Gunning, along with guitarist Jamie Robinson, performs selections from Dave Gunning Christmas, Christmas Too, a tune or two from Candles and Evergreens his collaboration with musical pal George Canyon, and other popular standards.
“Daddy’s Beer”, Gunning’s own composition from his first Christmas album, has become a hit among fans and music programmers alike. Here’s a sample of the first verse:
“I remember back when I was young, on one Christmas Eve,/Mom and Dad tucked us in, and we drifted off to sleep./Sometime through that snowy night, old Saint Nick did appear,/To fill our house with presents, and lots of Christmas cheer./…/Daddy’s really sick about what Santa did this year,/He didn’t eat the milk and cookies, but he drank all Daddy’s beer.”
Gunning has nine critically acclaimed CDs released. He has been awarded six East Coast Music Awards out of fifteen nominations since 2003 and took home two 2011 Canadian Folk Music Awards for his tribute recording to John Allan Cameron. Gunning has also been a finalist in the Great American Song Contest, the USA Songwriting Competition, the John Lennon Songwriting Contest and the International Songwriting Contest. And “Ashen Town”, which he co-wrote with with David Francey at Celtic Colours International Festival in 2008, was received top honours in the Indie International Songwriting Contest this past summer.
Along with his solo career, over the years, Gunning has toured with top artists like Stompin’ Tom Connors, J.P. Cormier, John Allan Cameron, Ron Hynes and Stephen Fearing.
As Greg Quill of the Toronto Star has written, “Dave Gunning is the next big thing in the True North of Song, an artist as compelling, as assured and attentive to every nuance of the writing process as Lightfoot, Coburn and Stan Rogers before him.”
Show time for each night 7:30pm and Gunning will perform two complete sets. There is a $10 entertainment service charge per person. To book individual or staff party dinner reservations, call Kiju’s at 562-6220.
