Oliver Swain is coming to Max Cameron Theatre on Wednesday, February 2 on a new tour with a new band playing a new sound, all with a heavy touch of the traditional.
With an album to promote, titled In a Big Machine, Swain is setting out on a tour of Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast with Powell River as the second date. Swain has played here before, most recently with now defunct Outlaw Social at the 2009 Sunshine Music Festival, but this will be his first tour with the new band and his new sound.
Swain refers to the album as “a folk rock odyssey.” The album blends Swain’s traditional influence, including his background with Appalachian singing, with more modern folk sensibilities. In a single sentence Swain mentions both stalwarts like Robert Johnson and Bill Munroe and modern acts such as Fleet Foxes and Iron and Wine as influences.
The instrumentation is mostly traditional and Swain plays a restored to stock 120-year-old open back, goat skin banjo which he plays in the traditional clawhammer-picking style.
The album is a mix of original songs and covers of traditional folk and bluegrass songs. And Bruce Springsteen. Out of a love for the song and after figuring out how to play it clawhammer, Swain decided to do a cover of “I’m On Fire.” He said the choice reflects his willingness to stretch boundaries of the folk genre and try something new.
The diversity in the album is reflected by diversity in the touring band. The members of the group have come from a variety of backgrounds and musical traditions. Adrian Dolan is a renowned fiddle and accordion player. James Whitall is known as one of the best bluegrass mandolin players in the province. Kelby MacNayr is a noted jazz drummer.
“It might sound like a crazy mishmash of different things but we always stay really true to the message and the narrative of the song,” said Swain. “What I feel like we’ve come up with is a really diverse but cohesive kind of sound.”
Quinn Bachand is 14 years old and Swain describes him as nothing short of a prodigy on the guitar. It’s unique to have a musician of such a young age playing with a high-level ensemble and Swain says they’re lucky to have him. Dan Vincent, of local act Ceilish who will be opening for Swain, took a workshop with Bachand in Victoria last summer and was blown away by the style and skill of the young musician.
Ceilish is excited to be playing on a bigger bill. Laura Wallace, who leads the group, said they are thrilled to be getting a musician of Swain’s calibre in Powell River and that she and others are making a conscious effort to make Powell River more of a destination for touring musicians.
Swain and his bandmates will be hosting three workshops concurrently at Powell River Academy of Music at 3 pm on the day of the concert. Dolan will be running a fiddle workshop, Bachand will host a guitar workshop and Swain will be teaching traditional Appalachian singing. Swain said they love hosting workshops and are always happy to share their knowledge. The workshops are open to the public and are for musicians of all skill levels.
Tickets are $15 and are available at Silke’s Organic Market Place, Rocky Mountain Pizza and Bakery, Breakwater Books and Coffee, at the door or from any Ceilish member. To sign up for the workshops, readers can email Wallace at [email protected].
