Jams brings top talents to Woodstock Hotel

Seasoned musicians who’ve rubbed elbows with some big names in the industry are becoming regulars at a Turner Valley hotel.

The Woodstock Hotel is drawing crowds with its Saturday night jam sessions, organized by semi-retired Calgary musician John Gray, who’s played with Ray Charles, K.d. Lang and Stevie Ray Vaughan and founded the Ray Charles Tribute Orchestra.

The jam night was spearheaded by hotel owner/operator David “Blackie” Lawrence three years ago after purchasing the hotel in 2015.

“I love every kind of music,” said Lawrence last week. “I wanted to bring people back into the music era and that’s why I named it the Woodstock Hotel. It’s a satisfaction watching people break away and actually get out and be themselves singing and playing guitar.”

The Woodstock Hotel’s jam nights host a plethora of successful musicians including Gary Martin, the Prince of Blues, Lou Rye who played at Woodstock in 1969, and Barren Bartlett, who worked with Canadian classic rockers Trooper, Kim Mitchell and April Wine, among others.

“Some of these people who come in here, it’s just crazy,” said Lawrence. “They get up there and they will work with you. John Gray is a bass player so if you have your own bass guitar he will unplug his. If you don’t have a bass guitar John will let you play his.”

Jammers range from a wide array of talents from southern Alberta to musicians passing through, said Lawrence.

“If somebody comes in with a whole band we’ll let the whole band play,” he said. “I’m there to promote entertainment. We’re getting pretty well known now.”

The jam also draws a large crowd of spectators, who enjoy a variety of musical genres including country, rock and roll, jazz, blues, R&B and Motown.

Lawrence attributes some of his success to the changes at the hotel since he took over.

“I renovated the bar and I pretty well renovated the whole hotel since I bought it,” he said. “It’s a really good atmosphere.”

Gray, who has been in charge of the jam nights since last spring, said he’s impressed with the venue.

“It’s a great sound system, great PA, really good food and I like the ambiance,” he said. “Blackie has done a lot of work fixing the place up, putting up lights and fixing the bar up. The sound is really good in there.”

Gray uses his connections with various performers and bands to host the jam nights, often playing a set before opening it up for anybody wanting to sing or play an instrument.

“It’s usually people who are seasoned professionals that have been playing a long time that come up to play with us,” he said. “I generally try to get professionals that have been in the business for a long time and that are of high quality, like myself. The entertainment there is high quality, featuring different players and musicians either full bands or people that play with myself and my drummer.”

Among the biggest fans of the Woodstock Hotel’s jam nights is Millarville area singer and rhythm guitar player Rob Kroeger. He attends the jam almost every Saturday night.

Kroeger was a professional musician in Africa for years, but despite his experience on stage he said he can be a little shy.

“I’m an introvert so I would probably never have met these people in my life if it wasn’t for the fact they were coming and jamming and letting people like me join them,” he said. “It’s really nice to have super professional people backing you considering their past, but for them I’m sure it’s an amount of fun to play with anybody.”