Fred Eaglesmith to tour Northwestern Ontario in October
Submitted by Cal Orok, Perseverance
Fred Eaglesmith signs merchandise for a longtime fan from Manitouwadge after his show with the Travelling Band in White River August 2011. Photo OntarioNewsNorth.com
If you have ever taken a slow way-freight train or bud car, or a passenger train, and thought to yourself: “we should go back there some day”, after you have passed an attractive corner of Ontario you had never seen before, you know what it’s like to follow Fred Eaglesmith. He has played more little places and rural areas in Ontario than almost any other musician, and he goes back to them, with his band, and his bus, and his music, year after year. He is an independent songwriter and traveling musician like no other, with 20 unique albums now.
Toby Keith recorded his song “White Rose”, about the demise of an iconic filling station in a small town. But, the story behind the song, growing up with several brothers and sisters, and going into town in the truck on a Saturday with their Dad – that is Fred’s story. Eaglesmith fans called Fredheads flock to the small towns to see him play with his amazing band, because he tells the stories well. And he plays and sings his songs better than anyone else. Even Alan Jackson, who recorded “Freight Train”, and Miranda Lambert, who recorded “Time to Get a Gun”. Fred is a true original songwriter and performer.
And it’s a different show, and a fun show, every night. Matty Simpson, a guitar player and keyboard player, who has recently started to do some independent music events, often opens the show with a few songs. He will tell you that he is from Selkirk Ontario, which most people can’t find on a map. Tiff Ginn, the songwriter behind the Fabulous Ginn Sisters from south Texas, plays a complete set of her songs. She is backed by Matty, Justine Fischer on bass (Justine the Bass Machine), and Kori Heppner. And when Fred plays with all of them, there is not new or old fan in the house who is not glad they came to seem them. They really rock. Fred played Letterman once a few years back. They can probably play anywhere. They just happen to like playing small towns, legions, and comfortable music places that people enjoy in small towns. Where the songs about trains and life and disappointment and rainbows and trucks and “Pretty Good Guys” still mean something.
Fred and his band travel in a diesel bus and bring their own sound so they can play everywhere. They have toured a lot of Ontario this year, except for western and Northwestern Ontario. They are going to fix that in September and October. Sept. 25, 2014 they will play Dresden, at the Old Czech Hall, right downtown. Dresden is in an agricultural area in Chatham Kent. The Old Czech hall has a hardwood floor throughout, providing lots of room to mingle with other music fans and dance if you are so inclined. This show will start at 8 pm, and tickets will be available in Dresden as well as online at Fred’s store, at www.fredeaglesmith.com. Advance tickets are $25 each and at the door, tickets will be $30. For a licensed event the Old Czech Hall is limited to 150 persons, so fans are encouraged to get their tickets early.
In October, after going to Western Canada in the fall, Fred’s band will come back through Northwestern Ontario, playing:
- Finlandia Hall in Thunder Bay on Wed. Oct. 22,
- Wawa Legion on Thursday Oct. 23 (a new venue for them),
- Thessalon Legion in Thessalon Ontario (north shore of Lake Huron) Friday Oct. 24,
- Copper Cliff Italian Club, in Greater Sudbury, Saturday, Oct. 25, at 8 pm.
Yes, it will be a Sudbury Saturday night show, in Copper Cliff, a hard rock mining community. The Italian Club will be also be offering an optional meal before the concert, and their food is highly recommended.
Tickets are now available at the venues and online at www.fredeaglesmith.com. These shows are celebrations and wonderful chances to see the band and buy some new merchandise for the music fans in your life – and get your Christmas list taken care of nice and early! They are also a good chance to see some beautiful fall colours and harvest scenery in rural areas of western and Northwestern Ontario. Plan to attend. The band will be there. Wawa already knows that for sure. When the highway was washed out 2 years ago, the band travelled all night through Timmins to get there for the Wawa show not wanting to disappoint fans. If you have never seen them before, you are in for a treat! See you there.
