BARRHEAD – The evening of Thursday, Jan. 9 was a glitter bomb of fun with series of wonderful heartfelt breakup songs performed by the Backyard Betties.
The Backyard Betties were honoured in September with the Folk Recording of the Year award at the YYC Music Awards with their song 'The High'.
The leader singer, Nancy Laberge, was born in Barrhead. She lived in Westlock, Clyde and Sangudo growing up.
“I started writing when I was 13 and was horrible. I made my dog cry,” said Laberge.
The band has been together for 12 years with original members Nancy Laberge, Sarah Nielsen and Mark Cassano and Pip Hazell recently joining them.
Laberge flirts with the crowd with requests for stories about their heartbreak because the band needs new material for songs.
Her witty banter through-out the show keeps the audience smiling.
The fluid harmonies, sweet melodies and moments of emotions so carefully caught in lyrics makes the Backyard Betties a band everyone should see.
Laberge paid homage to Doctor Godberson of Barrhead for saving her life when she was young.
When she was 12 Dr. Godberson recognized the seriousness of her situation and sent her to a specialist for a lump on her neck.
She ended up being sent to Toronto and had to have surgery where they took a bone from her hip and put it in her neck.
Laberge appreciates that it was the Shriners who heard about the case and paid for Laberge and her family to fly to Toronto and be treated on their expense.
At the time she because somewhat of a celebrity with news crews wanting interviews and people wanting her autograph.
The Backyard Betties created the Holy Moly Tour and sang at the Shriners hospitals to give back to them and on their newest album is a song called Holy Moly Christmas.
Laberge tells the audience that she had a fascinating tricky mother, and that music has helped her forgive her mother for the past.
She performed songs she wrote, and her mother would comment, “Well that’s depressing.”
Somebody said to Laberge one day, “Nancy you have more to say than you are writing about,” which inspired her.
She wrote about the relationship that had the biggest impact on her life and that was with her mother.
Laberge said, “Good, bad or ugly, it's formed who I am for sure.”
She went to the school of music when she was 18 and recalls it took a million years.
Laberge met Nielsen during that time and the rest is history.
Today Laberge and Hazell teach song writing classes in addition to band performances.
Students learn about performing, writing, social media, how to apply for shows and how do they record a song.
The band is connected to most of the music venues in Calgary and the Canmore festival where these artists get a chance to perform.
Last season 15 writers wrote a song called 'Harmony' and it came in second in a competition.
A mental health organization is going to use it as their theme song.
