One of Saskatoon's hottest bands, the Saskatoon Legendary Rhythm and Blues Revue, will be playing at the Sloan Auditorium in North Battleford May 2.
Hosted by the Battlefords Jazz Society, this eight-piece "big sound" band will entertain at the Day After May Day Cabaret.
Bass player, band leader and bus driver Gord MacAulay says the Saskatoon Legendary Rhythm and Blues Revue is "a bunch of people who just love the classic Chicago and Detroit sounds of rhythm and blues."
With a repertoire of more than 75 songs, their crowds are always up dancing, even if they have to do it in the aisles.
MacAulay says all the band members have been playing music for many years.
"We're not full-time musicians," he says. "We are full-time career people who have a passion for music. We get together to do this because we have a passion for it."
He adds, "We've got a bunch of professional people very serious about what we do in our everyday lives and we carry that over to when we have fun playing music. We are pretty serious about what we do and we all want to be proud of what we do."
The band was formed in 2006, and there are still three original members from that time, including lead guitar player Ed Bajak, who was born and raised in North Battleford.
Two years ago, they brought male lead singer Darcy Grieg in.
"The guy can sing everything," says MacAuleuy. "He can sing Van Morrison, Tom Jones, virtually anybody."
One of the two female lead singers, Holly Stasiuk, has been with the band since the start.
"She's known as Little Miss Dynamite," says MacAuley. A soloist with Lastiwka - Ukrainian Orthodox Choir of Saskatoon, LRBR is where, says MacAuley, "she lets her alter ego out."
A little over a year ago another female singer joined the revue, Nancy Lautner.
"She's been a breath of fresh air," says MacAuley.
He saw her performing with another band one night, approached her about singing with LRBR, and she asked, "Should I bring my trombone?"
She spent 12 years playing trombone in the horn section of the Stone Frigate Big Band. Along with Gordon Mosher on saxophone and Andrew Allsopp on keyboards, MacAuley says they have a "really full sound" and a "horn section" when needed.
He says, "We get a lot of positive feedback on how we cover the original tunes."
Rounding out the group is percussionist Brett Williams.
Everybody lives in Saskatoon except Bajak, who commutes from Blaine Lake where he performs as a soloist and teaches guitar.
"The last time Ed and I played in North Battleford was July 1 two years ago at the 100th anniversary," says MacAuley.
They were in a band called Soundwave.
"We were doing 60s instrumentals on the main stage, which was a real honour."
MacAuley says they are looking forward to playing in North Battleford.
"We've got lots friends in the area, and Ed's got lots of friends," he says. "I have cottage property up north and a bunch of my friends from Turtle Lake are coming down. They've never seen the big band."
The Saskatoon Legendary Rhythm and Blues Revue's website is www.lrbr.ca.
Tickets to the show Saturday, May 2 are $25, available at Nufloors, Bee-J’s Office Plus, Battlefords Jazz Society directors or by calling 306-446-3210. The doors to Sloan Auditorium, the lower level of the Royal Canadian Legion North Battleford, open at 8:30 p.m. and the show goes at 9 p.m.
