WESTLOCK — The Wardens, a renowned Canadian roots music group, performed for an enthusiastic crowd at the Westlock Cultural Arts theatre on Friday, Feb. 7.
Their one-of-a-kind music featured both original songs and crowd favourites, with a deep focus on Canada's rural and wilderness landscapes— themes that resonate deeply with local audiences.
The show began at 7:30 p.m., with audience members grooving to the unique sound the Warden’s brought to the stage. For almost 40 years, the Westlock Cultural Arts Theatre Society (CATS) has been bringing live music to the stage— using music to foster a sense of community and bring people together through a shared love of music, culture and the arts. The Wardens did not disappoint.
CATS aims to foster local arts and culture and has drawn attention for its diverse lineup. The Wardens marked the fourth of their six-part series.
Comprised of three multi-talented musicians, the band consists of Ray Schmidt, songwriter as well as upright bass, mandolin, and guitar player, Scott Ward, songwriter and finger-style guitar player, and their newest additio, touring musician Scott Duncan, fiddler.
Schmidt said their musical genre cannot be easily defined—a blend of folk, western, and bluegrass style compiled into something he dubs, “mountain music.” The root of it lying where their hearts do – the Rocky Mountains.
“It's kind of its own unique thing,” says Schmidt. “It came from the hills, the mountains, the cold creeks and all that kind of thing. It's really music from the land.”
“It's music for everybody,” Schmidt said, adding that the bandmates' aesthetics of cowboy hats and denim has many thinking that they are a country band.
“We recognize that if we can get people in the room and they hear us play, it doesn't matter what kind of music they like. They're immediately drawn to our show, because it's the stories that really connect people.”
The band formed in 2009, with the National Park Wardens Centennial Celebration in Banff bringing Ward and Schmidt together. The pair hit it off and both enjoyed playing music in their spare time. The rest is history.
For those that have seen the band perform here in Westlock back in 2019, they may have noticed a line-up change with Bradley Dischoff leaving the band after COVID-19, replaced by Duncan, a fiddler of the ages. Ward and Schmidt met Duncan while playing at the Folk Alliance International conference in Kansas City. Duncan was the stand-in fiddler in the Alberta room, a dedicated part of the conference featuring local Albertan artists.
“He'd never heard any of our music before, but as soon as he started playing, he just fit in perfectly,” said Schmidt. “We realized this is the guy. This is our guy right here.”
The Wardens pride themselves for their music being rooted in storytelling and the ability to transport listeners to the landscape found within the lyrics. This concert was no different. During the show, they spoke to the devastation of the recent wildfire in Jasper—a personal tragedy for Schmidt as he now calls the area home.
Schmidt said, “Our show keeps evolving, and we keep trying to make it better and add new material.” The band takes pride in making events, places and feelings that are timely, timeless.
Attendees on Friday not only sang along to the favourites, but also enjoyed tunes from Duncan’s new CD, released only a few months ago and produced by the band. The music paid tribute to Duncan’s grandfather who recently passed.
The Wardens are on the rise of popularity, with this year being particularly busy for the group. Last week, they played in Montana, this week, they have more shows here in Alberta, and next week they are headed to northern California redwoods to perform. From there, they will work their way up to the west coast of the U.S.
“This is a particularly good year. So we're really excited to get out there,” said Schmidt—his humility evident as he expressed a soft spot for the places the group played prior to their rise to fame.
“It’s great to get invited back to Westlock. I think that really that says a lot when we get invited back to places, because there's a lot of amazing musicians out there and to get invited back says a lot about how much people like our work.”
The next concert of the CATS series will take place on Feb. 28, featuring west-coast musician, Tissa Rahim. For tickets or more information on upcoming events, visit westlockculturalartstheatre.com.
