In a moment of self-indulgence, I booked myself a show at my own venue, The Hayloft, where I usually host a series of house concerts for friends of mine traveling through Saskatoon. So the show felt a bit like I was throwing my own surprise party.
Then I got a call from Bonnie Austring-Winter saying CBC wanted to record the show for Canada Live. This was the perfect excuse to assemble a whole band for the occasion and pull out all the stops! Hal Schrenk (percussion) and Soren Nissen (double bass) joined Sam (flute/mandolin) and I for the show. I haven't played with a band for awhile, and to tell you the truth, I wasn't really that excited about working with a band (for another upcoming show) until I thought of working with these guys. True enough, they were really great. Seemed like magic.
Out of the blue, I received an email from Saskatoon's fiddle sensation (as I like to call him) Karrnnel. Call it serendipity. I asked Karrnnel to open the show and join our merry little band.
The show sold out fast, and we had scores of people waiting for tickets. So at the last minute, we added another show on Friday. Tamila Chapman-McLean of deezine.ca took some pictures at the Hayloft and The Star Phoenix ran a great story on the upcoming shows. Local artist Jillian Cyca hung her work for the occasion.
photo by tamila@deezine.ca
The place was totally packed. I hung out in the green room as my merry band of helpers (thanks to Curtis Olson, Jayne Horachek, Marty Olson, Lynn Nellis, Peter Olson and more not to mention the CBC) busted around, broke out more chairs, and squeezed in our beautiful audience. The show was so much fun. Playing with the band was magic! And I'll be sure to let you know when CBC makes it all available. It'll be heard on SoundXchange, Canada Live and Concerts on Demand.
The CBC's massive mobile studio parked next to our house earns suspicious looks from the neighbors:
Soundcheck at the Hayloft:
FOLLOWING ARE SOME PHOTOS BY CANDACE EPP FROM THE SHOW
My awesome brother-in-law Marty Olson takes tickets at the door:
Karrnnel starts the night off:
Soren Nissen on bass:
Sam makes a surprising entrance, emerging from The Hayloft for his kazoo solo:
I'm feeling tremendously grateful right now this house concert venue of ours, the people beautiful that come to fill it, the musicians that I get to play with, support of the CBC, and from my community. Thanks everyone!
Be sure to come to the next house concert: Patrick Brealey on July 22 and LAL on Aug 5.
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