St. John’s, you’ve got more company coming! You just had a lovely visit from Jenn Grant this weekend but no need to get lonely again, because tomorrow (Tuesday, May 24th) Peterborough band The Avenues will be dropping in to turn the rest of the week into a party. The group consist of Chris Culgin (guitar vocals) and Benj Rowland (banjo, accordion and vocals) who both formerly performed together as The Country Boys, but now with Josh Fewings on drums have formed The Avenues. They are describe themselves as a “real country” band, rejecting the prefixes “alt” or “new”, and liken their sounds to those produced in Nashville before it sold out to the commercial wiles of music industry and mass media. Listening to their songs, such as today’s track “Alberta Rose”, certainly validates that statement. Their music recalls a simpler time when the lines between country, blue-grass and folk were undetectable, even nonexistent. Back to a time when the music of artists such Jimmie Rodgers, The Carter Family and Bill Monroe was more about cultural exchange than aspirations for fame and fortune shared by today’s manufactured Nashville stars. Being a banjo enthusiast I was excited to see a group come through town with a banjo player like Benj Rowland. He was in St. John’s not long ago with his other amazing band The Kindness Killers for Lawnya Vawnya, and he can really throw it down. The Avenues are currently in the midst of their East Coast Tour and have line-up five nights of live music for us. You can check them out tomorrow night (May 24th) at The Rose & Thistle with the Drows, (for whom this will be their last show for quite a while as Andrea and Rebecca will be soon be venturing outside of Sin Jawns city limits.) Wednesday (May 25th) the Avenues will be playing a house show on Prescott Street, Thursday (May 26th) The Avenues will be at The Levee and Friday (May 27th) they are back at the Rose & Thistle. The party will wrap up on Saturday night (May 28th) at CBTG’s with St. John’s own country troubadours The Domestics. The Avenues are about to tear through our quiet little town spreading good times and great music, be sure to check them out before they ride off into the sunset leaving tumbleweeds and worn out dancing shoes in their wake.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Avenues-of-Peterborough/428604350017?ref=ts&sk=wall
May 23, 2011
Damian Lethbridge