Sing With The Victoria Rock Choir!

Announcing a brand new group:
The Victoria Rock Choir

Join us to sing rock songs arranged for a full chorus (sopranos, altos, tenors, basses) along with a full rhythm section (guitar, piano, bass, and drums)!  Some songs I have in mind to start us off include Jump, Sweet Child O’ Mine, Bad Moon Rising, Paradise City, Hey Jude… and I couldn’t resist – Don’t Stop Believing.

Check out this video of Heather and I singing through the chart as a ‘proof of concept’ on how this choir will sound:

Now that the logistics are sorted, I’m ready for singers… that’s you!  The choir will be open to people with all kinds of musical backgrounds.  I’ve got an excellent system worked out to make practicing at home easy whether you can read music or not – check out this video

Rehearsals will be Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30 at the Church of Our Lord on Blanshard. The season will run June 22 to November 30.  We’ll wrap up with a public concert supporting The Cridge Centre charity.  So you’ll be singing not just for fun, but also to support your local community!

WANT TO SING WITH US?

Email now to register:

choir@nicklariviere.com

Not sure if you have what it takes? Don’t worry about it – you’ve got the session to check it out before you commit to the season.

MORE INFO

I’ve put together a website here with more info, videos, and Q&A’s that should help answer any questions you have about the group.

I’m very excited about this project. It should be a ton of fun for all involved! See you there!
Nick

Best Laid Plans plays dance show at The Strath Jan 28, plus charity fundraiser Feb 6!

Best Laid Plans Plays the Wicket Hall January 28!

We’ve been known to be an original band (new original vinyl album available), but we also have a great time as a cover band.  We love playing whatever music brings joy to people, and it’s super fun playing covers to a dancing crowd. We’ll be playing The Wicket Hall for the first time on January 28. This is the night club below the Strahcona Hotel that used to be Club 919 and Distrikt.  It’s been remodelled and looks great. There’s a great dance floor, excellent sight lines to the band, great sound system, big room, great drinks.  It’s got it all!  Since it’s our first show there, we need to make sure we get a good crowd, so please come on down and support us.  You’ll definitely have a great time, this show is going to be 100% fun!

The band is Nick La Riviere, Danielle Lebeau-Peterson, Miguel Valdes, Attila Fias, Louis Rudner, and Alex Campbell. Doors are at 7:30pm – don’t be too late, we start at 8!

Scroll down below the poster for an important charity fundraiser show announcement

The Jive and Bayside Big Bands fundraiser for Rainbow Kitchen at the
Victoria Event Centre
Monday, February 6

We were supposed to this show for an important cause back in December, and unfortunately were snowed out. Our date was rescheduled to February 6th and we hope you’ll come out and support not one but two big bands, performing for a great cause – feeding those dealing with food insecurity in Victoria.  It’s by donation, so pay as much or as little as you want.

There’s no doubt about it: Rising food prices are making it harder and harder for people to get the food they need. And with the rising cost of everything, it’s also possible that charities that fight food insecurity are getting less donations than they normally would.

On Monday, February 6, two fun big bands – Jive and the Bayside Bigband – are teaming up for a great night at the Victoria Event Centre in support of Rainbow Kitchen, who serves 120,000 meals a year to anyone who needs it – no questions asked.  It’s absolutely a great cause to support.

The show is BY DONATION! There’s no suggested minimum donation.  If you don’t have money to give, we’d still love to see you there. Just come on down, have a good time, and if you can spare something to help Rainbow Kitchen, that’s great.  Where else can you see live music at such a low price for such a good cause? There’s no reason not to come out to this show folks.

Doors open at 7pm, and the first band begins at 8pm.  There is no food available at this venue, but you’re welcome to bring in outside food. There will be drinks available.  Minors are permitted when accompanied by an adult 19+.

The Victoria Event Centre is a great venue, and checking out this show is also a great way to support the venues that make live music possible.  Many big cities have seen those types of venues shut down, only to be replaced by condos etc.  It’s great to support the venues that give our city a sense of culture.  The Victoria Event Centre is on the 2nd floor at 1415 Broad St (look for the entrance on the street).

Thanks very much, hope to see you there!
Nick


The Fias-La Riviere Quintet: Featured special guests with the Gettin’ Higher Choir
Sunday, January 29 at 2:30pm

And there’s plenty of other great shows coming up.  I may be a little slow at updating it, but you can keep an eye on the gig listing at www.NickLaRiviere.com/shows and follow Nick and Best Laid Plans on Instagram and Facebook.  

Nick’s Facebook – Instagram
Best Laid Plans Facebook – Instagram

The Best Laid Plans Transparent Vinyl Record is in!

Get Ready by The Best Laid Plans is now available on vinyl

And it looks amazing (sounds great too!).  I’m very happy about how it all turned out.  We’ve already started getting the album out to the great people who played pre-orders.   The band even delivered a copy in person to our fan Karina in Delta on the way to a corporate gig in Vancouver on the weekend.

So how can YOU get a copy? Just ask! This is a limited pressing, and in order to keep things simple I’ll be selling these copies personally.  They are $30 each. Send me an email at nick@nicklariviere.com or text 250-704-9972 and we’ll sort out delivery.

And for those of you who don’t have super cool record players, we also have CD’s available for $20, and you can stream the album at this link.

August BC Tour – Come see us in your town!

We’re looking forward to some fun summer touring coming up! Come on out to one of these shows!

