Juno winner graces Blackbird stage
Community
Posted By Kevin Rushworth, Reporter
Posted 1 month ago
As western and prairie roots group Gary Fjellgaard with Saskia and Darrel step on stage at the Blackbird Coffee House, stories and songs about Louis Riel, prairie skies, ranches and long cattle treks will fill the air.
For members Fjellgaard and Darrel Delaronde, they were born and raised in Saskatchewan and their folk music is infused with the prairie lifestyle. Due to his Métis background, Delaronde is deeply rooted in the prairie lifestyle. On the other hand, member Saskia Overbeek spent her early life in Holland.
After first touring the maritime provinces, the trio set off for a month long tour of Europe and returned with tales and adventures to tell. Recently, they returned and toured Saskatchewan and southern Alberta.
Just as new friends and fans will hear their music for the first time, the Crowsnest Pass show will act as a reunion for the trio of musicians as they reconnect with each other after the two groups played solo gigs since returning from their tour.
Fjellgaard, a Juno award winning artist and Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, will be promoting his latest of 14 albums called All in the Journey. On the other hand, Saskia and Darrel will be playing songs from their album Sailing Saskatchewan.
Although music lovers will hear three part harmonies as well as acapella voices, the stories and tales from distant lands are a crucial part of the show for both touring groups.
"We relate to people and we like (them) to know that we're just people like anyone else," Overbeek said. "We make mistakes and we laugh. The show has a lot of funny, ridiculous things that happened to us in our travels and lots of stories about what our songs are about."
For Overbeek and the rest of the group, traveling and playing in Europe was a very different experience. When playing to European audiences, the prairie humour added to the shows is somewhat lost in translation, according to Overbeek.
"When you go to Europe and you start explaining this and especially some of the funnier aspects of our adventures, sometimes they don't get it because there's a language barrier," she said.
While prairie audiences understand the Métis background, ranches and waving grasslands, she said Europeans appreciate the music for different reasons.
"On the other hand, they really appreciate the style of music because it is very musical; it's a beautiful sort of music," Overbeek said. "They appreciate the harmonies, the instrumentation and the craftsmanship of the music very much."
Overbeek said the trio is looking forward to playing in the Crowsnest Pass and that it is always an adventure for them to play in a new town because they get to meet new friends and fans.
In 2008, Saskia and Darrel won Album of the Year in Saskatchewan and member Darrel Delaronde took home Aboriginal Artist of the Year for 2008, 2009 and 2010.
Gary Fjellgaard with Saskia and Darrel take to the Blackbird Coffee House stage at 8 p.m. on July 23. Tickets for the show are $20 both in advance and at the door.
