Crowsnest Pass musician Lesley Schatz at Alberta’s Men & Women of Country Music gathering

Crowsnest Pass musician Lesley Schatz performed at the Alberta’s Men & Women of Country Music gathering on May 12 at the Hoadley Hall, west of Ponoka.

Sheena Read photo

Indie review: Danophone's "Rerun"

File under: Boss rock

Reminds me of: Springsteen's "Tunnel of Love" phase, Collective Soul's ballads, Adrian Legg's guitar stylings

My faves: City of Kings, Turn Blue, Rerun,. The Whole Truth, Written in the Sand

Hear it online: Click here

For fans of: Bruce Springsteen, John Hiatt, John Mayer, The Script, The National, Steve Earle

Cast: Carsten Nielsen: vocals, guitars, bass, keys, sax. Bertil Bille: drums, cajon, percussion. Tino Pedersen: background vocals, guitars, bass. Production Carsten Nielsen, Elias Bille
Trivia: Danophone means “Danish speaking by birth or adoption”

Quick take: "Rerun" is one good mixing session away from being categorized as a mainstream album. Introspective honest rock songs and ballads permeated with gorgeous guitar work and solid vocals.  Swedish journalists make good music.   "Melancholic songs from the happiest city in the world’s happiest country."

Indie review: April Martin's "In the Blink of a Life"

Chris Davis

File under: Countrified Confessional Folk

Reminds me of: Natalie Marchant's Ophelia, Phil Ochs' Rehearsals For Retirement

My faves: Blink of an Eye, Let Me In, One Part Truth, Party's In Full Swing, Looking Back, One Breath

Hear it online: Click here

For fans of:  Roseanne Cash, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Leonard Cohen, Gillian Welch, Carole King, Loretta Lynn

Musicians: April Martin, vocals, guitar, flute. Peter Calo, guitars, backup vocals Chris Marshak, drums. Susan Didrichsen, backup vocal. Norbert Goldberg, percussion. Produced and mixed by Peter Calo. Mastered by Scott Hull.

Quick take: A confessional album that feels like an album, with tracks sequenced based on creating an experience more than exposing the "hits". In the Blink of a Life is the work of a mature songwriter with a lovely silky voice, a mix of melancholia and celebration.

Alt-country songwriter Kevin Roy to perform in Twin Butte

Kevin Roy (Chris P. Bakon photo)

Toni Lucas - Winnipeg alt-country musician Kevin Roy is touring his debut album Heartworn Highways, and will be performing at the Twin Butte Store on Saturday evening, October 1. His touring band consists of Roy on vocals, guitar, and harmonica, Madeleine Roger providing harmony and guitar, and pedal steel guitar player Ian Cameron.

Fiddlin' Phil Lethbridge at Lebel Rose Garden

Multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer Phil Lethbridge has been a mainstay of the Pincher Creek  music scene since approximately 1967.  On Saturday afternoon July 11 he was at the Lebel Rose Garden with his fiddle entertaining those in attendance at the Downton Abbey style Tea.  Phil's a local treasure.

25th Gathering ropes 'em in

Gathering performers Dusty Dee Litchfield, Shilo, Barry Heath, the Divine Bovines, and Trevor Panczak

Chris Davis - The dust has settled on the 25th annual Cowboy Gathering. Established in 1988, the Gathering grew from a small event planned by the then newly formed Alberta Cowboy Poetry Association into the 4 day extravaganza it has since become. The Gathering has also been a major economic boon to the Pincher Creek area, bringing hundreds of tourists to town every year. The Pincher Creek and District Agricultural Society has been an integral part of the event from the beginning.

The incomparable Hugh Kelly

As in years past, the event took place on two stages simultaneously, one in the Pavilion and the other in the Commmunity Hall. The Pavilion also featured artisan booths and was the setting for a roast beef dinner prepared by Barry's Cookin' from Cowley in the evenings. I had the good fortune to be employed as soundman for the Pavilion stage, affording me the opportunity to hear and see most of the talented people performing at the event over the course of the weekend. The list of poets and musicians that performed is a long one, and the memorable moments were numerous.

Talented locals included Alyssa Barbero, Martyna Lively, Albert Prairie Chicken, and Jaiden Panchyshyn. Featured performers included Trevor Panczak, Phil Lethbridge and the Westwinds, Shilo Sharrard, and the Travelling Mables. The Divine Bovines made their Gathering debut, entertaining audiences with their pasturized hilarity. Dave Dance kept it real, every time.

Hugh Kelly gave others a lesson in performance with his delightfully smooth sound. One of the best vocalists I ever heard. Listen to him sing " I'm thinking tonight of my blue eyes" if you don't believe me. Mariya Soetaert wowed the crowd with her voice and also with her engaging original material. "Peanut Butter" was on of her standout moments. Mother and daughter duo Jill and Kelly Stewart brought some magical harmonies to the stage. Dusty Dee Litchfield and his extraordinary sideman Dave knocked it out of the park every time. Buddy Gale's laconic style was again enhanced by his remarkable memory, as he pulled poem after story after poem out of his memory as the mood suited him.

Ed Brown is always a treat to hear (C. Davis photos)

Albert Prairie Chicken

Mariya Soetaert 

Randy and Rai Smith 

Randy and Rai Smith duetted divinely, and Randy also played solo, demonstrating his superb baritone and strong song-smithing. Phyllis Rathwell was funny and poignant. The Bibby's tag-teamed the laughs. Harry 'n Jen were low key and marvellous. Perry Jacobsen and Rob McConnell rollicked through classic tunes. Bud Stewart made it all look easy, singing and reciting. Barry "the vet" Heath was as charming as ever. Mag Mawhinney turned whimsy into hilarity with regularity. Ol' Ugly was old, ugly, and really funny. Yodeler Miriam Dreher Colter represented the art admirably. Margaret Wilhelm, Phyllis Rathwell, "Gramma poet" Hazel Rust, Morrie Goetjen, Doug Kieth, each brought something special to the microphone. Impromptu bands formed for brief shining moments and then went their separate ways. And it just kept coming... song after song, laugh after laugh, excellent performer after excellent performer.

Some performers also left the venue to perform at Canyon School, the Pincher Creek Hospital, and at Vista Village and Crestview Lodge.

Calgary Stampede Royalty (sporting "Divine Bovine" ears) 

Dusty Dee Litchfield gets a hug from Harry the Horse 

The Calgary Stampede White Hat Round Up Volunteers visited on Saturday, bringing with them white cowboy hats, trinkets, rodeo queens, mascot Harry the Horse, and the show-stopping Keister Family Fiddlers.

2012 Calgary Stampede Centennial Native Princess Amelia Crowshoe (from Brocket) with yodeler Miraim Dreher Colter 

Cowboy Church on Sunday morning was very well attended, turning into a spirit-raising singalong.

The Gathering faces some challenges going forward. Younger performers joining the show are musicians, not poets. The poets who have been the cornerstone of the event are increasingly finding it difficult to attend. The audience too is getting older, and traveling less, affecting the attendance numbers. It's uncertain at this point exactly what direction the event will take in the future, but most of the organizers I talked with were confident that it will evolve and continue.

Eileen McGlynn receives a thank-you bouquet from Alyssa Barbero 

Another big challenge will be finding a suitable replacement for Organizing Chairperson Eileen McGlynn, who has announced she is stepping down from the position after more than a decade on the Gathering Committee.

The Ranchers Family Fun Rodeo held on Sunday was a hoot, and will be featured in a separate story, as will several other Gathering related stories and videos.