MUSIC PREVIEW: Steep Canyon Rangers ride on
Saturday night the Steep Canyon Rangers are in town at the Jubilee Auditorium – but its most famous member Steve Martin won’t be with them.
This North Carolina bluegrass band recorded and released an album with the legendary comedian (who also turns out to be a pretty fair bluegrass musician) back in 2010 after backing him up at a benefit show. Martin composed most of the tracks for the album Rare Bird Alert, which fans adored. The partnership continued last September with a second collaboration entitled The Long Awaited Album.
While Steve Martin gears up for a comedy tour with Martin Short (coming to the Jubilee Auditorium Aug 3), the Steep Canyon Rangers have also continued to put out material by themselves, of course, including 2013’s Nobody Knows You, which won a Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album. Their newest release, January’s Out In the Open, may well receive a nomination itself based on the buzz around it. Woody Platt and Graham Sharp share vocal duties for much of its journey, with an agility that matches the tone of the songs, and the banjo playing is, as always, impeccable. The band always puts on an incredible stage show, and fans are sure to get more than their money’s worth this weekend. With Birds of Chicago. Show at 7:30 pm, tickets $40.95, BUY.
Thursday 21
Kamikaze Girls – This British duo is touring to support their 2017 full-length album Seafoam, a pop-punk riot grrrl effort that has a distinct darkness to it that’s won critical acclaim on both sides of the ocean. With Cutoffs and Doreen. Buckingham, 8 pm, $10. BUY
Friday 22
Sebastian Bach – This hard rocker from Ontario is no stranger to Edmonton, having performed here a number of times, both as a solo artist, and as the frontman for Skid Row from 1987 to 1996. Skid Row’s first album spun hits onto both American and Canadian radio like 18 And Life, and I Remember You. Bach also became known by a whole host of new fans when, in 2003-2007, he appeared in 13 episodes of Gilmore Girls as, you guessed it, a hard rock guitarist in the show’s fictional band Hep Alien. With The Standstills. Century Casino, 8 pm, $52.45. BUY
Markus Schultz – This German trance-dance DJ has over a half dozen albums both under his own name and pseudonym Dakota, and has appeared at almost every large genre festival imaginable. Union Hall, 10 pm, $25. BUY
Saturday 23
Kaleo – This quirky Icelandic group that blends blues, rock, and psych into a heady indie mix continues to soar in popularity. Having appeared at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival in 2016, the band returns to continue supporting their album of the same year, A/B. There’s been no word of any new imminent release, but one’s got to think they’ve got at least some new material to test out, right? Jubilee Auditorium, 8 pm, SOLD OUT.
Monday 25
Snarky Puppy – This Brooklyn jazz/R&B collective won a Grammy just last year for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, and always sets the venue ablaze with a cast of seemingly thousands, and a fiery blend of funk, jazz, and soul. Part of the TD Edmonton International Jazz Festival, Winspear Centre, 7:30 pm, SOLD OUT.
Tuesday 26
Collective Soul – An impressive run of shows concludes at the Jubilee with these alt-rock heroes of the 1990s, when they hit the charts with such instantly-known songs as Shine, December, The World That I Know, and the classic Gel. Just in case you’re not aware, they’ve continued to record new material every few years since then as well, the latest being 2015’s See What You Start By Continuing. Don’t fret, though, the setlist for this tour includes all of the classics. All of them. Jubilee Auditorium, 8 pm, $35.50 and up. BUY
