by Karma Lacoff Nieoczym, RCA Theatre Programming Coordinator
If you ask around the RCA community, you'll quickly find that one of our most well-loved programs is School of Blues, a free/by-donation blues night that runs in the South Atrium on the third Thursday of every month. Aside from the outstanding music and relaxed, casual atmosphere, what sets School of Blues apart are the singular talents of its two co-hosts, Sherman "Tank" Doucette and Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne. Doucette and Wayne are pillars of the Kelowna music community, and beloved members of the RCA community. With Black History Month upon us, we wanted to take some time to recognize the exceptional work of Wayne, in particular, spotlighting his remarkable talents as an artist, and the central role he plays in building connection through music in the Central Okanagan.
School of Blues has been running at the RCA since March 17, 2017. When it launched, it was offered three Thursdays per month. Unfortunately, like so many things, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 put this popular evening of live music on hold. Luckily, once the intensities of the pandemic had settled a bit, the RCA was able to relaunch this perennial favorite as a monthly event. Today, Kenny, Sherman, and their band play to fully booked crowds month after month.
And for good reason! To call Kenny an accomplished musician would be an understatement. Born in Spokane, Washington in 1944, Kenny began working behind the keys as a professional musician for pop and rock acts in the 1960s. This means that every time he sits down behind the piano in the RCA Atrium, he brings some sixty years of polish, artistry, and panache to his performance. In the 1980s, after playing solo and in combos across the United States, including in San Francisco and Los Angeles, Wayne relocated to Vancouver. Over the years, Wayne has recorded eleven solo albums, including his latest, Blues from Chicago to Paris, which will be released March 4, 2022. And along the way, he has racked up more than a few awards and accolades, including four JUNO nominations and one JUNO Award (for his 2006 album, Let it Loose), and seven Maple Blues Awards. In 2017, he was also inducted into the Boogie Woogie Piano Hall of Fame in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Kenny decided to start School of Blues after moving to the Okanagan and attending the RCA's Jazz Jam, a weekly evening of live music featuring professional and student musicians jamming together on jazz standards. Inspired by his mission to keep the blues alive, he decided to partner with the Rotary Centre for the Arts to offer a brand new blues program program with fellow musician Sherman "Tank" Doucette, who also has had a long career as a blues player. Ever since, it's been a staple of our events calendar, offering Kelowna music-lovers easy access to world-class musicianship and performance. School of Blues is a gem in our community, and makes an invaluable contribution to the local music scene.
Outside School of Blues, Kenny remains extremely active on the blues festival and performance circuit. Just last month, he played the first virtual Mustique Island Blues Festival in St. Vincent, and he continues to tour nationally in support of his own recordings and projects. With the mission to keep the blues alive and the original intent of this program to be a jam, similar to the Jazz Jam, we look forward to welcoming blues apprentices back to the program in the coming months.
Kenny is one of Canada's great blues piano players, and we could not be more proud to have him as part of our artistic community. Here's to celebrating the great Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne all year round, but especially now, during Black History Month. If you just can't wait to see Kenny at the next School of Blues on March 17, be sure to grab tickets to our Black History Month screening (Friday, Feb. 25 @ 7:00 PM) of Cheryl Foggo's stirring new documentary, John Ware Reclaimed, which will be followed by a talk-back and performance session featuring the Blues Boss himself.
And to learn more about Kenny's forthcoming album, Blues from Chicago to Paris, visit the Stony Plain Records website at: https://stonyplainrecords.com/kennybluesbosswayne/
