Standing on the side of a highway in Roswell, New Mexico, with a broken down tour bus may not seem like the glamourous side of the music business.
But such is life for the Abrams Brothers, a family band that plays bluegrass rock music and will be coming to the Creekside Theatre in Winfield on Nov. 8 to support the band’s first album of original music.
Consisting of brothers John and James Abrams and cousin Elijah, the Abrams Brothers are in the midst of a North American tour behind the album Northern Redemption.
The Abrams Brothers are the fourth generation of Abrams to make music. They grew up in a musical household in Kingston, Ont.
“We grew up playing a lot of music in the family living room so naturally James and I started playing as well,” said John Abrams in a phone interview with the Lake Country Calendar. “We started playing classical violin and then gravitated to the bluegrass and folk music that our dad was playing. It’s really cool and a special thing that we have been able to carry on the legacy of our family.”
While Northern Redemption is the Abrams Brothers’ first album of original material, it’s actually the group’s third studio album after recording an album of traditional bluegrass songs for its first recording and a tribute to the songs of Arlo Gutrhie and Bob Dylan for its second album.
It was in making the recordings of Guthrie and Dylan that led the group to make its own music.
“We were inspired by some of their great songwriting,” said John. “It pushed us to want to create our own music.”
The Abrams Brothers have also been influenced by the Canadian landscapes as they travel around the country. The group is making just three stops in B.C., including Lake Country, and plan to put on a high energy show with a unique sound and youthful energy. All three players in the band are 22 years old or younger.
“We really try to put a huge amount of energy into our live show,” said John. “It’s kind of like folk music on overdrive. There is a lot of intensity in the music. It’s our hope that people’s lives will be touched when they leave the show.”
After busing around North America, the Abrams Brothers are going to be happy to make the trip into B.C. Living and growing up in Ontario means they haven’t been out west too often. But the landscapes are what drew them back to the Western Canada.
“We’ve done a couple tours of Western Canada and every time we drive through B.C. and Alberta we are continually inspired,” said John. “We forget how magnificent our country is and just how vast and how incredible the landscapes can be.”
The Abrams Brothers play Creekside Theatre Nov. 8. You can find out more about the band online at www.theabramsbrothers.com.
For ticket information go to www.creeksidetheatre.com.