Aug 10: Golden – Keith King Memorial Sports Field
Aug 11: Revelstoke – Grizzly Plaza
Aug 12: Penticton – The Dream Cafe **TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW**
Aug 13: Coquitlam – Evergreen Cultural Centre **TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW**
Aug 17: Salmon Arm – 750 Marine Park Drive, part of the Roots & Blues Fest
Aug 18: Salmon Arm Roots & Blues Festival, opening for Shred Kelly at 6pm, the downtown street party
And then Nick La Riviere will be sticking around the Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Fest to play with Cha Wa on August 20 and Christine Hanson-Cellist/Composer August 21

New Best Laid Plans album now streaming!

Nick La Riviere and The Best Laid Plans
Get Ready!
Streaming now

Find it easily at this link – from there you can click on the steaming platform of your choice and you’ll be taken right to the album.  Hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed recording! 

CD’s will be available at our shows.  If you’d like one but can’t make a show, email me at nick@nicklariviere.com and I’ll get one to you.  I’m also taking pre-orders for the vinyl record version, but manufacturing will take a little more time.  Buying physical albums is still the best way to support the arts these days as streaming pays only a fraction of a cent per play.  Thanks very much for your support!

There’s plenty of shows with Best Laid Plans (and the other bands Nick plays in) over the next few months across BC and beyond. Check out the show listing here.

Nick La Riviere and The Best Laid Plans album release show July 16

Hi everyone,

I have a new original studio album coming out! This will the debut album under the new band name Nick La Riviere and The Best Laid Plans. The album is called Get Ready! – yes, with the exclamation mark. When you hear the title track you’ll know why!

I’ve been working on putting this together for a few years, and I’m very excited to have the opportunity to share this music with you.  The recording has turned out better than I imagined; I feel like it’s the best thing I’ve put out (so far). There’s high energy New Orleans inspired instrumentals, well produced songs, thrilling solos and performance by all the band members, and a great variety of music. Make sure to look for it on streaming services on July 16, AND we’ll have CDs at the show.. but not only that, we’re getting this album pressed to vinyl which I’m very excited about. Records take quite a long time to manufacture so they won’t be available at the album release show, but we’ll do presales, and when the record arrives you won’t be disappointed. 

We hope you’ll come out and celebrate with us on July 16 at Hermann’s Upstairs in their cool new venue.  It’s going to be an awesome show with some great special guests!

The show features myself on trombone/vocals/conch shells, Miguel Valdes on trumpet, Barrie Sorensen on sax, Kelly Fawcett on guitar and vocals, Attila Fias on keys, Louis Rudner on bass, and Alex Campbell on drums.. plus special guests – the fantastic ‘Soul Source’ singers – Lauren Marshall, Amanda Nielsen, and Alli Bean. With this crew, it’s going to be a show to remember!

Best Laid Plan’s music is influenced by New Orleans bands such as Galactic, Trombone Shorty, The Preservation Hall Band.. and also by piano driven pop rock bands like Ben Folds. The music is upbeat, rich in variety, and fun.

Previous shows have sold out, so make sure to book your tickets early! We look forward to seeing you there!

==> Click Here For Tickets <==

Press Release: Out Now – Nick La Riviere and The Best Laid Plans Unveils Relevant Single, “No More!”

OUT NOW — NICK LA RIVIERE AND THE BEST LAID PLANS UNVEILS RELEVANT SINGLE, “NO MORE!”

FULL ALBUM – SAY NO MORE – OUT JULY 15

LISTEN TO NO MORE HERE 

(May 26, 2022 – Victoria, BC) — Victoria band Nick La Riviere and the Best Laid Plans released the first single from their upcoming album today. Notably, this track is a commentary on gun control. Sadly, Nick wrote the song 3 years ago, but its sentiment remains just as appropriate. With the shootings this month in Buffalo, and this week at the elementary school in Texas, the topic of gun control remains as relevant as ever. 

“While gun control can be a divisive topic, I hope we can all agree that innocent people — in any country — should have the confidence to go to school, work, or any public place without the possibility of being involved in a shooting,” La Riviere explains.  

It might seem like it’s none of his business for a Canadian to write a song that focuses on gun control in the USA, however sometimes it’s perhaps easier to have a clearer view looking in from the outside.  Nick also tours regularly in the USA with his various bands.  Canada also isn’t completely immune to gun violence.   

The track features Chelsea D.E Johnson from Old Soul Rebel on guest vocals.  Also featured on this track are Kelly Fawcett on guitar, Darcy Phillips (performer with Jann Arden) on keys, Louis Rudner on bass, Jason Cook on drums, and of course Nick La Riviere on vocals and trombone. 

The rest of the coming album is much more positive — upbeat music that brings together rather than divides.  Featuring instrumental dance tracks influenced by both the music of Latin America and New Orleans, catchy vocals, and thrilling solos. Other musicians featured on the album include Miguelito Valdes (Buena Vista Social Club) on trumpet, Barrie Sorensen on sax, Attila Fias on keys, and Alex Campbell on drums. Recorded and produced by Zak Cohen at The Woodshop Studio.  

Upcoming BC Tour Dates

June 25 Victoria Vic West Fest
July 3 Victoria Victoria International Jazz Festival
July 16 Victoria  Hermann’s Upstairs Album Release Show
July 18 Victoria  Beacon Hill Park
July 22 Colwood Eats & Beats
July 23 Fort Langley Fort Langley Jazz Festival
August 10 Golden Summer Kicks Festival
August 11 Revelstoke Street Concert Series
August 12 Penticton The Dream Cafe
August 13 Coquitlam Evergreen Cultural Centre
August 17 & 18 Salmon Arm Salmon Arm Roots & Blues Festival

Contacts

Nick La Riviere • info@bestlaidplansband.com • 250-704-9972

Linktree • www.linktr.ee/bestlaidplansband

Instagram • @bestlaidplansband

Website • www.bestlaidplansband.com