Nakusp residents were in for a treat as local musician Mitch Zorn performed at the Nakusp Arena on Feb. 20.
Zorn is flying to Nashville on March 3 to record tracks for a five song EP he’s been working on over the last couple of years.
As the audience filed in, he could be heard rehearsing behind the stage.
It was an intimate event. The stage he performed on was so small, there was only enough space for a table, chairs, andequipment.
By the time the show started, most of the chairs in the audience were filled.
Zorn said he chose the arena for he venue because it’s his home crowd. This also marks the first time he’s done a show on hisown.
“I’ve never really set up a show by myself,” he said. “I usually play with my dad’s band.”
The acoustic performance was just about two hours long, featuring songs about life, heartbreak, sadness and of course, love.
The audience was totally silent as Zorn performed.
While most of the songs were country, he threw in some Fleetwood Mac and Tom Petty.
Deciding what to play can sometimes be a challenge.
“It depends on what gig I’m doing,” he said. “If I’m going out to perform at a bar or something, I’ll play upbeat country songsand that kind of thing. This, I knew was going to be an intimate kind of thing, all my family and friends are watching. I chose themost personal songs I could think of.”
After a quick break, Zorn was briefly joined on stage by friend Satoshi Yano. The pair performed a couple of songs, including anacoustic performance of Blackstreet’s song “No Diggity”.
Yano made the 14 hour trip from Fort St. John to perform with Zorn.
“He was the one of the first people I jammed with when I first learned guitar, and we’ve been playing together for years.”
After the performance, Zorn received many cheers and much applause from the audience.
“I’ve seen him perform at other events, but nothing like this,” said Mikel Guidon. “Ten out of ten. Would see it again.”
Zorn is only going to be in Nashville for about a month and a half, but it won’t be the last time he’s there.
“I’m just going to continue going down there as much as I can over the years until I can gain some connections down there thatwill keep me down there and in the business.”