{"id":33399,"date":"2023-08-03T15:53:27","date_gmt":"2023-08-03T19:53:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=33399"},"modified":"2023-08-17T20:19:34","modified_gmt":"2023-08-18T00:19:34","slug":"blondin-set-to-take-a-little-piece-of-auroras-hearts-as-joplin-at-concerts-in-the-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/blondin-set-to-take-a-little-piece-of-auroras-hearts-as-joplin-at-concerts-in-the-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Blondin set to take a little piece of Aurora\u2019s hearts as Joplin at Concerts in the Park"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Krista Blondin likes to just let loose and create a party atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s an approach that has gained her a following as a singer-songwriter, and it\u2019s the same approach Janis Joplin brought to the stage, making her a legend in her own brief time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blondin is now in her 20th<\/sup> year of helping to keep Joplin\u2019s legacy alive as a tribute artist, and this shared party atmosphere will return to Town Park next Wednesday, August 9, in Piece of My Heart: A Tribute to Janis Joplin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is our 20th<\/sup> year of doing the Joplin tribute and it\u2019s kind of exciting \u2013 and has evolved over the years in different ways,\u201d says Blondin. \u201cThis is a two-set show. We do, of course, all the hits of Janis, all the favourites, and sometimes we bring in other Janis-connected songs that people are familiar with that show her influences and we try to tie that into a story. It gives a flow, which gives people a lot of information about Janis\u2019 life in a short amount of time just to experience they\u2019re at a Janis concert. It\u2019s full-costume, back-to-the-sixties vibe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blondin sees Janis Joplin as both a \u201cpowerhouse\u201d on stage while also being an \u201copen soul, not afraid to tell it like it is, how she feels, giving everyone else a comfort level as well at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think for a lot of performers that gives a real freedom and acceptance to be how you want to be out there and really send out some good messages about love, life, freedom to really accept and learn about yourself and to be who you want to be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an artist, Blondin says one piece of audience feedback that always hits home is when people say they have been taken back in time, that it brought them back to a happy place in their lives, while also seeing younger generations in the audience who might know little about Joplin become a fan once they have sampled even just a taste of her legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really enjoy letting people hear the different sounds that she also has in her voice, the different arrangements, whether it is the guitar, but then you have the horns coming in as well, which is a whole other sound \u2013 I enjoy taking people back to a time but also bringing a new generation to it, especially when it\u2019s kids. It\u2019s a really neat experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen someone tells me they cried, I feel like I have done what I intended to do, which is to move people with the experience. That is something that we usually hear after the show, so those are definitely highlights and I think it\u2019s when people are really listening that you\u2019re really performing and there\u2019s the in-between song banter when no one else is talking, they\u2019re really listening to what I am saying, which is more in the voice of Janis. It\u2019s kind of a theatre show.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Blondin is not in the guise of Janis Joplin, she\u2019s a singer of every genre. On the horizon she says, is another concert saluting music icons of the sixties, such as Etta James, Aretha Franklin and, of course Janis Joplin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The twist this time is it will be Blondin interpreting the Joplin song book in her own voice, rather than trying to emulate their original artist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the meantime, she\u2019s focused on the upcoming Aurora gig.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe message is to really bring the whole family together and experience the music,\u201d she says. \u201cYou can bring your kids to this show and they\u2019ll enjoy it, I hope. It\u2019s a story, it\u2019s a show, it\u2019s a lot of fun, and there\u2019s something for people to sit back and listen and it\u2019s also an opportunity dance and enjoy that outdoor concert Janis Joplin experience!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concerts in the Park take place at Town Park each Wednesday evening from 7 \u2013 9 p.m. through to the end of August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Events feature live music, food vendors courtesy of the Aurora Farmers\u2019 Market, as well as a different selection of its artisan vendors each week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The concerts are free, but donations to the Aurora Food Pantry are encouraged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information, visit aurora.ca\/summerconcerts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Krista Blondin likes to just let loose and create a party atmosphere. It\u2019s an approach that has gained her a following as a singer-songwriter, and it\u2019s the same approach Janis Joplin brought to the stage, making her a legend in her own brief time. Blondin is now in her 20th year of helping to keep […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-8GH","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-24 14:31:09","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33399"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33399\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}