Latest news with #TheCrossing
The Courier
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Courier
Stuart Adamson's message to fans at Big Country's last UK gig
Stuart Adamson and Big Country decided to bow out of the live music scene with an emotionally-charged final fling 25 years ago. Adamson announced enough was enough. He explained why they were calling it a day in a forgotten interview from his Nashville home in May 2000, which has been uncovered from the archives. 'The final shows are going to be a trek through the life of Big Country,' he said. 'We'll be playing a few songs from each of the albums. 'We just want to make sure that everyone who comes along has a great time. 'I'm really looking forward to the tour. 'It will be a great way to come off the road.' The Final Fling tour would finish at Glasgow Barrowland, which became the band's spiritual home following the homecoming concert on Hogmanay 1983. Adamson decided it was time for a change Adamson and guitarist Bruce Watson founded Big Country in Dunfermline in 1981. Bassist Tony Butler and drummer Mark Brzezicki joined in 1982. The band exploded on to the scene with anthems such as Fields of Fire and In a Big Country from their classic debut album The Crossing in 1983. Steeltown went straight in at Number 1 after being released in 1984. The Seer, in 1986, yielded their highest-charting single with Look Away, Butler, Adamson, Watson and Brzezicki in 1984. Image: Supplied. Peace in Our Time (1988), No Place Like Home (1991), Buffalo Skinners (1993) and Why The Long Face (1995) were followed by Driving to Damascus (1999). This was the last album they recorded together with Adamson at the helm. 'I really do enjoy touring,' said Adamson in May 2000. 'But my priorities in life have changed now and I've had enough of spending eight months of every year away from home. 'I've always been one to listen to my inner voice. 'It just feels right now to finish Big Country's touring days.' Why did Big Country stay together so long? Adamson stressed there was no falling out. 'I've had a great time with the band, but I'm a great believer in looking forward, not back, and it's time for a change,' he said. 'The reason we have stayed together is that we have always got on well. 'The four of us finishing up on this tour were on the original Big Country album, The Crossing, and we've never really had a fall out in all that time.' The band in full flow in January 1989. Image: DC Thomson. Adamson said he wouldn't be quitting music after leaving the band. He intended to keep writing new material and perform live in Nashville. 'Nashville is a great place,' he said. 'People imagine that it's all country music, but that's not the case. 'The only thing I miss about Scotland are the people and being able to go and watch a football match rather than watch a game on the telly. 'But I am very happy here.' The European Final Fling tour kicked off in the Netherlands in April 2000. Adamson in Dunfermline in 1996. Image: DC Thomson. Adamson's beloved Dunfermline Athletic had just been promoted to the Premier League when the UK Final Fling tour started in Cambridge on May 18 2000. Dates in Norwich, London, Wolverhampton, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Leeds and Manchester followed before Somebody Else was released on May 29. Somebody Else was written by Adamson and Kinks singer Ray Davies. It was the band's final single with Adamson. Big Country performed at the Olympia in Dublin and the Waterfront in Belfast before a tear-stained goodbye at Glasgow Barrowland on May 31 2000. What songs did Big Country play in 2000? Big Country performed 24 songs and started where it all began. Harvest Home was written in a Dunfermline community centre in 1981. It was released as the band's debut single in September 1982. It was a great way to open the concert. Watson and Adamson on stage at the final fling. Image: Supplied. Driving to Damascus songs merged seamlessly with classic tracks. The pace never let up. The band were dressed in kilts. Adamson complemented the look with a pair of Adidas Samba trainers. Set highlights included King of Emotion, Where the Rose Is Sown, Your Spirit to Me, Broken Heart (Thirteen Valleys) and We're Not in Kansas. The 1984 single Wonderland also proved a big hit with the audience. Adamson made it a family affair. Teenage daughter Kirsten provided backing vocals on Fragile Thing. It was a goosebumps moment. Porrohman and Chance from The Crossing was reserved for the encore. Thunderous roars and stamping feet demanded a second encore. The fans got one. The band in kilts in 2000. Image: Supplied. In a Big Country and Fields of Fire followed. The noise was deafening. The band returned to the stage for a third encore. The much-missed Alarm singer Mike Peters and Adamson's son, Callum, joined them for a cover of Neil Young's Rockin' in the Free World. Band's final UK show was emotional affair Big Country have always been the people's band. There were a few misty eyes when the band took a final bow. 'Thanks everybody for your support and friendship,' said Adamson. 'May the road rise up to meet you. 'We'll see you all again. 'Until then, stay alive!' A message that took on added poignancy 18 months later. Adamson on stage at the final show. Image: Supplied. And that was it. Almost. There was one, final encore. Big Country took to the stage for a final time in Kuala Lumpur in October 2000. Adamson had relapsed and was firmly in the grip of alcohol addiction. The band struggled through the show. Adamson died on December 16 2001 at the age of 43. Adamson's biographer, Allan Glen, said there was no doubt the six months leading up to the concert at Barrowland was challenging for Big Country. Conflicting reports about the band's future were regularly appearing in the press. Allan Glen wrote Adamson's biography in 2011. Image: Supplied. He told me: 'In April 2000 came the first official announcement that the band was winding up with one last tour, billed The Final Fling by the band's long-term live agent John Giddings of Solo, who booked live shows for, among others, U2, the Rolling Stones, Madonna and David Bowie. 