The 27 Club, maybe you’ve heard of them, if not collectively you’ve certainly heard of them individually; Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and Robert Johnson to name a few. A collection of renowned musicians whose lives were all tragically cut short, each at the age of 27.

Local performers are celebrating the six artists this week at The Arts and Culture Centre in St. John’s. Forever 27 will see local performers Kelly-Ann Evans, Jody Richardson, Denis Parker, Darrell Cooper, Kalem Mahoney and Janet Cull take the stage performing the songs of the late greats.

The backing band features a group of fantastic local musicians: Grant King on keys and guitar, Armondo Fowlow on guitar, Evan Smith on keys, Craig Follett on bass, Rich Spurrell on drums, and local favourites Ouroboros as the horn component.

“Kelly-Ann and I started planning this project over a year ago. Once we had our six artists nailed down (Robert, Jimi, Janis, Jim, Kurt, and Amy) it was easy to pick the local musicians to play each role,” said Janet, one of the coordinators of the tribute night.

“It really fell into place quite easily because each local artist we are very familiar with. We knew they would do each artist more than justice.” The show has already run a couple of times, having toured through Grand Falls-Windsor and Corner Brook in October.

“The show in Corner Brook was a huge success! The audience was absolutely amazing,” Janet said. Any fan of the late artists have a lot to look forward to as the A-list of performers sing some top tunes. “Without giving away the entire show, people will hear favourites like Janis Joplin’s ‘Me and Bobby McGee’ and Amy Winehouse’s ‘Rehab,’” Janet said.

“The biggest challenge was choosing the material to perform at the show. Each of these artists have so many great songs and having to narrow it down to just a few tunes per artist was difficult.” Janet herself will be the voice behind for many of the ladies’ songs, Amy Winehouse being an artist she’s excited to play, and the audience should be looking forward to hearing.

“The highlight for me personally is to have the opportunity to pay tribute to Miss Amy Winehouse. She came along at the right time when our music industry was saturated by formulated music. She brought heart and soul back into music. I absolutely adore her!”

Forever 27 is a great opportunity to get out and see these late artists reanimated, and reimagined in song. “Another highlight is sharing the stage with the amazing talent in this show. From the band to each featured singer. Stellar line-up,” Janet said.11960020_10155928534070394_4229744685015370823_n