The Sheepdogs made history by being the first unsigned band to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone in 2011.
Now, Cranbrook will get a chance to take in one of Canada’s top rock bands when The Sheepdogs make a stop at the Key City Theatre on Feb. 25, 2016.
The band, formed out of Saskatchewan, already have three Juno awards to their name from a sweep of categories in 2012, including Single of the Year for ‘I Don’t Know’, Rock Album of the Year for ‘Learn & Burn’ and New Group of the Year.
The core of the group consists of lead singer Ewan Currie and bassist Ryan Gullen, who have known each other since childhood. Drummer Sam Corbett and guitarist Rusty Matyas round out the rest of the act, while Currie’s younger brother, Shamus, has toured with the group since 2012.
The ‘Learn & Burn’ album, released in 2012, was the record that shot them to the forefront of the public consciousness—the same year they won their three Juno awards, which they couldn’t personally accept as they were on tour with the legendary John Fogerty.
Ewan Currie describes the band’s retro, guitar-driven blues rock style as ‘pure, simple, good-time music,’ influenced by the heavy riff bombast of Led Zeppelin and the melodies and harmonies of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Currie further admits that the The Sheepdogs are inspired by groups such as Sly and the Family Stone, Humble Pie, Creedence Clearwater Revival and the Allman Brothers.
Immediately after the success of ‘Learn and Burn’, The Sheepdogs followed up with a self-titled album that has reached platinum status with singles ‘Feeling Good’ and “The Way It Is’.
The Sheepdogs will be coming through Cranbrook as part of a nationwide tour in support of their latest album, ‘Future Nostalgia’ which was recently released in October.
‘Future Nostalgia’ was recorded in Stony Lake, Ont,, as Currie and the group wanted to get back to the basics of making music.
“We wanted to cut out all the noise and get back to a place where we could just immerse ourselves in music,” Currie said. “We worked from morning ‘til night, but we kept it loose, had a real good time and came away with a rock’n’roll record.”
The Sheepdogs will be one of the headline bands at this year’s Grey Cup Festivities in Winnipeg the last week in November.
Tickets for the Sheepdogs concert at the Key City Theatre in Cranbrook will go on sale Friday November 13th at the Key City Theatre box office or by phone at 250-426-7006 or online at www.keycitytheatre.com. All seats are reserved and priced at $45.00. Limit 4 per person.