'The band could still command a live following, record sales were another matter. 'Adamson intended to quit the band after the tour.' Allan said he cited constant travelling as the main reason. Barrowland was band's spiritual home 'It's apt that the band's final concert – in Europe, at least, there was one more, in Kuala Lumpur on October 21 that year – was at Barrowland,' said Allan. 'It's as close to a spiritual home for Big Country as Dunfermline. 'The show on New Year's Eve 1983 and the Final Fling concert there in 2000 are remembered fondly among fans, particularly Stuart's touching Happy New Year message to his first wife, Sandra, at the former, and the appearance of the band's children on stage at the latter. 'Those are great memories for anyone who was lucky enough to attend those shows and a wonderful way for Big Country fans to remember all that Stuart and the band achieved.' Kirsten and Callum beside their dad's mural at East End Park in 2009. Image: DC Thomson. Butler, Brzezicki and Watson reunited in 2007 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the band, which has since gone through various personnel changes. 'It's also delightful to see the band have just announced they will play the venue on December 31 2025,' said Allan. 'When Bruce Watson pays tribute to Stuart from the stage of the Barrowland on Hogmanay this year, I doubt there'll be a dry eye in the house.'
CBC
11-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
P.E.I. vet college admits mistake for asking artist to remove painting based on U.S. politics
Social Sharing The Atlantic Veterinary College has apologized to its former artist-in-residence who quit after being asked to take down a painting he says was censored by the Charlottetown institution due to its political message. In a statement, the college acknowledged that asking Christopher Griffin to choose between removing his painting, The Crossing, or leaving his residency "was a mistake." "The decision did not reflect our institutional values, and we regret the hurt and frustration it caused. Art plays an essential role in education and public life — it challenges us, encourages dialogue, and fosters understanding," the statement reads. "We fell short of our responsibility to protect that role." Painting received 3 complaints Griffin, who moved to Prince Edward Island from Ottawa in 2023, became the regional college's first-ever artist-in-residence last November. The unpaid position gave him the opportunity to brighten up some of the UPEI-based college's community spaces. While animals are a recurring theme in his work, Griffin said his focus shifted starting in January when Donald Trump was sworn in as U.S. president for the second time and launched a trade war with many countries, including Canada. 'Expressions of concern' lead Charlottetown college officials to tell artist his painting must go 1 day ago Duration 2:58 Christopher Griffin had been enjoying his stint as artist-in-residence at the Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown. Then a painting he created in reaction to Donald Trump's recent statements and actions about Canada caused a stir. Administration officials asked him to remove 'The Crossing' (detail shown) from the walls of the college, where about a third of faculty and students are American, because of three 'expressions of concern.' CBC's Wayne Thibodeau reports. One of his recent works, The Crossing, shows a boat full of lemmings carrying a crumpled and discoloured U.S. flag across an icy northern Canadian waterway. The college said it received three complaints about the painting, including two from American faculty members. The AVC's dean, Dominique Griffon, told CBC News on Wednesday that Griffin had recently started creating more "politically charged" art, which did not align with the original vision for the artist-in-residence program. So Griffin was asked to remove The Crossing immediately, according to a statement he posted on Facebook. He refused. Griffon said it was the artist's decision to instead leave the residency. Many students, faculty and Islanders turned to social media to express disappointment with the administration asking Griffin to remove the artwork. A thank-you card at the college signed by students and staff includes messages of support for the artist. Artist accepted apologies The college said it has offered a direct apology to Griffin and offered to reinstall the painting in a prominent campus location. The university has also invited Griffin to come and speak about his work. "We are also reviewing our internal processes to ensure future decisions uphold our commitments to free expression and inclusive discourse," the statement reads. "We remain committed to creating space for meaningful conversations — even, and especially, when they are uncomfortable." In an Instagram post, Griffin said he has accepted apologies from both AVC and UPEI, and agreed to participate in a roundtable discussion at the university where he will speak about his work. "A huge silver lining is that this event has revealed the deep passion Canadians feel for our country and the values we hold sacred, including the freedom of expression," Griffin wrote. "Canada finds herself in troubled times, but my faith in our people has never been greater. We are strong together."
