VANCOUVER, BC – Jordan Harvey and his girlfriend Kimberly Caldwell are both used to being in the spotlight.
As a professional soccer player, Harvey often plays in front of thousands of fans who scrutinize his every move. It’s not much different for Caldwell, a singer/songwriter who was an American Idol finalist in 2003.
Naturally, as a member of Vancouver Whitecaps FC, most of the spotlight has been pointed in Harvey’s direction since the two have lived in Vancouver, but that will change on Thursday when Caldwell makes her official Vancouver debut at Celebrities Nightclub.
“I’m used to being in the stands in Vancouver cheering Jordan on. This will be the first time that Jordan is in the audience cheering me on,” Caldwell told whitecapsfc.com. “I’m excited. Out here, I make handbags and I’m Jordan’s girlfriend and I host baby showers. But people don’t know that I have this other side of me that is a huge part of my life. To be able to share that with them … I think it’s going to be a really special evening.”
The fact that Harvey is going to accompany her on guitar for a few songs will make it even more special. Music has always been a passion of Harvey’s. He took a guitar class in the ninth grade and played a bit in college, but it was never something he took seriously – until he met Caldwell.
Thursday won’t be the first time the duo has performed together in public. Back when Harvey was a member of Philadelphia Union, he was “dragged up” on stage by Caldwell at an open mic night.
“She said she was going to the bathroom but then all of a sudden she was calling me up on stage,” Harvey told whitecapsfc.com. “That was the first time we had ever played together. I had no clue I was doing it but I had a lot of pressure from the friends we were with … so I had to do it.”
Since that impromptu act, Caldwell and Harvey have, willingly, performed together on several different occasions, including at a friend’s wedding and on CTV’s morning show last week.
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This past season, they also used music as a way to give back to the community. Caldwell and Harvey were among the Whitecaps FC contingent who attended appearances at a pumpkin carving event arranged by the Canadian Cancer Society and at the Hope and Health Soccer Extravaganza in Ladysmith, where they performed at the opening ceremony.
“The sun was coming down and it was really lovely moment,” Caldwell said. “We could tell all the kids and their parents appreciated the fact that we did a couple songs. In those moments, it’s just something that brings us even closer together.”
Caldwell, who is originally from Texas, and Harvey, a native of Mission Viejo, California, said they have both truly embraced the city of Vancouver as a second home, which was evident in their work in the community over the past year.
For his efforts, Harvey was named Whitecaps FC’s Humanitarian of the Year, which is awarded to a player who showed shown an active willingness to give back to the community by volunteering and participating in club and community initiatives beyond the regular call of duty.
“The Whitecaps do a great job of incorporating the players in the community and giving us opportunities to be involved,” said Harvey, who scored a career-high four goals this season. “It’s one of those things, when you’re playing in a city like this and you have such a great fan base and good people, the more you do it the more you want to do it. You meet so many great people at these functions. I really enjoyed it.”
“As much as we love to give back and say yes every time that we’re asked to do something, we really get such pleasure out of it as well,” Caldwell said. “It’s an honour to be asked to be there and to be able to participate and give our time and whatever talent we might have … it feels good at the end of the day. It makes the day worthwhile.”
Caldwell’s concert on Thursday is sure to be worthwhile as well. Unlike that one night in Philadelphia, Harvey said he doesn’t get nervous anymore when performing with Caldwell in public.
“It’s all good fun as long as she’s singing and I’m not.”
Tickets are available at celebritiesnightclub.com.
