Paul Woida Concert
March 15 Festival Place, Sherwood Park
Opening tonight is 17 year old Ainsley Elise….her age, when revealed, surely as much as a
surprise to everyone as it was to me. A true professional, this young singer-songwriter
demonstrates vocal maturity beyond her years, while moving easily between guitar and
keyboards. Through heartfelt lyrics, and a demonstrated understanding of the value of a well-placed dramatic pause in song, she expertly holds her audience for her opening set. “Every single one of you in this room is needed and loved and is important” she tells us in a particularly meaningful moment while introducing Catherine’s Song, which, she explains, is about someone close to her who she nearly lost.
A short intermission later, and Paul Woida walks out on stage to an enthusiastic welcome, and we settle in for what we expect, from our collective experiences from Paul Woida performances, to be a treat of an evening. I’ll spare you the suspense…we were not disappointed. You see, here’s the thing with this particular artist – yes, you’ll love hearing what he brings out of the studio, but you haven’t really experienced Paul Woida until you’ve seen him live.
It is crowded in Sherwood Park’s Festival Place lobby more than half an hour before show time, and milling through the crowd, welcoming guests, is tonight’s headliner, Edmonton based singer/songwriter/loop pedal artist extraordinaire, Paul Woida. This is the first time he has put on his own show in this type of venue, though he’s already had the opportunity to sample some even bigger audiences when opening for Martin Kerr last year at Edmonton’s Winspear and for Meghan Trainor in Nova Scotia the year before. From open stages, to weddings, to corporate events to night clubs, Paul’s one-man- band looping style combined with his easy connection with an audience has earned him a supportive following.
Article and Photography by: Shauna Specht