A shroud of mystery surrounded Victoria’s ANIÁN clothing store as nosey tourists onlookers passed by on a warm late August evening. The display windows lined with brown paper while an elaborate system of secret handshakes and knowing glances from the doorman to let you into the night’s venue. The thirty or so people who knew of the evenings events were in for a treat.
As more and more folks filled into the small clothing store it felt more like a gathering of close friends than a secret concert. With each new person coming through the door there was a round of hugs, catching up and a mutual love for the man about to play some music.
When the man of the hour, Kim Churchill finally took to the makeshift stage set up on the reception desk of ANIÁN the crowd fell completely and utterly silent. You could hear a pin drop in the room… or the occasional sneaky crack of a beer can smuggled in with them.
Early in Kim’s set he told a story about being invited to Vance Joy’s album listening party in Australia. He summed it up as they basically hit play on a Spotify playlist and there not being much interaction with the new music. He even mentioned that Vance Joy himself left the party before it had ended. After that event Kim was determined to find a better way of connecting his fans with his new music. This birthed a series of not-so-secret private concerts/listening parties across Canada to preview his forthcoming EP, “Forgetting.”
The intimate showcase of ANIÁN lent itself to Kim Churchill’s new music perfectly. The unplugged Churchill shared stories between songs from the making the album “Forgetting” on Vancouver Island. Just one part of a four part series of EPs he’s recorded in various places around the world that he has called home at one point including Berlin and Australia. He confirmed he has at least one camper van in each of these countries to this day.
He ended the night with a small selection of audience requests but none compared to the latest single, Caught up in the Landslide. A powerful and emotional song that resonated with the crowd in the small red brick-walled clothing store. As Kim took a bow the quiet room erupted with a roar of applause and cheer.
Once again the barefoot Australian singer-songwriter, Kim Churchill left us wanting more but this time we won’t have to wait too long with a full Canadian tour happening this November as well as an appearance at Red Arrow Brewing’s Concert Series happening later this August.
