Shari Ulrich hosts Barney Bentall, Tom Taylor & Jeanne Tolmie for April 3rd's Songbird North -  Vancouver's longest running songwriters showcase (28 years!) presented by the Songwriters Association of Canada. 

ABOUT THE PERFORMERS – April 03, 2025

Barney Bentall and his band The Legendary Hearts recorded and toured extensively in Canada through the late 80s and 90s. In 2000 Barney traded in his rock and roll life for that of a cattle rancher in the Cariboo, deciding that he would only write songs when they wouldn't leave him alone. “It was an interesting and challenging time that I wouldn’t trade for the world but ultimately the call of music ruled the day”. In 2006, Bentall headed into the studio with long-time friend Jim Cuddy producing and began work on what would become Bentall’s first solo record “Gift Horse”. Those songs renewed Barney’s love of performing, both in the form of solo acoustic shows and of the Cariboo Express, (which included his son Dustin, Ridley Bent, Geoffrey Kelly and many others). Barney has released 5 solo albums (post Legendary Hearts) including the latest “Cosmic Dreamer”, and recently released “Ranch Writers”, an inspiring instrumental collaboration with Geoffrey Kelly and others. He continues his wonderful partnership with Shari and Tom, as BTU.

Tom Taylor is best known for his role in the Vancouver cult band She Stole My Beer, where he spent years touring and recording two albums. After the band took a hiatus, Tom embarked on a solo journey, recording two albums, King of July and Running Late, with acclaimed producer Steve Dawson. In 2013, he released Pull Over Here, produced by his longtime friend and fellow Canadian music legend, Barney Bentall.

In addition to his solo work, and releases with BTU, Tom’s new band, The Southern Residents, will release their debut album Folk Signals, co-produced with multi-instrumentalist and Juno Award winner Adrian Dolan. The project showcases their unique interpretation of folk and bluegrass.

Tom is also an active member of the Vancouver roots rock band The Radio Grande, known for their album Town and Country and their recent EP Wrapped in Plastic. His wide-ranging collaborations and projects continue to highlight his distinctive voice and songwriting style

Victoria’s Jeanne Tolmie is a singer songwriter with a great love and knowledge of country and folk music. She is an honest and emotive performer, a master harmonizer, and closet accordionist. Her resumé includes the bands Big Yellow Taxi, Daisy Duke, JT King, Sidecar, and the Golden Country Clan. Her mastery of back up singing earned her back-up vocal work on numerous recording projects for Steve Dawson’s Henhouse Recording Studio. Jeanne is also a social worker in the field of Alzheimer’s care.

Shari Ulrich (Host / Producer) 2024 marked 50 years of making music for multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter Shari Ulrich. She began writing songs at the end of the reign of The Hometown Band in 1977. Her first song "Feel Good" was a hit for the band. Her solo career followed from 1978 with radio hits with "She Remembers", "Bad Bad Girl", "Romeo", "Every Road", etc. Since then, she has released nine albums of original material, along with another 16 in her collaborations with Pied Pumkin, UHF (Bill Henderson & Roy Forbes), and BTU (Barney Bentall & Tom Taylor) and the High Bar Gang. Her work has garnered two Juno Awards and several nominations, an induction into the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame, and a Canadian Folk Music Award for English Songwriter of the Year. Thanks to her love of the unique chemistry of a song circle, Shari has been producing and hosting Bluebird North / SongBird North both nationally and locally since 1996 and at the Roundhouse since 2005. https://www.shariulrich.com/