Grant Tilly: home

I'm back in Toronto, only to be flown out to a few of my favourite Canadian cities as part of a mini-performance in anticipation of a Canadian tour of Jersey Boys coming next summer.  I'll answer the question off the bat: no, at this point I'm not cast in that upcoming tour (which is actually a tour that's currently going through the states) but with already one of our Canadian Cast members, Michael Lomenda, on that tour... who knows what can happen in a year?  Whatever the case, it's a blast to see friends in Saskatoon, Edmonton, Vancouver and my hometown of Calgary and sing some Jersey Boys songs and work with some of my favourite people once again.

Also, got to share the stage last week with some amazing people as part of "How to Succeed, a musical Tribute to Des McAnuff" at Koener Hall.  So great to meet and chat with crazy talented people, Bruce Dow (what a great MC), Sean Cullen (I have never laughed so hard backstage in my life), as well as some of the cast of Stratford's Jesus Christ Superstar, which is headed to Broadway-- Paul Nolan, I cannot say enough about his voice.  And at the end, Des himself picked up his guitar and played with his band, which I gotta say, was pretty cool...

Planning the first of a few CD releases, starting with one in Calgary over the Christmas Holidays-- stay tuned! 

What a wonderful four months in Newfoundland.  The Brand New Beat tour brought us all around the island, to Carbonear, Clarenville, Grand Falls, Gander, Corner Brook, Stephenville, and even over to Labrador City(!).  I finished up everything with a few days in St. John's with family and friends before catching the flight back to Toronto.  Just wanted to send a quick thanks out to everyone at Rising Tide and the Arts and Culture Centres-- thank you for being so welcoming to me, even though I'm a mainlander (though I did play heavily on the "my father was born in St. John's" card).  And now... back in Toronto, let's see what new adventures there will be...

After a summer of great experiences in Trinity, I'm now getting the chance to see most of the rest of the island with the tour of "Brand New Beat", a musical about the Art Andrews Dance Party, by Petrina Bromley and Amelia Manuel.  There's a great write-up of the show at the St. John's Telegram.  We've just opened in St. John's and now will be touring the province's arts and culture centres, heading to Clarenville, Gander, Grand Falls, Corner Brook, Stephenville, Labrador City, and Carbonnear.  I'm loving this cast so if you have a chance to see it come on by, there's a link to the Arts and Culture centre website in the links section.