CBC
10-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
'Expressions of concern' lead Charlottetown college officials to tell artist his painting must go
Christopher Griffin had been enjoying his stint as artist-in-residence at the Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown. Then a painting he created in reaction to Donald Trump's recent statements and actions about Canada caused a stir. Administration officials asked him to remove 'The Crossing' (detail shown) from the walls of the college, where about a third of faculty and students are American, because of three 'expressions of concern.' CBC's Wayne Thibodeau reports.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
City weathers temporary suspension of $1M urban forestry grant
GOSHEN — A federal grant awarded to Goshen's urban forestry program has been restored after it was suspended months ago amid federal anti-DEI orders. The city earned a $1 million, three-year grant in 2023 from the Department of Agriculture's Urban and Community Forestry Program, which was funded with $1.5 billion through then-President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act. Communities that received the grant learned in February that funding was suspended to comply with anti-diversity and equity orders that came immediately after President Donald Trump's inauguration. Aaron Sawatsky-Kingsley, director of Goshen's Environmental Resilience Department, said the grant funding was reinstated in early March. He said the city is trying to move forward with the program after it was unexpectedly halted. 'The suspension represented a lot of scrambling to pull things apart and shut things down, and so we're scrambling again to put everything back together and shore up relationships,' he said Thursday. 'That's certainly the intention, is to absorb the speed bump here and get everything put back together and continue to roll. All of those partners, all of the subcontractors, are interested in continuing.' Goshen's application outlined an arboricultural employment training program focused on at-risk youth, to help produce more professionals who could support urban tree canopy goals. The city also plans to expand its inventory of trees and plants to support urban forests and food forests, as well as delivering public and business education programs. 'We've got projects that are focused on planting trees in Goshen, and within that, projects that are focused on getting trees into commercial sites and also trees to residential sites. And then we've got another project that is focused on workforce development, working with high school students to give them arborist training,' Sawatsky-Kingsley said. 'And then for the third important project covered by our grant, we're expanding our tree nursery.' The city chose The Crossing and Bushelcraft Farm as its workforce development partners and was able to employ several individuals with the grant to help meet its own tree planting goals. The city couldn't meet its needs without them, according to Theresa Sailor, city grant writer and an educator with the environmental department. 'We have two part-time folks that are paid for out of the grant. Lee Strader-Bergey, our horticulture specialist, they're ordering all of our plants, they're going to be managing out new nursery out at the wellfield,' she told Goshen Common Council at its Feb. 24 meeting. 'There are thousands of plants and trees coming that we are going to have to manage, so it's not something that our staff can handle without Lee. We don't even have enough time to be able to put them in the ground or hand them out. We need help with that.' Sailor said the budding initiative was jeopardized when the grant was canceled by the U.S. Forest Service in mid-February. In a Feb. 14 email, the Forest Service wrote that the award 'no longer effectuates agency priorities regarding diversity, equity and inclusion programs and activities.' In a statement, its parent agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said the agency was following directions to comply with Trump's executive orders. Sailor said the city was sent scrambling to find ways to keep Strader-Bergey as well as a summer water truck driver who was also covered by the grant. 'We are currently trying to redesign our budget to keep them. They're really important to our operation. And I have to say I really hope the grant gets funded again,' she said at the time. 'If it doesn't though, there are some changes in our department that we have made throughout this process that we really believe were good.' Those included transitioning to smaller tree whips, which are significantly cheaper than larger trees planted with the ball and burlap method. Sailor said whips can be had for as little as 55 cents, vs. $350 to $400 for a ball and burlap tree. 'There's a pretty substantial savings there. And when we buy those young trees, we're usually buying them 200 or more apiece. We currently have giveaways that you can get trees and you can get plants... as a part of getting people to invest in their own properties,' she said. 'It was nice to get federal money for that, because with city money, we focused on right of way trees. And this way you can plant things in your yard, and it's reasonable, it's helping connect people to native (species).' Sawatsky-Kingsley said they're moving forward with some uncertainty still hanging over them. He said there's a lot that's out of their hands. 'Following the suspension, we kind of live with a different awareness, looking over our shoulder, of how that could happen. That's part of the reality that we're living with,' he said. 'We believe deeply that the work that's being funded with this grant is good and important and valuable.' Indiana Gov. Mike Braun fell in step behind the Trump administration in March when he ordered state agencies and officials not to consider factors such as race, educational attainment, ethnicity or other 'environmental justice' criteria in permitting, enforcement or grant decisions. Sawatsky-Kingsley said disadvantaged communities tend to have less urban tree canopy, and environmental policy decisions shouldn't ignore that fact. The $1.5 billion in funding under Biden was explicitly meant to help communities that are marginalized, underserved and lack access to trees and nature. The Michiana Area Council of Governments keeps track of indicators of potential disadvantage in and around Elkhart County with its environmental justice analysis map at It highlights areas in the City of Elkhart where household poverty is as high as 75 percent and neighborhoods in the county where more than half of households have elderly or disabled individuals. 'To use the governor's language, he talks about wanting to 'protect our environment and grow our economy' ... I've got no argument with that,' Sawatsky-Kingsley said. 'I think the economy of certain underserved communities and neighborhoods needs to be understood and addressed, given historic realities. The economy in those neighborhoods is valued as much as the economy in other neighborhoods and communities that are better off, and that means finding ways for the environment to be part of the greater economy.'
