Ron Sexsmith pours pints of malted beer while Tom Waits and Rufus Wainwright have an arm-wrestling match. Groovy-cabaret-pop

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FOLK: Folk Pop, POP: Folky Pop



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"Vancouver based Berube is ... a total original in the tradition of exeptional Canadian singer songwriters" - Vancouver Province

At 9 years old, he was among a dancing crowd of 10,000 watching the late South African pop star Brenda Fassie at Somhlolo Soccer Stadium, Swaziland, Africa. With apartheid still strong next door in South Africa, this concert reverberated on many levels: musically, socially, and politically. Mix this life-defining experience with Manitoban-Quebecois roots, a stylistically diverse musical repertoire, the piano, accordian, guitar and a voice that disarms his audiences, and you have the multi-faceted sound of Mark Berube.

"Sketches from the Sidewalk", Mark's ambitious second album, takes one on a rollicking journey of emotions and musical styles. When asked about the concept behind it, he says "I wanted to explore the urban multi-cultural existence of the western world in which I live. Whether you're in Montreal, New York, Cape Town, Winnipeg or Vancouver, there are always some subterranean consistencies."

Joined on the album by Mike Liston (Rae Spoon, Joel Kroeker) on upright bass, Michael Simpson on drums, as well as Allison Russel of Po'Girl fame on "Babylon Barroom", Mark uses the skills of these players and a variety of instruments to carve rich sketches of urban life. Mark is foremost a singer and a songwriter. As Alexander Varty from Vancouver's Georgia Straight writes, "His combination of skill, clarity, and ambition is impressive." His music is grounded in the shared styles of Hawksley Workman, Tom Waits, Rufus Wainwright and Bob Dylan.

Mark has toured Canada and Europe, as a musician and spoken word artist.