Serena Ryder with Danielle Duval

On April 24th, Serena Ryder played a high energy and very fun show at the Commodore Ballroom. This sold out show attracted a crowd young and old.

Danielle Duval at the Commodore Ballroom

The opener, Danielle Duval was mesmerizing. This Montreal born rocker brings a lot of oomph to the stage. She played acoustic versions of her songs on the bass, guitar and piano. Her song "You can't come any closer" was very intimate and moving. For someone who is only 5ft 4 (and a ¼) she definitely has a big strong voice and a lot of presence. Her rendition of Grease got everyone singing along and hyped up for the show. Her final song " Ambulance" got the crowd cheering and wanting more from her. Duval is definitely a talent to follow.   

For more information about Danielle Duval and a free song download, check out her website: ofthevalley.com

Serena Ryder at the Commodore Ballroom

For Ryder herself, playing at the Commodore Ballroom was a dream come true. She told the crowd about how she was first acquainted to the Commodore when she opened for an act at the age of 19 or 20. Now here she is playing as the headliner of a sold out show, promoting her latest album Harmony. Her energy was contagious, you could really feel that she was having a lot of fun on stage and it got everyone in the crowd singing and dancing along. On a side note, we had the privilege to be standing next to Ryder’s mom, whom Ryder made a lot of shout outs to and often visited on stage right with shouts of “Hi mom!” mid-song. Ryder invited a fan on stage, Jeremiah, to sing and harmonize with her on “Please Baby Please.” She brought the crowd to a culminating halt and enthusiasm with her song “Stompa” and “Circle of the Sun” leaving the crowd in disbelief that the concert was over. Ryder then came back on stage twice to do encores, finally finishing with a slightly more mellow “Weak in the Knees.” She is currently on tour with her latest album Harmony.

For more information about Serena Ryder, check out her website: serenaryder.com

More photos after the break!

KT Tunstall

KT Tunstall, who's full name is Kate Victoria Tunstall, was born on June 23rd, 1975 in Edinburgh, Scotland. She is a multitalented singer-songwriter and guitarist but she also plays the drums, flute, piano and kazoo! She is most well known for her radio hits, "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" and "Suddenly I See." For more information about KT Tunstall, check out her website at kttunstall.com!

Without further ado, here are some photos with comments from our guest blogger, Janet!

Check out the cool image behind KT Tunstall. It looks like it could be an alternate album cover for her latest album Tiger Suit!

[Tiger Suit is available on iTunes here.]

In this photo, KT Tunstall is seen with her acoustic guitar made entirely out of Talisker whiskey barrels!

KT told the audience that she has been taking piano lessons since she was 4 years old. However, in all of her albums, she only has three songs with piano in them. You can imagine how expensive each song is and how much they are worth in piano lessons!

Here KT is playing a kazoo to the bass line of "Seven Nation Army" by the White Stripes.

Here KT Tunstall is playing "Suddenly I See!"

This is Len, from a Boston thrift store. KT takes him along with her on tour :)

Overall, KT Tunstall is a very talented performer. She does the entire set on her own, recording beats and looping them throughout her songs. She is her own backup singer and was very entertaining, engaging audiences young and old. Definitely worth seeing live and I look forward to seeing her perform again!

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These photos were taken at KT Tunstall's concert in Vancouver at the Venue on May 6th, 2011!

Thank you for the awesome photos and review, Janet!

 *EDIT*

I just wanted to add this photo of KT Tunstall's autographed cover of The Scarlet Tulip EP! It's only available at her live shows or on her website: kttunstall.com/

Also, upon completing our collection of KT Tunstall's albums, I realized how silly my comment about her alternate album cover was since the image behind KT Tunstall at her live shows is actually printed on the Tiger Suit CD!

Thank you for checking out MUSIC in Vancouver and we hope you come back soon!

(If you have or will be attending a concert in Vancouver and would like to send us your photos and reviews, please email us at MUSICinVan@gmail.com!)