PRESENTS
Every Song Is A Little Adventure (ESLA)
Woodstock, Black Crow, Both Sides Now, Free Man In Paris, Carey… these are just some of the Joni songs you’ll hear interpreted by four Vancouver-based master musicians through a folk-jazz-rock lens. ESLA pays homage to the intensely personal stories and remains true to the spirit of the songs, while stretching the musical envelope, improvising and rocking out.
ESLA consists of Holly Arntzen (vocals, dulcimer, piano), Kevin Wright (percussion, vocals), Nathen Aswell (bass, Chapman stick, vocals) and Tim Porter (guitar). They weave in original eco-themed songs from their band The Wilds, that are connected in spirit and space to the Joni classics on this journey of musical adventures.
Photos - Asher Photography
ESLA Promo Video
"I had the joy of attending last night's JONI MITCHELL Project concert at Blue Frog studios.
Oh my. so wonderful. To the best of my knowledge this is the only JONI TRIBUTE on the music scene. Rightfully so. JONI'S music and her sound is so iconic one would think it would be hard to capture that magic. Well capture it they did." --- Dave Chesney, White Rock Sun
"Both Sides Now" clip from Blue Frog Studios, Nov. 4, 2021
"My daughter and I attended your concert last Friday at Blue Frog and it was amazing. You did complete justice to Joni's songs while expressing your own self through them. My daughter commented that Tim Porter made guitar playing look so easy. I told her that is the sign of a superb musician that he can make his playing look that effortless. Kevin Wright provided great vocals, percussion and humour. Nathan Aswell was a virtuoso on the bass. I hadn't heard a 'stick' before. Nathan's playing on it was magic and ethereal. I first saw Joni Mitchell in Regina at a coffee house 55 years ago with 12 people in the audience! It is so wonderful that her genius continues to be recognized and her songs still have so much meaning for people." --- Lynn Brownell
"It was the first time I've seen the band play since David (Sinclair) passed away. You made us laugh, you made us cry, you made us sing." --- Christine Domeij Sinclair
"Free Man In Paris"
"Woodstock"
"What a fantastic show. Kudos to you all. Holly, your work as a singer, musician performer was inspiring. The band was brilliant. As a huge fan of JM, I was thrilled by the arrangements, so exciting and vibrant; you made the songs yours. And yet they were familiar in tone/vibe for us to easily recognize every song. That is such a difficult tight rope to walk – especially with Joni's work – and you made it seem easy." --- Amy Newman
"Such a great show. The last show you guys blew the roof off the place!! Stupendous!!!" --- Brenda Ryan