CANORA, SASK.- An enthusiast audience of 43 Canora and area music fans enjoyed the Oct. 29 concert of the Fugitives at the Canora Composite School auditorium, presented by the Canora Arts Council along with the Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Councils.
Comments included, “Very engaging, relaxing,” and “Talented musicians on a variety of instruments.”
As one reviewer stated previously, “the Fugitives bring enough energy to the stage to light up a small city.”
The group was founded in 2005 but this was their first visit to Canora, where they performed their own original music, which they describe as modern folk.
The opening number was Young Enough, a song written about “being in a band for 20 years and keeping your spirits up.”
Apparent right from the opening note was the group’s rich, four-part vocal harmonies, their instrumental talents, as well as the knack for fascinating storytelling. Audience members quickly discovered that it’s almost impossible to sit still through a Fugitives concert.
Every group member sings during the concert. Group members, all Canadians, are:
- Brendan McLeod on guitar and bass
- Adrian Glynn on guitar, bass, Balalaika, and harmonica
- Tim Loten on banjo
- Maddy O’Regan on violin
“Adrian and I are the founding members of the group,” said McLeod, “but we’ve been blessed to play with numerous talented musicians over the years, including Tim and Maddy.”
“We are doing 16 concert dates across Saskatchewan, including last night in Moosomin. They had a Wong’s Café, owned by Betty Wong, who later opened Wong’s Café in Canora, I don’t know if you were aware of that.”
The Fugitives have recorded seven albums over the years, included their latest, a self-titled album released earlier this year. They performed the first single from that album, Holy Strength.
“We’ve heard that there are a lot of Ukrainians in the Canora area, is that true?” asked Adrian Glynn, and sure enough, at least half of the audience shot their hands into the air. “My mom is Ukrainian, unfortunately I just know a couple of words and that’s it. Her parents came to Canada from the Ukraine, and by Baba had this balalaika, which she handed down to me.”
Glynn proceeded to play the balalaika during the concert, including for Old Mistakes, which they explained is basically a party song.
The group performed selections from Ridge, their storytelling musical show centred on the First World War and the battle of Vimy Ridge, featuring the songs of soldiers.
Donegal (A Lament From the Trenches) was written by a soldier, the music by the Fugitives.
“We’re trying to keep the memories alive of those who fought in that awful war.”
Lyrics to the song include “They’ll call me a coward if I return and a hero if I should fall.”
Of course, this was long before post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was even identified.
The Fugitives also performed another war song, The Next Man Who Dies. The words were also written by soldiers, with some of the verses going back as far as the Boer War (1899-1892).
Among the lyrics, “This world is a web of lies, jeers to the dead already, hurrah for the next man who dies.”
Emphasizing the horrors of war, the war songs were performed in four-part harmony, without any instruments.
That was followed, in a complete change of mood, by Tim Loten and Maddy O’Regan taking over the stage for a couple of toe-tapping fiddle tunes, one Métis and one Irish.
Glynn and McLeod returned to join them for the rest of the concert, including a song It Might Just Rain Like This For Days from their 2023 album No Help Coming. Lyrics included “It might just rain like this for days, but there is shelter in the way we see it through.”
“The album is about the climate crisis,” said Glynn. “We tried to write positive songs about dealing with a difficult situation.”
One of the group members has a strong connection to the local region. McLeod asked how far it is from Canora to Preeceville, and of course, since Canora is known for his hospitality, he was informed exactly how to get there and how long it would take.
“I haven’t been to Preeceville since I was 10 years old,” McLeod recalled. “We always used to visit my aunt and uncle’s farm. So we were playing in their jungle gym. I just gave younger brother Michael a really light push, and he fell and broke his arm. I said he fell by accident, and amazingly, I got away with it!
“But then years later as an adult, I couldn’t take it any more and admitted it was my fault, and right away Michael said, ‘I knew it!’”
That was followed by Northern Lights a composition for a dear departed friend, about memories of together seeing the Northern Lights in northern British Columbia.
“Maybe the voice that speaks the loudest just got soft enough to hear. In the Northern Lights I’ll never need another way to say goodbye.”
The group has performed all over the world for crowds in the thousands, but Glynn said there’s something special about bring their music to a small-town audience such as the one in Canora.
“As a band, we’re really grateful to connect with smaller audiences in an intimate setting, because it feels like more of a sense of community is created, which is a big part of folk music.”
The group’s latest album is simply titled The Fugitives.
“It’s kind of a travelogue, songs were inspired by stories and experiences of crossing Canada as touring musicians over these last two decades. But we did try to avoid the clichés of open country roads and wishing you were back home, instead writing from other angles. One song, for example, is written from the point of view of a guitar that was stolen in New Brunswick back in 2010.”
More information on the Fugitives, including purchasing their music, is available at fugitives.ca.
Don't count on social media to deliver your local news to you. Keep your news a touch away by bookmarking Canora Courier's homepage at this link.
Bookmark SASKTODAY.ca, Saskatchewan's home page, at this link.
