Five B.C. musicians are bringing harmonies from around the world under one roof in a two-hour concert this weekend. The Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra (TMO) offers a range of original music and reimaged roots and folk songs while weaving stories using guitars, violins, accordions and bass for the Beneath the Arch Concert Series in Turner Valley’s Flare ‘n’ Derrick Community Hall Nov. 24 at 7 p.m. “We play music from all over the world in a lot of different styles and rhythms,” said Kurt Loewen, one of TMO’s original performers. “We play a lot of up-tempo stuff, but also a lot of vocal harmonies.” Loewen, who plays guitar and sings, said the orchestra’s music is not only far-ranging, it’s performed in various languages including English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. “It’s pretty eclectic in terms of culture and diversity,” he said. “We’ve travelled to Europe, coast to coast in the United States and we’re going to Australia and New Zealand this year. We pick up various influences from various places.” Loewen said he’s inspired by various artists from American singer/songwriter Ryan Adams to J. Cole. He said the 12-year-old band’s musical style has morphed not only from year to year, but song to song. “Within our crew I’m really into slow folk music and lots of vocal harmonies, but on any given day a member of our band might be looking into instrumental electronic music or big band jazz or hip hop or folk,” he said. “We really do listen to everything.” This is reflected in the Orchestra’s latest EP, We Make Really Party, a five-song album that returns to the old world sounds the band became known for in its early years. The songs are performed in English, Spanish and Italian and capture the band playing live off the floor following its 2016 summer tour. Loewen describes the album as dynamic, both rhythmically and lyrically. “It’s a throw back to our more primitive sound, but with a refinement of time and experience playing this music,” he said. “We’ve written some really beautiful, bizarre songs. We can have a laugh about it because they’re all over the place.” When it’s time to get on stage, Loewen said the orchestra caters its set list to the vibe in the venue. In a venue with a captive audience TMO will play a lot of vocal harmonies and more intimate music. The majority of the songs are original, mixed with a couple of traditional and cover songs, said Loewen. “In Turner Valley we will have two hour-long sets, which is pretty normal for us,” he said. “There’s lots of opportunity to talk about songs. “We find in a seated crowd people really enjoy hearing where the songs come from and what the influences are.” The camaraderie amongst the five performers is palpable. Loewen said they’re friends who share the same love for music. “For us we get to explore all these cool genres,” he said. “We describe some of our most recent stuff as psychedelic gypsy country music. It’s all our styles amalgamated into one. It’s really exciting because I feel naturally this is the way we’ve been heading with all of our influences from North America and beyond.” The musical backgrounds of the five young men vary from never having read a musical note to having studied music at the university level, Loewen said. “There’s some bonding musical language we all speak that is not necessarily important to have for reading music,” he said. The next few weeks for TMO will be spent touring western Canada before spending some time in the recording studio. In February, TMO will be back in Alberta playing in Calgary and Bragg Creek before beginning the recording process. “Half the songs are completed but not recorded,” said Loewen. “We recognize that we’re pretty grateful to play music for a living and our audiences should enjoy part of that with us.” Tickets to see The Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra perform cost $25 for adults and teens and $10 for children age six to 12. Tickets are available at Bluerock Gallery in Black Diamond and online at beneaththearch.ca To learn more about the orchestra go to thetequilamockingbirdorchestra.com
