Nova Scotia duo performing at the Empress next month

By Lethbridge Herald on February 24, 2023.

Nova Scotia-based duo Gunning & Cormier are bringing their sweet guitar skills and perfect harmonies to the Empress on Thursday, March 16 at 7:30 p.m. for the fifth show in the Centre Stage Concert Series.

The friends, collaborators and co-writers have co-created two folk/country/bluegrass albums and go back nearly 25 years when Dave Gunning had a fiddle player drop out of a show at the last minute and JP Cormier filled in. They became friends and collaborators from afar until three years ago when Cormier moved just down the road from Gunning in Nova Scotia’s Pictou County. The pair were able to meet often at Gunning’s home studio and create their first album, Two. Their second album, Leather and Dust, will be released in April.

Dave Gunning is one of Canada’s folk music treasures – a critically acclaimed singer-songwriter who has earned multiple Canadian Folk Music Awards, a Juno nomination and nine East Coast Music Awards. Gunning has gained a reputation for being a great storyteller and engaging performer whose songs take listeners on a musical journey. Much of his material is about the underdogs, heroes, family, the heart and reflects the messaging of social justice and carrying about the world around us.

The fruits of those labours are now vividly on display on his latest collection, Up Against the Sky. His efforts have attracted strong media and radio airplay support. Dave has toured extensively across Canada, the U.S, the UK, Ireland and Australia.

JP Cormier is one of the finest guitar, fiddle, mandolin and banjo players in the business today. At the age of five, Cormier began teaching himself to play the guitar and recorded his first album of bluegrass instrumentals at 16.

After living and performing in the U.S. for a decade, including many nights at the Grand Ole Opry with artists such as Waylon Jennings, Marty Stuart, Earl Scruggs, Bill Monroe, Charlie Louvin and Vince Gill, he returned to Canada. Since then, he has released more than a dozen award-winning albums, racking up multiple award nominations and wins, including 13 East Coast Music Awards and one Canadian Folk Music Award.

Together, they offer original songs and rare covers filled with lush guitars and tight harmonies. Gunning & Cormier will be joined on-stage by bassist Jake Lauzon.