful body of work.
"We hope longtime Cohen fans will appreciate our fidelity to the songs and lyrics, while finding some fresh inspiration in the ways we have arranged and adapted some of the material," said Swain. "Incidentally, this is also a great opportunity for folks who have always respected the writer, but didn't listen much to the albums, to spend an evening with Cohen's music featuring soaring vocal performances and tight harmonies."
