Grebel will host Bruce Cockburn Concert for 50th Anniversary

WATERLOO, ON -- Canadian music icon, Bruce Cockburn, is kicking off a seven city Ontario tour with a solo concert at the Humanities Theatre at the University of Waterloo on Thursday, February 13, 2014 at 8:00 pm.

Bruce Cockburn has always been a restless spirit. Over the course of four decades, the celebrated Canadian artist has travelled to the corners of the earth out of humanitarian concerns—often to trouble spots experiencing events that have led to some of his most memorable songs.

Cockburn is coming to Waterloo at the invitation of Conrad Grebel University College.  “When our alumni committee brainstormed about having a special concert to celebrate our 50^th anniversary, Bruce Cockburn was at the top of the list,” said Fred Martin the College’s director of development.  His music has always been popular with students and alumni at Grebel. His humanitarian work and his voice for social justice in places like Mozambique, Nepal, Central America and more recently in Iraq, have always struck a chord at the Mennonite College which is located at the University of Waterloo.

The halls of the Grebel residence always echoed with Bruce Cockburn tunes. Over the years talent shows included Cockburn covers, letters in student newspapers discussed his newest albums and many students explored deeper understandings of spirituality as the result of his music.  As recently as three years ago students created a “Cockburn Vespers” service in the chapel.

Grebel is also the home to an innovative music department at the University of Waterloo. It focuses on the way music intersects with student’s daily lives and courses include Jazz, Pop Music and recently Global Music.  The link between music and peacemaking is a natural focus for a college.  

The strong advance ticket sales with Grebel alumni demonstrate this keen interest in his music. Cockburn’s last visit to KW was in April 2011 when he released his 31st album Small Source of Comfort, an adventurous collection of songs of romance, protest and spiritual discovery. The album, primarily acoustic yet rhythmically savvy, is rich in Cockburn’s characteristic blend of folk, blues, jazz and rock. As usual, many of the new compositions come from his travels and spending time in places like San Francisco and Brooklyn to the Canadian Forces base in Kandahar, Afghanistan, jotting down his typically detailed observations about the human experience. In 2013, a documentary of Cockburn’s life and music was released called Pacing the Cage.

Available to the general public, tickets to the February 13^th show start at $43 and are available from the Humanities Theatre box office 519-888-4908  https://uwaterloo.ca/grebel/cockburn