ATHABASCA – Canada has a long history of folk music — from national icons like Gordon Lightfoot to small town community bands playing renditions of Stan Rogers songs, the genre can be traced back longer than Canada itself has existed.
The Wardens are a part of that fine tradition, albeit one with a unique twist — while acts like The Great Big Sea have written the occasional song about donkey riding, Scott Ward and Ray Schmidt have lived it.
“A lot of the music we write, the biggest majority of it, is about the land, and about people,” said Scott Ward in an Oct. 9 interview.
Long before the pair helped formed the band, the two men were working in Banff National Park as park wardens.
“The stories can be quite gripping — we were involved in rescue avalanche work, in backcountry horse work, wildlife work. We’ve got all these great stories to tell, and they lead into songs we’ve written about the subject,” said Ward.
Storytelling is a key aspect of the band’s performances. Accompanying the music is a slideshow that plays behind the trio — fiddler Scott Duncan joined the group in 2017 — providing a visual accoutrement as the men talk about daring rescues and lonesome nights.
Ward started playing the guitar as a 12-year-old, but he didn’t start writing songs until he was middle-aged, and his first stage performance didn’t occur until he retired from the National Parks Service 15 years ago.
“It’s a big transition, but I’ve seen some of the individual challenges overlap. As a warden, there’s that feeling of having a good team, like a band, but we have the solitary part as well. It’s definitely not solitary when you’re a musician,” said Ward.
Ward and Schmidt got their start in 2009, during the centennial anniversary of the warden service. Requests had gone out for music to go along with the celebration, and the men put their names forward.
“We’ve matured into mainly a touring band since then,” said Ward.
Listing influences like Tom Russell, John Prine, and Ian Tyson, Ward said the act doesn’t call themselves a country band.
“Maybe backcountry,” jabbed a laughing Ward. “Our (sound) is very acoustic, there’s no drums. We’ve got guitars, stand-up bass, fiddle; all the instruments are below our voices.
“We find older folks really enjoy our shows because they can hear the lyrics and understand what the songs are about. It’s not an overpowering sound.”
The Wardens are about to kick off a 19-show-long tour through Saskatchewan, but they’ll be stopping in Athabasca, Leduc, and Fort Saskatchewan before they leave. Ward said the band has something for everybody, including fiddle fans who’ll appreciate Duncan’s skill.
“We’ve never had anybody walk out of the show saying they didn’t like it,” he said. “It’s been a great journey for us — we’ve travelled all over, played in cities, in small areas, in areas where you never think something like this would go over and it’s always been a hit. If we get people in the door, we can make them happy.”
As always, tickets for the Oct. 17 show are available at Value Drug Mart, Whispering Hills Fuel, and Athabasca Health Foods. Tickets are also available online at Eventbrite, although additional fees may apply. If you buy in advance, tickets cost $30, but they’ll rise to $35 at the door. Youth 16 and under get in free.
