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Bluegrass band rambles its way west

A Toronto band that recently received a Juno nod for Traditional Roots Album of the Year is making its way to Turner Valley this weekend.
The Slocan Ramblers
Juno nominated bluegrass quartet, The Slocan Ramblers, will perform for the Beneath the Arch Concert Series March 23 at 7 p.m. in Turner Valley’s Flare ‘n’ Derrick Community Hall.

A Toronto band that recently received a Juno nod for Traditional Roots Album of the Year is making its way to Turner Valley this weekend.

All-male bluegrass quartet, The Slocan Ramblers, is bringing its earliest songs, those from its latest album Queen City Jubilee and some new material to the Beneath the Arch Concert Series March 23 at 7 p.m. in Turner Valley’s Flare ‘n’ Derrick Community Hall.

The string-strumming quartet is currently on a six-week tour across western Canada.

“We’re starting to work on new material so we’re going to be testing out a bunch of new music,” said bass player Alastair Whitehead of this weekend’s concert.

“When we first started, our music had more of a traditional kind of sound to it. As the years progressed we’ve gotten more comfortable writing our own music and putting our own stamp on it and incorporating influences we’ve had from jazz school and updating the sound a bit.”

The Ramblers released their third full-length album, Juno nominated Queen City Jubilee, last year.

The album boasts predominately vocal music with some instrumentals and features the band’s adaptations of old bluegrass tunes and traditional content with its own spin, mixed with original material.

Queen City Jubilee was recorded live off the floor, with very little over dubs, to capture the sound and energy of the quartet’s live shows and was co-produced with well-known folk personality Chris Coole, an old-time banjo player and singer/songwriter, said Whitehead.

Since its release, Whitehead said the album has been getting a lot of attention.

“The crowds are getting bigger and people seem to be getting into it,” he said. “The Juno nomination is a nod to that.”

Whitehead said while the band often attracts an older audience that grew up with bluegrass music or is used to an older musical style, he and his band mates are noticing a younger college crowd showing up to concerts.

“There’s a group of younger people finding out about The Slocan Ramblers and getting enthusiastic about it,” he said. “We get people from their teens all the way to seniors. It’s a good mix of people coming together.”

Most music played by the string masters is original, with each musician contributing to the writing process, said Whitehead.

“There is so much great music in bluegrass and people put their stamp on the music over the years so it’s really fun to play homage to that,” he said.

“If you’re a full-time musician and people pay to see you play, you want to give them something that’s unique and your own. It’s really fulfilling to put so much work into writing music and performing it, putting it on the stage in front of people and seeing their reaction.”

With each of the Ramblers’ musicians having gone through jazz school, Whitehead said audiences notice a lot of jazz influences in the music.

Whitehead grew up on Canada’s east coast surrounded by Celtic and folk music, yet got his musical start playing electric bass and rock and roll before progressing to jazz music in high school and then delving into bluegrass.

“Something about the sound of bluegrass and the community around it, the whole ethnic vibe drew me in,” he said.

The Slocan Ramblers received the 2015 Edmonton Folk Fest Emerging Artist Award and perform frequently across North America.

Tickets to see the band perform cost $25 or $10 for children ages six to 12 and can be purchased at beneaththearch.ca. Tickets for children ages five and under are free.

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