Summer is on the way, and each year in Golden, that means the Summer Kicks season is about to begin.
Kicking Horse Culture provides a free concert every Wednesday evening beginning in June. This year’s lineup brings some fresh new names to Golden, and a few returning artists to entertain the crowds weekly.
This year’s Summer Kicks takes off with Tiny Lights Redux, which invites some artists from the Tiny Lights festival in the central Kootenays to play at Spirit Square after the festival.
Kicking Horse Culture executive director Bill Usher puts a lot of thought into the musicians he brings to Golden for the Summer Kicks series, which takes place beginning in June, and comes to a close in August. He carefully selects musicians that touch on a handful of genres that he is sure the people of Golden will enjoy, and couples them with local acts to put on the best shows possible.
“They have been selected personally for you,” Usher quips. “You just sit back and enjoy. I definitely try for that.”
The job isn’t as simple as it sounds. Usher puts out the call for musicians that might be travelling through the community while they are on tour, or invites artists back to the community that have put on great shows in the past. He also takes into account what he thinks the people of Golden will enjoy.
“I certainly look at the community that comes out, and it’s got all age ranges and families and different kinds of interests,” he explained. “During the winter months when I start booking, and I start thinking about different artists, and what they present… For the most part it is trying to introduce people to what they normally wouldn’t see.”
A lot of the artists are already out on the road, and would typically drive through Golden on their tours. In the past, Usher has heard from many people in the community and from different parts of the world that the Summer Kicks series is a welcoming environment where people can experience different types of music. One woman from Saskatchewan approached Usher a few years ago to tell him of her encounter with the summer series, saying that she was staying at the campground, and it was suggested to her to check out the live music that night. She told him that it felt like she had been invited to a family picnic, and instantly felt comfortable and like a part of the community.
“She really just commented on the sense of community she felt, and was amazed at the quality of feeling and also the quality of music she was seeing,” he said.
A few of the acts have been to Golden before, and Usher has invited them back to perform again.
The Paperboys are one of the bands that will be playing, and they have been around for 25 years, Usher said. Vlady is another that has been to Golden before, and brought out one of the biggest crowds Usher thinks the Summer Kicks has ever brought out before.
El Grupo Cubana has played at the Civic Centre before, after they got their Canadian start while working on a farm in the Creston Valley.
“They came and kept on coming back,” Usher said.
The full lineup of events is available on www.kickinghorseculture.ca, and includes the headliners each night and the local acts that play in between sets. Get to Spirit Square early to get a comfortable seat, as the shows can fill up quickly.
