“Kevin Bulmer writes about his hometown, his own past, and their shared history, describing with a clear eye the place that shaped his songs. He writes and performs with undeniable passion."

David Francey, 3-time Juno Award Winner

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2001:

Celebration of Lights

& Solo Acoustic

2001: Celebration of Lights & Solo Acoustic

One of the biggest events in the Sarnia-Lambton community is the annual Christmas time light display, the “Celebration of Lights”. In the summer of the 2000, the event organizers approached Kevin about writing and recording a new theme song. The result was “Light It Up” which Kevin recorded with Mark O’Reilly of Sarnia.

At Left: Kevin Bulmer Enterprises listed as a Silver Sponsor for Celebration of Lights on a signboard in Centennial Park, Sarnia, ON.

The song received significant airplay on CHOK Radio in Sarnia that holiday season. Kevin also performed the song, along with “Freedom” at the official opening ceremonies at the Dow People Place in Sarnia(old friend Kevin Claxton joined him for lead guitar and harmony vocals).

“That was a challenge,” said Kevin of performing at the Celebration of Lights ceremony. “The temperature was well below freezing that night, and it was tough to play a guitar with bare fingers in that kind of weather. But we did it, and I’m glad we did; it was a lot of fun.”

At right: Kevin (left) and Kevin Claxton perform "Light It Up" at the outdoor Dow People Place in Sarnia for the official "lighting of the lights" in 2000. It was cold!

Kevin also produced and performed a solo acoustic concert designed as a fundraiser for the Celebration of Lights, a non-profit group. Sadly, a snowstorm wiped out the original date, a pre-Christmas evening in December. The event was rescheduled and later performed in mid-January.

At that concert, Kevin performed solo, with just an acoustic guitar and harmonica. Among the original songs he performed were “Light It Up,” “Freedom,” “Don’t Apologize,” “Serve to Cry,” “One More Run,” “Anyone Anywhere,” “Emperor’s Recruits” and “In Over Your Head.”

At left: Kevin (left) and Kevin Claxton perform the song "Light It Up" at the Celebration of Lights sponsor and media reception in November of 2000.

Some highlights of that time: 

• Wrote, recorded and released Celebration of Lights theme song, “Light It Up”
• “Light it Up” received daily airplay on CHOK Radio in December of 2000
• Performed at Celebration of Lights sponsor and media reception in December of 2000
• Performed “Light it Up” and “Freedom” at Celebration of Lights opening ceremonies
• Performed solo acoustic concert at Sarnia Library Auditorium in January of 2001

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2007: "I Remember" CD

Over a six-year period from 2001 through 2006, Kevin was mostly inactive as a performer, due mostly to the incredible time commitments he took on in his professional career. Coupled with that, Kevin’s two sons were born; Eddie in 2003 and Jaden in 2006. Though Kevin kept writing songs of all types, he played live very seldom.

That all changed early in 2007 when Kevin took on a project in honour of his grandfather, Murray Newkirk, writing and recording three songs in support of the Wallaceburg Anitque Motor and Boat Outing (WAMBO) and the town of Wallaceburg in general. “Wallaceburg is my family’s home town, and it was everything to my Grandpa Newkirk,” said Kevin. “He loved watching the boat traffic on waterways like the Sydenham, Snye and St. Clair Rivers. The weekend of WAMBO, when the old wooden boats come back and downtown comes alive again, was an event in which he took great pride. So I decided to do something, largely on his behalf, to support it.”

In February of 2007, Kevin brought to Wallaceburg a song he’d written years earlier. He played it for WAMBO Chairman Chip Gordon and town historian and author, Alan Mann. They instantly encouraged Kevin to continue with the project.

Kevin soon wrote the songs “I Remember” and “Glass” and began the process of trying to get them on CD. To help out, he called his old friend from the Riverband, Dave Cook, and began working with London-based producer, Kevin Gorman. In June of 2007, the “I Remember” CD was recorded at KG Productions in London. It was released in July of 2007.

 In addition to the three songs on the CD, Kevin once again mixed in his own songs for many of the subsequent performances to support the disc, including “Everything’s Just Fine,” “Orlando,” “Bagley Avenue,” “Benjamin Briggs,” “No Schedule Man” and “Back to Buena Vista.”

Some highlights of that time:

• Performed at Wallaceburg & District Museum new “Glass Gallery” exhibit opening ceremonies
• Performed at  Wallaceburg Chamber of Commerce annual summer party
• Performed at CPT Entertainment Inc. business launch / CD release party on the Macassa Bay Boat in Sarnia
• Interviewed on CFCO Radio in Chatham
• “Wallaceburg” and “I Remember” both played over the air on CFCO Radio in Chatham
• Interviewed Wallaceburg Courier Press
• Featured in WAMBO souvenir program, published by Wallaceburg Courier Press
• Performed at WAMBO for Knights of Columbus charity dinner, on main stage on opening night and in refreshment tent on the Saturday night
• Performed original “Evening of Image, Story and Song” concert at Jeanne Gordon Theatre in Wallaceburg
• Supporting artist for Juno-award winning, David Francey at Sarnia Library Auditorium
• Supporting artist for Juno-award winning, David Francey at Aeolian Hall in London

At right: Kevin with David Francey at Aeolian Hall in London in November of 2007.

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2008 and beyond …

After the show at Aeolian Hall in November of 2007, Kevin needed to set his musical pursuits aside as he spent all his time developing a new trade show with his new company, CPT Entertainment Inc. After that show (the CPT Racing Experience) was completed, Kevin began working at the music again, preparing for the upcoming summer and beyond.

“I’ve actually had to turn down some shows for a variety of reasons,” Kevin said. “The ‘I Remember’ project happened so quickly that I needed to take some time to get back set and lay a foundation I can build on slowly but more consistently going forward.”

Kevin has worked up solo arrangements of many of his songs and has also begun rehearsing with Kevin Gorman, who produced the “I Remember” CD.

“Working with Kevin Gorman gives the songs a totally new feel,” Kevin said. “Because he can add piano or other keyboard parts, percussion and tenor vocal harmony, it gives us a lot of versatility. Ultimately, we’d like to add a rhythm so we can go out as a band when the occasion calls for it. That’ll come along soon enough.”

As for more recordings, Kevin hopes and expects to do more but is in no immediate rush.  For now his aim is to keep playing and work toward the next project.

“I’ve got piles of songs in a couple of different formats I’d love to do,” Kevin said. “Right now though, we’ll continue to play in support of ‘I Remember’ and see what develops as we go along.”

Hire Kevin today to play at your venue or your next even!. To contact Kevin, please click here.

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For more information on Kevin’s music and samples of his music, please visit one or all of the following links.

MYSPACE

Visit Kevin's page on MySpace.

Click here

YOUTUBE

View videos of Kevin's peformances on YouTube.

Click here