Texas fiddle trio a timeless classic

The Quebe Sisters will be playing their old-time, light-hearted country fiddle tunes in Okotoks on Friday and in Black Diamond on Sunday. They are, from left, Sophia, Hulda and Grace. photo submitted

By Tamara Neely
Staff Reporter

Three sisters who started playing the fiddle in 1998 at the ages of 7, 10 and 11, and have been collecting fans and awards ever since, will be playing their vintage-style songs in the Foothills this weekend.
On Friday at 8 p.m. they will perform at The Station Cultural Centre in Okotoks, and on Sunday at 4 p.m. they will perform at The Stop in Black Diamond.
Based in Fort Worth, Texas, the sisters, together with their band, are called the Quebe Sisters, pronounced kway-bee. They are Hulda, 17, Sophia, 20, and Grace, 21, Quebe, all three playing vintage-style fiddle songs and singing along in three-part harmony, and they are accompanied by Joey McKenzie on rhythm guitar and Drew Phelps on upright bass.
They have, indeed, captured a vintage sound with their harmonizing and arrangements. The sound is reminiscent of old times, nicer times. The trio’s approach to heartbreak is understated and gentle as with, for example, their song Shame on You. Shame on You deals with being broken hearted as a lover leaves – with the car and the money – the melody bouncing happily through the heartbreak accompanied by the sweet voices of the Texan darlings. A treatment somehow consistent with sorrow, but without the malice.
This stands in sharp contrast to a currently popular country song in which a jilted woman digs her keys into the paint job and leather seats of her cheating lover’s truck.
“These girls will blow your mind,” said Kate Gregg, co-owner of The Stop in Black Diamond. “They’re light years ahead of their time in terms of skill.”
The Quebe Sisters formed in 2000 and have recorded two albums: an compilation of instrumentals called Texas Fiddlers and a second called Timeless, which features unique vintage country and traditional Texas style fiddle tunes, bluegrass, Western swing and vintage country shuffle.
Timeless was recorded in the historic Cash Cabin Studio in Hendersonville, Tennessee, built by Johnny Cash in 1979, and used by Cash and June Carter Cash to record their later work.
A selection of those songs from the Quebe’s albums are available to sample on their website, www.quebesistersband.com
They have garnered the attention of such music stars as Merle Haggard, who invited them to open for him, Jimmy Buffet, who said they are, “a cannonball of stage presence,” and Ricky Skaggs has described them as, “some of the most talented people I’ve ever met.”
They have been crowned Texas fiddling champions, they have played at the Grand Ole Opry and in 2007 they earned two awards for their music: group/duo of the year from the Academy of Western Artists and the Crescendo Award from the Western Music Association.
Tickets for both shows are $15.
For Friday’s show at The Station, the doors will open at 7:30 p.m., the show will begin at 8 p.m. and tickets can be reserved by calling (403) 938-3204. The Station is located at 53 North Railway Street, Okotoks.
Sunday’s show at The Stop will begin at 4 p.m. Call (403) 933-3002 to reserve tickets. The Stop is located at 123 Government Road South, Black Diamond.

Fundraiser has water at its heart

By Tamara Neely
Staff Reporter

Gord Bamford will be playing a country music concert on Valentine’s Day at the Foothills Centennial Centre with proceeds supporting a project delivering clean water filters to Third World countries. Photo submitted

If you’re looking for a way to celebrate Valentine’s Day with extra heart, there will be a charity country music concert held at the Foothills Centennial Centre in Okotoks.
Gord Bamford, a musician from the Lacombe area, will be playing a show with proceeds to be donated to a project that is distributing water filters to Third World countries.
The project is called Turn on the Tap, and it is an initiative of the non-denominational Christian organization Samaritan’s Purse.
Jeff Lyle, one of a group of nine organizers, feels that the Turn on the Tap initiative is effective in providing clean water where it is needed.
“Turn on the Tap is about getting BioSand filters into Third World countries where they don’t have clean water,” said Lyle. “The filter was designed by a professor at the University of Calgary and it doesn’t require power, it doesn’t have moving parts, so it’s easy to maintain, and in a matter of minutes you’ve got clean drinking water coming out the other end.”
The idea for the concert came when the pastor at Lyle’s church, the High River Alliance Church, approached the congregation about getting involved with supporting Turn on the Tap. Lyle and a group of nine threw ideas around and felt holding a concert was a good idea. They contacted Bamford and he was enthused and the project rolled forward.
“Gord and I grew up not too far from each other,” said Lyle. “He’s pretty popular in the country music scene these days. We talked to him and he was excited about it.”
The event will also include a silent auction and the door prize is a “romantic getaway for two”.
Tickets for the all-ages show are $30 and are available in Okotoks at the Boot Hill
Gallery and in High River at Eamor’s Saddlery Ltd. Tickets can also be reserved by phone by calling the Lyle family, (403) 684-3858. Tax receipts are available for donations.
Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the concert will begin at 8 p.m. Seating is first come, first served, so Lyle advises arriving early to pick out a prime spot.
For more information about the Turn on the Tap initiative, go to www.turnonthetap.ca

Simplicity of line is the beauty of exhibit

By Tamara Neely
Staff Reporter

The sketch is the starting point for many works of art and as a tribute to this art form, the Leighton Art Centre, Museum and Gallery will be showing a collection of sketches by 18 Alberta artists.
The exhibition, called Lines of Communication, was curated by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and is part of their travelling exhibitions project. From Jan. 31 to Feb. 26 the sketches will be showing at the Leighton Centre, and will move on to schools and galleries across the province.
The sketch is a work of art on its own, even if it was intended as part of the journey towards a painting or sculpture or another form.
“Some of these drawings are so minimal, but they emote and provoke a sensation in the viewer,” said Paula Swann, operations manager at the Leighton Centre. “Perhaps you’re looking at a couple of marks on a canvas that you know are telling you ‘human form’, there’s enough to give you the feeling the artist is trying to convey.
“Most artists start with a sketch, then it’s developed into a finished work of art – but they almost all start with a basic sketch.”
The sketch exhibition is open to the public and will also be incorporated into the school program.
More than 10,000 children visit the centre with their schools, and while the exhibition is running they are able to not only learn about the concept of sketching as part of the creative journey, but they can also consider that idea as they wander through the exhibit of sketches by 18 respected artists, and then they have an opportunity to do some sketching themselves.
Winter hours at the centre are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call (403) 931-3636. To arrive at the Leighton Art Centre from Okotoks head west on Highway 549, then turn right (north) at the junction with 112 Street and the street will lead to the centre.