CANADIAN roots/folk singer-songwriter and pianist Jeffery Straker is at West Kirby Arts Centre this weekend as part of a new tour.

His performance at the venue on Saturday (November 5) will celebrate the release of new acoustic EP Just After Sunset.

It is a five-song acoustic collection of songs from Jeffery's 2021 album Just Before Sunrise.

Jeffery, a classically-trained pianist, was raised by a church organist mother and auctioneer father and swears he was born under the piano on the family grain farm in rural Saskatchewan on the Canadian prairies.

While Covid postponed a 2021 tour of England Jeffery looks forward to finally bringing his latest songs to UK listeners in a series of eight shows. To mark the occasion he’s reimagined five songs into an acoustic EP, stripping them down sonically.

Jeffrey's West Kirby Arts Centre show on Saturday, November 5 will also feature a performance by local band Tennessee Waltz.

Tickets are from https://westkirbyartscentre.org.uk/events/tennessee-waltz-with-jeffrey-straker

Just Before Sunrise is described by Jeffery as "a soundtrack of reflection, evolution, and optimism".

It is a collection of 10 original songs, produced by Russell Broom with two songs ("Light a Fire" and "Heavy is the Burden") produced by Royal Wood. The album strikes a reflective and optimistic tone, with many of the songs written in the wake of the sudden & unexpected passing of Jeffery’s mother.

Explaining its origins, Jeffery said: "My mom passed away in February 2019 and that sudden and unexpected loss had a profound effect on me.

"In the months after she died, I wrote like a madman as there was so much I was feeling and so much that needed to be expressed musically.

"Part of my remembering the beautiful person she was - all those great memories - they were almost accompanied by music.

"Those sounds helped prescribe the folk-roots flavour of the album. These songs represent the questioning, grief, revelation and resolution in the wake of losing this wonderful soul.”

Jeffery Straker grew up taking piano lessons in small-town Saskatchewan and has gone on to perform over 100 shows per year mainly across Canada, but also in Europe and Latin America. The rootsy-storytelling of his songs has the power to transport a listener - out onto a lake in Canada’s North or to the main street of a prairie town.

A clever lyricist with an energetic piano style, his song writing has drawn critical comparisons to the likes of Harry Chapin, Kris Kristofferson & Billy Joel, while maintaining a style distinctly his own.

He's recorded his roots/folk music for CBC radio's 'Canada Live', has seen his songs used in film, TV and theatrical productions and in 2019 won a Western Canadian Music Award.

A musical vagabond, his tour stops range from intimate house concerts to theatre shows and festivals.

Never one to let ‘genre’ constrain him he’s also taken the stage in sold-out concerts performing his songs with symphony orchestras. In 2014, an international career boost came from winning the prestigious Vina del Mar (Chile) song competition, representing Canada. Performing to a festival crowd of 20,000 people and to a TV audience of 100,000,000 viewers across the Spanish-speaking world, he gained a following in Latin America.

Jeffery was a student of the Royal Conservatory of Music and received his licentiate diploma in piano performance from Trinity College, London England when he was only 19.

He has showcased at major events including Canadian Music Week, NXNE, the Western Canadian Music Awards, & JunoFest.