Performing as Folk Thief, Dave Hadgkiss has gone from being a completely unknown artist to booking gigs and placing in the top 10 on college radio charts across Canada in a little over a year.
“It’s the name,” laughs Hadgkiss. “I just think it’s more interesting to have an alias, it gives you freedom.”
Hadgkiss discovered that he wasn’t alone in this philosophy when he met Colby Ramsay, another Vancouver-based indie singer/songwriter who performs under the name My Boy Rascal. The two met while playing on the folk radio show, Melodies in Mind, and discovered that they had complementary but unique acoustic folk-pop styles.
“I grew up in Kamloops and it turns out Colby grew up in Naramata. I was already booking a small five-day solo tour through the Interior and I thought My Boy Rascal would be a perfect addition to the show,” says Hadgkiss.
“We’re excited to play for new audiences and connect with people, and it also gives us a chance to test our limits a little – how many shows can we do in a row? This is all new to us.”
On June 16, Folk Thief and My Boy Rascal will play at Java Jive Neighbourhood Bistro (190A Trans-Canada Highway NE) at 7 p.m. as part of their, “There’s No Place Like Home” tour through Penticton, Salmon Arm, Vernon and Kamloops to promote their debut albums: Love, Heartache and Oblivion (Folk Thief), and The Study of Animal Magicality (My Boy Rascal).
Entry fee is by donation.