The Canadian Rockies Cowboy Festival is slated for May 28 to 30 at the David Thompson Resort west of Nordegg. Tim Hus and other area country and western favourites are on the bill; information is available by calling 403.721.2103.
The seventh annual Canadian Rockies Bluegrass Fest, also at David Thompson Resort from June 18 to 20, features Alberta and B.C.-based bluegrass and acoustic acts as well as old-time autoharp-legend Bryan Bowers.
Duane Steele’s acoustic show is set for The Matchbox on June 10 and 11; Steele is also stopping in Innisfail on June 20 for a gig at the Century Theatre.
The very impressive Ruth Purves Smith visits Red Deer’s Matchbox on June 18. June 20 brings acoustic stringband Headwater to the same hall. Tickets at the venue and Ticketmaster.
Tickets for the Calgary Folk Music Festival go on sale on Thursday. Held annually on beautiful Prince’s Island in downtown Calgary, the entire lineup hasn’t been announced, but some of the names leaked include The Avett Brothers, Greg Brown, OX, Frank Turner, The Mississippi Sheiks Tribute Project, Delhi 2 Dublin, Ghostkeeper, Madison Violet, Sun Parlour Players and Joe Henry.
Keep in mind, our own Central Music Festival is slated for Aug. 13 and 14.
This week’s disc reviews:
SpoonRiver
Kingdom of the Burned
Northern Electric
Liberally sprinkling reviews with ancient influences and musical touchstones such as Neil Young and The Byrds is standard music writer shorthand for ‘I don’t know how to describe this band/group/singer without resorting to cliché.’
It has to be disconcerting for young groups to have their modern interpretation of classic sounds compared to albums released 40 years ago.
SpoonRiver, a British Columbia-based collective that rose from the disillusion of Montreal’s Royal Mountain Band, certainly base their music in the traditions of country-rock. However, like Old Reliable, The Deadstring Brothers, and Old Crow Medicine Show, Travis Triance and his SpoonRiver comrades find ways to deepen and freshen their music so that the past is more whispered echo than imitation.
Yes, one hears Richard Manuel in Buried in the Sun but the song owes as much — in structure and sound — to Counting Crows and The Wooden Sky as it does The Band.
Hammond organ, piano, harmonica, guitar, bass, and drums combine with emotive vocals that are saturated with plaintive longing lightened by harmony.
The singing evokes the past without sounding stale or dated. The intensity of the lyrics is sometimes deliberately masked, but repeated listening allows the language and melody to reveal itself.
Kingdom of the Burned is ideal for spring evening drives.
Canteen Knockout
Broken Down Town
Weewerk
Canteen Knockout is alt-country circa 1999, replete with pedal steel, sweet female harmony, restrained electric guitar, and a bluesy-country Stones’ vibe.
This Toronto band is fronted by André Skinner, the owner of a relaxed delivery that borders on languid; those familiar with The Swiftys may find Skinner’s vocal approach similar to Shawn Jonasson’s.
The dozen songs are crafted with ample space between the notes and separation between instruments. One notices the absence of clutter, allowing each spark and nuance to find its way in.
A cover of The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald will garner notice, but Skinner’s original material is the attraction. From rockin’, Corb Lundish rave-ups like My Head’s on Fire to self-deprecating laments (Whiskey Drains the Pain) and maudlin country tribulations (Louisiana), Skinner communicates tales, emotions, and a sense of place through lyrics and music as efficiently as others do with prose.
Albums like Broken Down Town make me glad I have the opportunity to champion Canadian roots music.
Donald Teplyske is a local freelance writer who contributes a twice-monthly column on roots music; visit fervorcoulee.wordpress.com for additional reviews.