This weekend, Canadian children’s music icon Fred Penner will be visiting the McPherson Playhouse as part of his 40th anniversary tour for his hit debut album, The Cat Came Back. Penner says that the show will feature a mix of songs from The Cat Came Back—which actually came out in 1979—and other albums.
“Many of the songs are from that first album, and then there are other songs that that I supplement the show with, songs that I love to perform and that I want to share with the audience.”
Penner says that the show’s structure is unlike any he has performed before.
“The show has a video component from beginning to end,” he says. “The whole thing starts as a pre-show, so when the audience is coming in, they’ll see a series of photographs of, basically, my life. Of people I’ve met, of places I’ve been, of events I been to… All so the audience gets an idea of who this guy is, of who’s going to be coming out in a little while… When I enter on stage, there will be a video screen, and my wife will be running the show and helping with cues, and then I’ll sing songs to the video images that are behind me… So that’s very, very different for me. I have never done anything like that before, and the audience has never seen me do anything like that before.”
Penner says that his experiences with his sister while growing up taught him the importance of music and served as a guiding force throughout his career.
“I had a sister who was born with Down syndrome and she really taught me how important music was to her,” says Penner. “So, as I grow into a performer, I always remember that lesson in particular, and to this day, that has never changed. And every performance I do, I feel the same kind of value and connection with the audience.”
Penner says that the music he grew up listening to also had a tremendous effect on both his life and his career.
“In the beginning, I learned very early in my career how important music is in my life,” says Penner. “I grew up listening to classical music to swing music to early rock and roll and then to the folk music… and I learned how important it is to engage and to bring [the audience] with you. Because when you do that then they feel like they are connected to the performer—to me—when I am singing and sharing my songs and stories. And particularly for children, that can make a huge difference in their lives.”
Penner says that another thing he learned along the way is how music can make a huge difference in children’s lives.
“When you bring music personally to them… they can relate to it and they sing and learn and discover and use their imaginations through the music, and that’s something, as I said, that I learned early on,” he says.
Penner says that what he really wants out of his show is for the audience to have a memorable experience.
“It’s a very different kind of show for me, but it’s still deeply engaged in connecting with the audience,” he says. “Of bringing them along on this journey with me, and then hoping that they take beautiful memories away with them.”
Fred Penner
2 pm Saturday, June 18
$40.50, McPherson Playhouse
rmts.bc.ca