Lunch At Allen's Looking Forward to P.A. Performance (June 20th)

by Scott Roos

photo courtesy of Lunch At Allen's

This Tuesday, June 20th, at the EA Rawlinson Centre for the Arts in Prince Albert, music aficionados will be treated to a performance of singer-songwriter, supergroup, Lunch At Allen’s. Composed of Murray McLauchlan, Cindy Church, Marc Jordan and Ian Thomas, Lunch At Allen’s is estimated to have written for or sung on over 25,000,000 CDs, penning hits for Josh Groban, Chicago, Bonnie Raitt, America, Santana, Cher and Rod Stewart. This includes McLauchlan penned “Farmer’s Song”, Thomas penned “Painted Ladies”, and Jordan penned “Marina Del Rey”. Collectively, it’s quite the boast to feature even one of these legendary performers on the stage, let alone all four at once.

“It really is kind of like a kitchen concert, you know? We're all really good friends so it's a lot of laughs and it's a lot of fun singing harmonies with your friends,” Thomas related to NSMZ in a recent telephone interview.

Apart from the music, the concert promises an evening of humour and storytelling. The group of friends enjoy each other’s company and it will be very apparent during their performance. A good time will surely be had by all - audience and performer alike.

“You don't make it through the music business without having a good sense of humor,” Thomas told NSMZ, “ It comes from the ups and downs of the business. You get whacked over the head so many times you learn not to invest your life and death in your creative process. Yes, you're passionate about it, but you tend to realize some people are going to love it , some people are going to hate it, and the vast majority in the middle could really care one way or the other. So that's the playing field for being a creative entity. You're able to laugh at it far more when that finally dawns on you.”

Of course, each artist in Lunch At Allen’s is grateful for the time they’ve had in the spotlight. With over 50 years of those “ups and downs” in the music business, Thomas, with a diverse repertoire under his belt that includes a wide swath of genres,(“Painted Ladies”, “Levity”, “Right Before Your Eyes”, “Strange Brew Theme” come to mind to name but a few), has taken his fans on an amazingly diverse musical journey. He’s honoured that through it all, his fans have stayed loyal.

“I was all over the map and I had great fun and what a privilege to have had a license to do that…. It's always fascinated me, as diversified as I'd been on my records, that a lot of fans have come along for the ride,” Thomas said.

“I think when you're younger a couple of things occur. One, you expect an audience. When you're older, however, you realize what a privilege an audience is,” Thomas continues, “But also, when you're young you're a little more militaristic about moving forward and not wanting to cover old ground but really, at this age, hell the audience sings along with us on some of those (older songs). So it's like a campfire (singalong) for god sakes you know? So that aspect of it, at this age, is wonderful.”

Quality, wholesome, family friendly, musical entertainment, a barrel of laughs and a quartet of legends on the stage. Lunch At Allen’s is all of this and so much more. It’s a can’t miss opportunity for an unforgettable evening. Tickets are still available. They are $79.92, taxes and fees included. Stop by the Ea Rawlinson Box Office or buy online by clicking here.