Double-bill is expected to raise a ruckus at the Black Diamond Hotel on May 13.
Taking to the stage will be a double-barreled lineup featuring The Farmers from San Diego and Calgary’s Ralph Boyd Johnson and The Inner City Outlaws.
The Farmers, formerly known as the Beat Farmers describe their music as a blend of Bo Didley, Joe South, Creedance Clearwater Revival and the Yardbirds with a little classic country flavouring mixed in as well.
Johnson, on the other hand, said he’s coined his own term for the type of material he and his band play.
“I call it ruckus music,” he said. “It’s hard to say what it is but I can tell you what it isn’t. It isn’t Barry Manilow and that kind of stuff. It’s roots music along the lines of Steve Earle, and Bruce Springsteen. It’s storytelling with touches of reggae and blues. It’s kind of all over the map.”
Of his influences Johnson singled out Earle and his more than three decades of acclaimed songwriting, as a driving force in his musical career. Like Earle, Johnson is prolific. He said he’s written more than 350 songs and plays primarily original material in his live shows.
Friday night’s show with The Farmers and Ralph Boyd Johnson at the Black Diamond Hotel goes at 9 p.m. Ticket information is available at www.meccamusic.org
