Live music is coming back to Estevan's art gallery as a group of young Saskatchewan artists will come together as part of the Prairie Roots Revue.
The Estevan Art Gallery and Museum will be welcoming Zachary Lucky and Carly Maicher, who performed in the Energy City earlier this year, and Ryan Boldt, a member of Saskatoon's The Deep Dark Woods, as well as Kacy Anderson and Clayton Linthicum, a pair of teenagers from Glentworth, Sask. The show is set for Dec. 14.
The Prairie Roots Revue tour was first held last year as an idea developed by Lucky and his friend Matt Goud, who performed last year. Their idea was to get some other folk artists who don't usually play together all on stage playing one another's songs.
"We had been tossing around the idea of trying to do some kind of a tour where it's a bit of a collective effort," said Lucky. "There's a handful of artists not performing separately but on stage at the same time, backing each other up."
Lucky had known Goud from seeing him play in Saskatoon, and then he became acquainted with Boldt.
The result of those early conversations is a selection of some of the top musical talent in the province, connecting with new audiences in settings that don't typically host musical guests.
Boldt typically performs with his bandmates in The Deep Dark Woods, though Lucky noted that he does have his own solo projects as well. He also said Boldt's band is one people should be paying attention to.
"If people don't know who they are, they should be checking out who they are, because they are really getting some attention and have recently signed with a couple of really good labels," said Lucky, noting they have released a few records in the past few years. "Ryan's a fantastic songwriter. He is penning some truly heartfelt alt-country songs and traditional folk songs."
He called Boldt's solo performances "solemn and very stark," noting that Boldt is not to be missed because the further along The Deep Dark Woods get, the fewer opportunities there will be to see him perform solo.
Kacy and Clayton are cousins from southern Saskatchewan. The duo performs together, and Lucky spoke highly of the pair as some of the brightest up-and-coming talent in the province.
"They're super young, and they're prodigies. They're amazing," said Lucky of the duo. "Both of them are so drenched in traditional songs and the history of those songwriters. They both value that stuff a lot."
He called Clayton one of the best guitar players he's seen and said he is impressed with Kacy's vocal ability.
Lucky is largely behind getting everything organized for this year's performances, and the five artists will be moving from city to city together with only one night off in 10.
He said it usually takes a couple of shows to get everybody in a good rhythm, but they keep a relaxed atmosphere.
"A lot of the songs that we play with one another are not planned. By the time we get to Estevan, they might be planned, but the first couple nights are always you go to school there for a little bit. The first few nights were a learning curve, real quick trying to figure out how we could have all four of us on stage, playing songs and doing some stuff together. It came together really nice and by the end of the tour (last year) we were having so much fun every night," Lucky said. "It was a really, really wholesome feeling."
For Lucky, he has spent the time since his first show in Estevan performing with a tour of the Prairies, and attended a folk festival in New Brunswick.
"Then we did a string of shows in the fall coming back across. Since then we've just been working on new records for myself and Carly Maicher. That's keeping us both pretty busy."
The Revue began on Dec. 6, when the musicians performed in Bruno, Sask., with the tour ending Dec. 15 in Rockglen. Other stops included Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg on Dec. 12.
The performance this Friday at the EAGM starts at 8 p.m.
