On Becoming a Closet Country Fan
Don’t ask me how it happened. I’ve been an adamant critic of the twangy, lap-steel infused music all my life, but I now find myself enjoying the stuff as I drive the lonely Barkerville Highway or even as I work at the computer here at home. It’s got to be something in the air.
While there might indeed be plenty in the air to breathe, cough and talk about, especially in Quesnel, that likely does more to explain the sky-high cancer rates in that town than my new found appreciation for country. In fact, I don’t need to engage in any serious chemical research to find the answer to this phenomenon: I need only look as far as the local geography and culture.
As an urban Lower Mainlander I could never quite identify with the references to roping cattle, riding the range and the spirituality of big sky country. But after living up here in the north Cariboo for only two months, things have changed. I’ve discovered that it’s the only music that captures the sights, sounds and smells of this environment – especially when driving (and only when we can actually catch a radio signal). With songs by local grassroots country phenoms such as Rae Spoon, a highlight of this weekend’s festival, titled ‘Prince George/Highway 401’, ‘Long Road to Nowhere’, ‘Teamster in the Snow’ and ‘Living a Country Song’, there’s nothing I would rather listen to.
The natural resource culture I’ve alluded to before is as common an inspiration for these tunes as the environment itself. Herds of cattle grazing in the field next to rich coated horses munching lazily on the grass evoke different feelings than those inspired by truck stops and sawmills, but each share a unique ability to inspire verse. It’s no wonder that city slickers like me have had difficulty identifying with the stuff when living amongst skyscrapers and other trappings of modernity that characterize countless urban jungles.
Beyond the physical realm of horses, bulls and trees, however, is the musical. That’s the realm in which I was immersed this weekend as an ArtsWells volunteer and default festival goer. Though I wasn’t sure what to expect of a line-up of obscure (at least to me) folk artists before the weekend began, it didn’t take long for me to realize that it was going to be three days of unexpectedly fantastic music.
Only in their second year of existence, ArtsWells organizers are intent on making their festival the largest of its kind in British Columbia over the coming years. The challenge at this point, however, is to generate enough interest throughout the province to get the turnout that this weekend’s line-up of artists deserved. I suppose these growing pains can be attributed to an isolated venue (85km outside Quesnel), weather characteristic of the town’s location at 4000 feet above sea level (cool, windy and often rainy), and the limited budget of a volunteer-run organizing committee. Regardless of whichever of these factors it might be, this year’s numbers certainly can’t be attributed to a lack of community spirit, organization or volunteerism, as they were all present in spades.
In any event, those of us who did get to enjoy the festival were treated to a great show and I’m sure I’m not the only one who started the weekend as a cynic and immersed from it a fan of folk and live, grassroots country. Individual performances by The Courtney Wing Band, Rae Spoon, William Kuklis, Shane Philip, Corwin Fox and Rodney DeCroo were the weekend’s highlights, but the ‘Monday Night Mayhem’ jam session at the art gallery best encapsulated the spirit of the festival.
There, half a dozen of the festival’s remaining performers plus a few other musicians from the community treated a group of mostly locals to a full four hours of scintillating, toe-tapping acoustic folk. Drinks were flowing as freely between the musicians as the applause, hoots and hollers from the crowd, and everyone who could strum a guitar had a chance to showcase their talents. It was a moving finish to a musically rich weekend.
Perhaps there's something in the air, after all.
While there might indeed be plenty in the air to breathe, cough and talk about, especially in Quesnel, that likely does more to explain the sky-high cancer rates in that town than my new found appreciation for country. In fact, I don’t need to engage in any serious chemical research to find the answer to this phenomenon: I need only look as far as the local geography and culture.
As an urban Lower Mainlander I could never quite identify with the references to roping cattle, riding the range and the spirituality of big sky country. But after living up here in the north Cariboo for only two months, things have changed. I’ve discovered that it’s the only music that captures the sights, sounds and smells of this environment – especially when driving (and only when we can actually catch a radio signal). With songs by local grassroots country phenoms such as Rae Spoon, a highlight of this weekend’s festival, titled ‘Prince George/Highway 401’, ‘Long Road to Nowhere’, ‘Teamster in the Snow’ and ‘Living a Country Song’, there’s nothing I would rather listen to.
The natural resource culture I’ve alluded to before is as common an inspiration for these tunes as the environment itself. Herds of cattle grazing in the field next to rich coated horses munching lazily on the grass evoke different feelings than those inspired by truck stops and sawmills, but each share a unique ability to inspire verse. It’s no wonder that city slickers like me have had difficulty identifying with the stuff when living amongst skyscrapers and other trappings of modernity that characterize countless urban jungles.
Beyond the physical realm of horses, bulls and trees, however, is the musical. That’s the realm in which I was immersed this weekend as an ArtsWells volunteer and default festival goer. Though I wasn’t sure what to expect of a line-up of obscure (at least to me) folk artists before the weekend began, it didn’t take long for me to realize that it was going to be three days of unexpectedly fantastic music.
Only in their second year of existence, ArtsWells organizers are intent on making their festival the largest of its kind in British Columbia over the coming years. The challenge at this point, however, is to generate enough interest throughout the province to get the turnout that this weekend’s line-up of artists deserved. I suppose these growing pains can be attributed to an isolated venue (85km outside Quesnel), weather characteristic of the town’s location at 4000 feet above sea level (cool, windy and often rainy), and the limited budget of a volunteer-run organizing committee. Regardless of whichever of these factors it might be, this year’s numbers certainly can’t be attributed to a lack of community spirit, organization or volunteerism, as they were all present in spades.
In any event, those of us who did get to enjoy the festival were treated to a great show and I’m sure I’m not the only one who started the weekend as a cynic and immersed from it a fan of folk and live, grassroots country. Individual performances by The Courtney Wing Band, Rae Spoon, William Kuklis, Shane Philip, Corwin Fox and Rodney DeCroo were the weekend’s highlights, but the ‘Monday Night Mayhem’ jam session at the art gallery best encapsulated the spirit of the festival.
There, half a dozen of the festival’s remaining performers plus a few other musicians from the community treated a group of mostly locals to a full four hours of scintillating, toe-tapping acoustic folk. Drinks were flowing as freely between the musicians as the applause, hoots and hollers from the crowd, and everyone who could strum a guitar had a chance to showcase their talents. It was a moving finish to a musically rich weekend.
Perhaps there's something in the air, after all.
posted by Per at 8:27 p.m.
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