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Colin James bring his tour to Prince Rupert

Canadian blues-rocker Colin James was in the City of Rainbows last week.
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Colin James performs at the Lester Centre of the Arts in Prince Rupert.

Canadian blues-rocker Colin James was in the City of Rainbows last week to perform the last show on his 3,000 kilometre Colin James Up Close and Personal Tour - an Acoustic Tour with special guest Chris Caddell presented by Astral Radio and Television.

The evening started off with Caddell performing two of his original songs solo, before James entered the stage to join him. At this time, Caddell told the audience how pleased he is to be playing “with one of his idols”.

One of the first songs the duo performed was “Better Way to Heaven” from James’ 2005 album “Limelight”, with the two then moving on to Otis Redding’s “These Arms of Mine”, one of the songs James recorded on his cover-song album “National Steele”.

Between songs, James shared many stories of his experiences, including his travels around Canada as a young musician in the late 1980’s right before “Five Long Years”, another song the duo performed together, was first heard on the radio.

The pair finished the first set with “Man Gotta Be a Stone”, the first single from James’ most recently album, “Rooftops and Satellites” released in 2009.

The second half of the concert started off with James’ performing a song by his lonesome before Caddell rejoined him on stage before playing “I Live the Life I Love”, a Willie Dixon blues tune that James’ covered on his Juno Award-winning album National Steele. The two then went on to play “Freedom” from James’ 1995 album “Bad Habits”, an album that he received a Juno Award for.

Although there were very few brave individuals who got up and danced, the audience didn’t fall short when it came to showing their support and excitement through screaming and applauds.

Other popular songs James’ and Caddell performed included “Voodoo Thing” and “Into the Mystic”.

James’ is an award-winning musician, receiving six Juno Awards in his lifetime, two of which were for “Male Vocalist of the Year”, as well as three Toronto Blues Society Maple Blues Awards. James’ started receiving recognition early in his career winning a Juno Award for the “Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year” for his first self-titled album.

James has continued to top the charts and tour over the past two decades, opening for music industry bigwigs such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, George Thorogood, John Lee Hooker and ZZ Top.