The Slocan Ramblers Visit Western Canada in 2023
Photo credit: Jen Squires
The all-star Canadian roots ensemble The Slocan Ramblers will tour Alberta, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia in 2023, following their North Eastern USA tour that wraps this week.
Their 2022 album Up the Hill and Through the Fog, channelled the past two years of loss into a surprisingly joyous collection of twelve songs.
Though the past few years have brought the group accolades–their 2019 album was nominated for a Juno Award and the band earned the Momentum Band of the Year Award from the International Bluegrass Music Association in 2020–that same momentum was abruptly halted by the pandemic’s brutal impact on live music. Over the next year, bandmates Adrian Gross and Darryl Poulsen both lost close family members and their bassist decided to step back to spend more time at home. They channeled these tumultuous changes into honest and direct compositions. Up the Hill and Through the Fog showcases the breadth of their varied influences while staying true to their bluegrass roots.
Though the subject matter on The Slocan Ramblers’ latest album touches on hard subjects and pushes towards catharsis, the band has always been about craft first and foremost. Getting together to cut the album in Toronto in early 2021, they all realized that they’d each spent their individual quarantines woodshedding like crazy on their instruments. This attention to mastery is palpable on the album. As they spin through dizzying instrumentals and meticulously built songs, they keep the sense of joy and camaraderie that’s kept them sane through all of life’s challenges.
The Slocan Ramblers Canadian Tour Dates:
MAR 22, 2023 - Fort Saskatchewan, AB
MAR 23, 2023 - Camrose, AB
MAR 24, 2023 - St Albert, AB
MAR 25, 2023 - Turner Valley, AB
MAR 26, 2023 - Vermilion, AB
MAR 28, 2023 - Prince Albert, SK
MAR 30, 2023 - Salt Spring Island, BC
MAR 31, 2023 - West Vancouver, BC
APR 2, 2023 - Madeira Park, BC
Tickets and information can be found at www.slocanramblers.com/pages/shows
Travelin’ On has enough thematic range to observe both transcendent love and the grind of workaday life.