CBC
09-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
P.E.I. artist quits post after vet college asks him to remove politically charged painting
The now former artist-in-residence at the Atlantic Veterinary College has quit his position, saying the Charlottetown institution was trying to censor one of his paintings. Christopher Griffin became the regional college's first-ever artist-in-residence last November. The unpaid position gave him the opportunity to brighten up some of the UPEI-based college's community spaces. He spruced up the students' Polar Bear Lounge with a new mural and created about three or four pieces a week for nearly six months, hanging many of them on the college's walls. Most featured animals, a recurring theme in his work. But Griffin said the focus of his work began to change after Jan. 20, when Donald Trump was sworn in as U.S. president for the second time. The Republican politician has since launched a trade war against numerous countries, including Canada, and has continually mused about annexing this country as the "51st state." "When my country was threatened by the government of the United States of America… I felt like I had to do something. I had to react," Griffin told CBC News on Wednesday. "My role as an artist is to communicate, so I came up with the concept of creating a body of work based on our national anthem." One of the paintings in Griffin's series, called O Canada and depicting an elephant standing under a tiny Canadian flag, hung at the AVC for two months without any concerns. The complaints came with the hanging of a painting called The Crossing, showing a boat full of lemmings carrying a crumpled and discoloured U.S. flag across an icy northern Canadian waterway. It's a take on the famous 1851 work Washington Crossing the Delaware by German-American artist Emanuel Leutze, depicting General George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River with the Continental Army in 1776 during the American Revolutionary War. "I realized, once I put the American flag in, that there would be some commentary, which I welcomed. For me, this was not an anti-American painting, and I took great pains to not make it so," Griffin said. "I chose lemmings because they have the mythology of producing mass suicide by jumping over a cliff or jumping into water. "It seemed to me that the government of the United States was self-inflicting wounds, so to me it seemed like a very straightforward metaphor." 'Not the best venue,' says dean College officials said they received three complaints about The Crossing, two of them from American faculty members. About a third of the vet college's faculty and staff are from the United States. The AVC's dean, Dominique Griffon, said the artist-in-residence program was envisioned as a way to offer students and staff a serene space, given the daily stresses of learning and practising veterinary medicine. She said Griffin's work initially fit that vision perfectly. "Unbeknownst to me... a few months ago, Chris changed the focus of his work toward more politically charged work," Griffon said. "We're not disputing the value in engaging in this difficult conversation; it's just that the veterinary school is not the best venue for that debate." The dean said the college wanted him to continue displaying most of his paintings, to which he retained ownership rights, but to keep the more controversial ones elsewhere. So Griffin was asked to remove The Crossing — immediately, according to a statement he posted on Facebook. He refused. Griffon said it was the artist's decision to instead leave the residency. 'Not a primary school' Some students and faculty turned to social media to express disappointment with the administration asking Griffin to remove the artwork. A thank-you card at the college signed by students and staff includes messages of support for the artist. For now, his paintings will stay in his downtown Charlottetown art gallery, from which he regularly runs online auctions of his work to benefit food banks and other charities. He said he is confident the work he did at the vet college will find a new home soon. As for the AVC, Griffin says he doesn't wish any ill will on either the university or its administration. But he doesn't believe his art contributed to an unsafe learning environment. "It's not a primary school, it's a university," he said. "If a painting of lemmings in a boat causes them to feel unsafe, they're going to have a tough time."
