Neal Virgil Brown is coming back to Char’s Landing on Friday, June 20 at 7:30 p.m. to share stories and songs from his varied career.
Brown grew up and went to high school in Port Alberni back in the 1970s. "You remember the seventies don’t you," asks Brown. "There was a craze going on back in the day known as streaking. Well, this guy was definitely a streaker who streaked the entire graduating class at Alberni Senior Secondary School, with a brown paper bag over his head."
It was during an assembly in the auditorium, he recalled, "and the teachers were lined up, with their backs against the stage, facing the audience. Unbeknownst to them a flash of nudity ran across the stage right behind them before they could turn around and see why the outgoing class of ’75 was roaring in laughter."
Having spent his high school years working as the night-time disc jockey and newsman at CJAV, Brown has many fond memories of Port Alberni. He’s a singer-songwriter, finger-style guitarist, podcaster and author. He’s a natural entertainer who has played coffee houses, pubs, nightclubs and concert halls all over the world.
Brown has a well-seasoned voice reflecting his heroes, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, and John Prine. He engages his audience with humour and flair as he braids his songs together with stories.
Brown was slated to return to Char’s for an encore performance last year but in early 2024, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. "Luckily, because of a routine PSA test, the cancer was discovered in its early stages," he said.
Last fall, he had a successful High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) procedure and as of his last check-up he is cancer free.
Brown was inspired by a clean bill of health and has just completed a new album of original songs, plus a song by his hero, Gordon Lightfoot. He was helped on this album by Canadian Grand Master Fiddler, Calvin Vollrath, from St. Paul, Alberta, who has also graced the stage at Char’s Landing in recent years.
Brown will be travelling and playing his way across Canada until late this fall. His one-man acoustic show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door, and Brown's promised it’s unlikely he will do any streaking.
