Getting on stage in Turner Valley will feel like home for a couple of Juno Award-winning brothers and their band this month. Canadian roots-rockers David and Joey Landreth hold a special place in their heart for small-town prairie communities.
Getting on stage in Turner Valley will feel like home for a couple of Juno Award-winning brothers and their band this month.
Canadian roots-rockers David and Joey Landreth hold a special place in their heart for small-town prairie communities. They expect somewhat of a homecoming for their Winnipeg band The Bros. Landreth with a four-day tour that will take them to Camrose, Fort Saskatchewan, Sylvan Lake and Turner Valley.
The brothers' performance will kick off the Beneath the Arch Concert Series at the Flare “n Derrick Community Hall in Turner Valley Sept. 24 at 7:30 p.m.
“Winnipeg is by no stretch a small community, but in the grand scheme of metropolitan communities it's more like a small town than a big city,” said singer-songwriter Joey. “When we're in a small prairie community it instantly feels like home. We understand the culture.”
Joey said western Canada has always been good to The Bros. Landreth, which has a blues, rock and folk influence - and is often a good place to fuel the tank emotionally.
“We do a lot of touring in the United States and you have to play some empty rooms to people who aren't interested,” he said. “What becomes a part of being a touring musician is you've kinda gotta take your lumps.”
Returning home to the prairies is a very different experience.
“The shows are usually better attended than elsewhere in Canada,” Joey said. “We get a little bit of love and it refills your tank. It's like a homecoming. It's good for morale.”
The Bros. Landreth is not lacking in accolades in North America. They won a Juno Award in just their second year as a band. Their instant success took them on tours across North America, Europe, Australia and the United Kingdom.
“We've had a really incredible run,” said Joey, adding they're still having success with their first album released in 2013. “We've taken the album everywhere we possibly could. It's time to make another record.”
Joey said the band is taking a little breather before working on new material in the new year.
Although The Bros. Landreth is known for lyrics about the age-old topic of heartbreak, Joey isn't sure where they are headed next.
“We've explored the topic of heartbreak a fair amount in our music,” he said. “When we wrote all those songs we were pretty much young interns of songwriting. It's a visceral topic. It's an easy place to go and tends to be the muse of most songwriters.”
Joey will soon release his own seven-song EP this fall called Whiskey, which he admits has its share of songs about heartbreak – as well as love and other life experiences.
“There is still a lot of relationship stuff,” he said. “We are pretty much heart on our sleeves type of guys. We write about what's happening in our every day lives.”
When it comes to their next album, the Landreths, guitarist Ariel Posen and drummer Cody Iwasiuk will let the music dictate itself.
“If we tried to do or sound a certain way it would wind up coming across as pretty contrived and it as hard for us to stand on stage and play songs that we didn't mean or connect with emotionally,” Joey said. “I imagine there will be stuff similar to what we've done and I imagine there will be stuff that's a bit of a departure from it.”
Tickets to see Bros. Landreth perform cost $25 for adults and $10 for children ages six to 12 years. Those five and under are free.
Adult tickets purchased at the door will cost $30 each. Tickets can be purchased online at beneaththearch.ca or at the Bluerock Gallery in Black Diamond.
