ATHABASCA — The Maritime provinces and the people hailing from them are proudly home to unique elements of Canadian identity, and on April 2, Athabascans and former East Coasters can enjoy the sounds and stories of the small but mighty Newfoundland and Labrador as island folk group Rum Ragged returns to town.
Mark Manning, Aaron Collis, Zach Nash and Colin Grant will be hitting the stage at the Nancy Appleby Theatre as Heartwood Live’s third show of the 2025 Spring Concert Series, and heading southwest to Barrhead Composite High School’s theatre for an April 3 show the night after.
Their return to Northern Alberta comes less than a year after their first trip to Athabasca to play at the 2024 Magnificent River Rats Festival, and while their weeks away from coastal living are packed with shows across the province, Manning said the crew is looking forward to seeing both new and familiar faces.
“We’re really looking forward to this whole Alberta tour, and it’s a long one, too,” said Manning. “Being away from home at this time of the year, it’s ok when you get to see so many people from home while you’re out here.”
“Everyone’s so lovely, but even just the landscape around, it’s different from home, we get to see some of the things for the first time. Alberta’s certainly a beautiful province,” he added. “The land is majestic and we’re very lucky to get to play for the people.”
Dedicated River Rats fans and folk music enthusiasts may be familiar with Rum Ragged’s sound, sure to speak to listeners who enjoy the eclectic influences, lyrics reminiscent of iconic island imagery, and storytelling style imbued in East Coast folk.
“The music that’s influenced us is the stuff that we grew up around,” said Manning. “Not only listening to music that was recorded, but people who were in kitchen parties and who sang at community events, and they had songs that speak to our past, and that’s the music that we play.”
And what makes Maritimer music so idiosyncratic and immediately identifiable is the culmination of heritage from different European countries brought overseas by settlers, which Manning and fellow band members were immersed in as kids.
“It’s a whole lot of different cultures that made a complete melting pot of what has become the unique Newfoundland identity in music today,” said Manning, who added he was raised “learning it in kitchens and having a particular appreciation for watching musicians who were handed down pieces of music that go back to ancestry in Ireland, England, Scotland.”
Evidence of the diverse range of influences on island music can be seen and heard in the novel instruments Rum Ragged features, like the Irish bodhrán drum and the mandolin-like bouzouki, with Turkish and Greek roots.
With their identities as a band and individuals heavily tied to their provinces of origin —Nash, Manning, and Collis call Newfoundland and Labrador home, while Grant hails from Cape Breton, N.S. —, the group’s music often speaks specially to Maritimers living abroad.
“We really enjoy getting to play for all those people, but as well for people who are getting the first chance at seeing what a night on the East Coast can be like, even in their hometown.”
Manning said even those unfamiliar with the cadence of cultural conjunctions or the charm of the coast will enjoy their tunes and shanties, which often inspire first or return trips to experience their song’s subjects.
And in the 11 years the artists have been touring together as a group, Manning said sharing those unique elements of islander identity is the best part of the gig.
“Oddly enough, it seems that traditional folk music tells stories and has lessons in it that very much pertain to things that are happening around us today as well.”
“The stories we grew up around were not only a way of entertainment, but a way of getting a message across and telling a story in a way that people can really hear it,” said Manning. “Maybe Newfoundland and Labrador’s story is not so different than everyone else’s, when you really look at it.”
Tickets to see Rum Ragged on Wednesday, April 2 can be purchased in advance of the show for $30 at Value Drug Mart, Athabasca Health Foods, and Whispering Hills Fuels. Advance tickets can be bought online through Eventbrite, where extra fees apply.
Seats will also be available for purchase at the door for $35, and everyone 16 and under can enjoy the show for free. Doors open at 7 p.m. and showtime is 7:30 p.m.
