2016 Jazz Festival must-sees, part 1 – the big shows

There are shows on outdoor stages, in parks and on streetcorners. There are shows in small clubs and bars, even restaurants. But the 2016 Vancouver International Jazz Festival also excels at big-ticket concerts, and this year’s lineup is no exception, running the gamut from a (perhaps) once-in-a-lifetime collaboration between three acclaimed singer/songwriters to a man who made his name telling others to Look Sharp! to one of today’s premiere blues bands. See below for this year’s big-stage shows at the 2016 VIJF.

Neko Case/k.d. lang/Laura Veirs with special guest Andy Shauf (Queen Elizabeth Theatre, 650 Hamilton St., June 29, 8 p.m., tickets $79) – Two Pacific Northwest powerhouses, Neko Case and Laura Veirs, team up with the pride of Cosort, Alberta, k.d. lang in this history-making concert to promote their new collaborative record, out June 17. And don’t miss opener Andy Shauf; The Party, the second album from this singer/songwriter from small-town Saskatchewan, is a low-key delight.

Joe Jackson (Queen Elizabeth Theatre, June 24, 8 p.m., $52-96) – After nineteen studio albums ranging from hyperactive new wave to big-band jazz and Cole Porter tunesmithery, Jackson needs little introduction. For this show, Jackson will play a short solo piano set before bringing out a full band with star players, including his long-time bassist Graham Maby.

Ms. Lauryn Hill (with Khari Wendell McCelland (Queen Elizabeth Theatre, June 26, 8 p.m., tickets $79-151) – The woman behind the platinum-selling, Grammy-winning 1998 album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is back. Hopefully this show will go off without a hitch, something that can’t be said for an Atlanta concert in May when she was 2 hours and 20 minutes late and played for less than 40 minutes. She later blamed her driver on her lateness, saying the driver had gotten lost. After a large backlash from her fans on Twitter, Hill claimed she was late because of need to ‘align her energies with the time.'”

Sarah McLachlan (Queen Elizabeth Theatre, June 27 at 8 p.m., tickets $79-140) – Someone whose energies are aligned just fine, thanks, is Sarah McLachlan. The Vancouver-based multi-platinum singer/songwriter plays songs from throughout her career as well as her latest album, Shine On.

Tedeschi Trucks Band (Queen Elizabeth Theatre, June 28 at 8 p.m., $69-118) – One, or two, of the biggest names in blues, the Tedeschi Trucks Band is a 12-piece powerhouse fronted by guitarists Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi. The group’s latest release is Let Me Get By. According to Popmatters.com, “Past Tedeschi Trucks Band records had their charms and their high points but this is the record that gets everything right from the first note to the last and it’s a welcome progression from a band that deserves all the good things coming its way in the wake of this record.”

For more info and/or tickets, visit coastaljazz.ca.