Petunia & the Vipers hit the Kay Meek stage, February 16

There’s nothing like the Vancouver-based band self-described as “Tom Waits meets Elvis at Woody Guthrie's Hobo junction”

Kay Meek Cabaret presents Petunia & The Vipers on February 16 at 7:30 pm at McEwen Theatre—Kay Meek Arts Centre (1700 Mathers Avenue, West Vancouver

PETUNIA & THE VIPERS is one of those musical acts that’s one-of-a-kind. Is it hillbilly, swing, ragtime, blues, rock, Mexicana, jazz, folk, or country? The answer is yes. The Vancouver band draws from all of those influences and more to create a sound all its own, old-timey yet fresh and contemporary, one the group sums up as “something in between 1920s and steampunk” and “Tom Waits meets Elvis at Woody Guthrie's Hobo junction… Avant-Country night club scene music…”

Petunia is the proudly enigmatic lead vocalist-acoustic guitarist, self-described this way: “Imagine that David Lynch and Nick Cave had a hillbilly baby, that yodeled… or Tom Waits meets Elvis at Woody Guthrie’s hobo junction.” Once called the “Savior of Country Music”, he grew up in rural Quebec, and has spent most of his adult life wandering and playing music across Canada, the U.S., Europe, and South America.

When he hits the Kay Meek stage, Petunia will accompanied by his decade-long bandmates Jimmy Roy (lap-steel guitar, vocals), Stephen Nikleva (electronic guitar), Joseph Lubinsky (upright bass, vocals), and Paul Townsend (drums). Together the band has released several albums, with their last four reaching top spot on Canadian folk/blues/Americana charts.

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