“Sweet Saturday” is looking forward to being part of a great Weyburn tradition, when they perform at the Cugnet Centre for the Communithon Concert Jam on Saturday, October 21. The Moose Jaw-based vocal trio is a folk and roots band. Sweet Saturday consists of Jaimie Atkins, Mandy Canning and Annie MacLeod.
The group started out as a vocal trio in 2011, with Jaimie, Mandy and their friend Karen. Karen left the group in October of 2016 and that’s when Annie joined the group.
“We play guitar, mandolin, ukulele, bass, and we’re always toying with new instrumentation. We don’t have a percussionist anymore so we just got a stomp box and we’re always experimenting with different shakers and things to add depth and texture to our sound,” said Annie. “A lot has happened over the last year. We’re right in the middle of recording our first full-length album of original songs and we can’t wait to play a couple of new ones in Weyburn.”
Their biggest influence and inspiration as musicians are the beautiful and often underrated Saskatchewan landscape. “We’re actually just finishing up a brand new song about the prairies that we can’t wait to unveil in the next few weeks. I think this place is often overlooked because it’s not as in-your-face as mountains or a rocky Oceanside but there’s so much beauty and inspiration to be found right here in Saskatchewan,” said Annie.
The best part of performing for “Sweet Saturday” is seeing the familiar faces that keep coming back to see the band as well as seeing the surprise on the faces of those who have never seen them perform live before. “They often seem shocked and you can often hear, ‘Wow, they’re really good!’ from the audience in between songs. I’m not sure why they’re so surprised,” Annie laughed.
“Sweet Saturday” loves the support they receive from Moose Jaw, but consider it a pleasure to travel to other communities. “Sometimes it’s nice to branch out for a bit of a challenge and to see if we can win over other communities who don’t know us as well. Each town in Saskatchewan is so vastly different from the next, and each one offers a whole new perspective. It’s awesome leaving a new place knowing that we’ve made some new fans and the word is getting out.”
The band members all listen to different kinds of music, to feel inspired about the different genres that are available to them. “I listen to a lot of folk music, of course, but I still have a soft spot for the music of my youth. Between the three of us I don’t think there’s a single genre of music that hasn’t had some influence on us.
When “Sweet Saturday” heard about the Community Concert Jam, they were very excited to perform and help raise money for the Weyburn and District United Way. “It was kind of a no-brainer. We get to do what we love most and help raise money for a great cause and what could be better than that? I understand it’s the first event of its kind and hopefully it’ll be the first of many.”
The 36th annual Communithon will be held at the Cugnet Centre on Friday, October 20 and Saturday, October 21.
