Re-imagining the music of James Taylor, The Relics are set to perform their debut concert on Saturday, April 20 at the Rotary Performing Arts Centre in Okotoks.
Pre-pandemic in February of 2019, musicians Jim Reader and Neil Henry collaborated with Reader’s singing daughters, Julie and Jacqui, for an evening of Taylor’s music in Okotoks. The sold-out concert showed Taylor’s music hits home with a wide spectrum of the population.
Post pandemic, Reader and Henry continued to sharpen their Taylor repertoire and when fellow local musician and singer-songwriter Doc Mehl got wind of this adventure, he offered up his cello skills to the mix.
The sound generated by the unique combination of Reader’s voice and guitar work, Henry’s keyboard skills and Mehl’s cello augmentations and harmonies, took things to a whole new level.
These three gentlemen felt they had something special happening.
Enter Doug Paddock, a mainstay of Calgary’s Inglewood music scene for years, as the band's percussionist. Paddock, who is known for his ability to fit seamlessly with any type of music, immediately loved the songbook the boys had been rehearsing and eagerly jumped in with both feet.
Putting away his drumsticks following his first rehearsal, Paddock summed up what the others had felt all along: “Is there any better way for four experienced musicians to spend an afternoon? People need to hear this stuff.”
Thus was the genesis of The Relics, four seasoned performers collaborating to offer a great mix of timeless and memorable songs from the James Taylor songbook.
Additional tunes from Canadian folk legends Gordon Lightfoot, Neil Young, Ian Tyson, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Sarah McLachlan and Valdy round out their repertoire.
The group realizes that no one on the planet sings, nor plays guitar, like Taylor, so it's impossible to imitate him, however The Relics strive to honour his and other folk artists' material with their own interpretations.
"We aim for enjoyable and memorable audience experiences where listeners have the opportunity to escape with us from the real world for a couple of hours," said Reader.
The Relics’ debut concert is set for 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available through Eventbrite via the group’s website at TheRelics.ca.
