Fireworks won’t be the only thunderous sound to be experienced in the foothills on Canada Day. Hard rocking music will also be heard from celebrated Scottish band Nazareth. The talented quartet, featuring Dan McCafferty on vocals, Jimmy Murrison guitar, Pete Agnew bass and his son Lee Agnew on drums, will take to the stage at the River Roadhouse Bar and Grille in High River Friday Night.
Rob Rogers of the Roadhouse said the band performed there once before, more than a couple of years back.
“It was full, live and electric,” he recalled, “You knew you had a legend of a band up there.”
Nazareth was formed it the late ‘60s and really hit their stride in the mid ‘70s when they had big hits with the songs “Love Hurts” and “Hair of the Dog”. There have been changes in the band’s lineup over the years but singer McCafferty and bassist Agnew are the mainstays, having been a part of very incarnation of Nazareth.
“They cross all generations,” Rogers said of the band’s enduring appeal. “My parents would listen to them. I listen to them. Now my kids do too. That’s the way the crowd was when they played here before too. My mom was there and she’s in her sixties and 18 year old kids were there too.”
Rogers recalled the band as being very laid back and fan friendly in their previous roadhouse appearance having stuck around for a while after the concert to meet fans and sign some autographs.
Friday Nazareth is scheduled to start playing at 9 p.m. with doors opening at 6 p.m. Tickets are $45 each and can be obtained in advance at the River Roadhouse on Centre Street North in High River of by calling 403-601-7539.
As much as a Scottish band that’s been known to break out the electronic bagpipes during performances may seem like an unusual fit for July 1, Rogers is pleased to be welcoming the group back.
“Our room is all wood so it’s very good for the sound,” he said. “It’s Canada Day so we took a little bit of a chance because people are doing a lot of different things that day. We’re just hoping that people will respond because it’s kind of a privilege for us to having them on Canada’s birthday.”
