The three-day musical feast that is the Roots and Blues Festival is only a week away and brings a world of music and genres to the community.
Among them, is a Toronto band that loves and plays bluegrass.
Add the Slocan Ramblers to the list of bands taking a pass on polished pop production values and embracing the unvarnished authenticity of old-time mountain music and bluegrass – while showcasing their own worldly influences.
Praised everywhere, from Hockey Night in Canada to the pages of Sing Out magazine for their debut effort Shaking Down the Acorns, and having already opened for Steve Martin and been featured in a TV series alongside the Blind Boys of Alabama, the Slocans launched a follow-up album, Coffee Creek last month.
Recorded live-off-the-floor around a tree of microphones in Toronto’s Casa Wroxton, studio and produced by banjo wizard Chris Coole (Foggy Hogtown Boys, Sylvia Tyson, Jim Cuddy, David Francey), the album features a diverse repertoire that ranges from a sweet bluegrass original, Galilee, penned on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, to a rowdy re-creation of the classic Groundhog and a tender original called April’s Waltz, which proves the band can also play slow – with great precision and emotional sensitivity.
On their third tour of the West, Adrian Gross, the band’s mandolin player, says he has always loved acoustic and folk music
“Most of us came to bluegrass from other styles, but we discovered bluegrass and grew to love it,” he says, noting city people are often drawn to country and bluegrass. “It’s high-energy music, honest music, and there’s a certain kind of directness about bluegrass that I like.”
Being on the road so much gives the band many sources of inspiration, says Gross.
“There’s no shortage of inspiration – the stories you hear, people you meet along the way,” he says, noting writing the lyrics belongs to everyone, but when it comes to arranging a song, it’s a collaborative effort. “It’s almost like four people negotiating on how the song will go, so you always have to bring it to the band with an open mind.”
Catch the Slocan Ramblers on the Boogie Bar-N stage at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 14 and 12:45 Saturday, Aug. 13, and on the Shade Stage Saturday at 3 p.m.
Roots and Blues Festival tickets are available at www.rootsandblues.ca, by calling 250-833-4096 or by visiting the festival office at 490 Fifth Ave. SW.
