Alan Doyle brings ‘spirit’ to sold out Harvest show

Alan Doyle brings ‘spirit’ to sold out Harvest show

Alan Doyle brought his Newfoundland-celtic-rock spirit to the Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival on Thursday night.

“Oh it’s nice to be back home in Atlantic Canada, let’s show them how it’s done,” he told the crowd mid-way through the show.

The former Great Big Sea frontman had the Mojo TD tent packed tight. And when Doyle asked, “Are you in the mood to sing tonight?” the crowd roared and sang along.

The band plays during Alan Doyle’s show at the TD Mojo tent at the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival in Fredericton on Thursday, Sept. 13. | Photo: Cameron Lane

Doyle and his band members, Kendel Carson and Shehab Illyas, kicked off the show with hit Great Big Sea song When I Get Up. They performed a variety of songs from his most recent solo album A Week at the Warehouse and Great Big Sea classics from as early as 1993.

After singing Excursion Around the Bay, Doyle recalled in 1993 when Great Big Sea sang the same song while playing their first show in Fredericton at the Aitken Centre. Doyle said that halfway through the show they lost power.

“Completely without electricity, we sang,” he said.

The violinist in Alan Doyle’s band performs a solo to the delight of the packed audience. Doyle performed in Fredericton on Thursday, Sept. 13 as part of the annual Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival. | Photo: Cameron Lane

Doyle followed this by performing one of his newest hits, Bully Bows; the crowd swayed left to right in unison, singing along, “Row me bully boys row!”

The artist performed songs from his second solo album So Let’s Go released in 2015. 1,2,3,4 and Laying Down to Perish were both followed the album’s hit single, where he sang, “Because we’re only in Fredericton for so long, so let’s go.”

Newfoundland rocker Alan Doyle sings during his sold out concert at the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival in Fredericton on Thursday, Sept. 13. | Photo: Cameron Lane
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