Sunday, Nov. 27 was a great night for country music at the Owl Acoustic Lounge, where Boots and the Hoots and the Dead South were holding court to a sold out crowd.
Red Deer country trio Boots and the Hoots, with special guest Megan Brown playing fiddle, opened the show late, but immediately won over the crowd with quirky, earthy humour and a touch of twang reminiscent of Petunia and the Vipers.
Frontman Boots Graham cracked jokes and told stories while Sean Vandenbrink thumped away on the upright bass as Tyler Allen alternated between banjo and electric guitar. Megan Brown played where she was needed and stepped in like a pro as the band threw some brand new songs at her.
“If it weren’t for Hank Williams and Roger Miller, I wouldn’t have anybody to steal from,” Graham quipped as her played a couple of covers from each of them like Miller’s “Dang me” in between very cool originals like Born to Lose” and “ Whisk All the Drinky.” and “ I’ve Had worse Days.” They ended with a cover of George Jones’ “While Lightning,” as Boots did his best Big Bopper impression.
The Dead South are always a lot of fun, they added former Cracker Cats member Eliza Doyle on banjo as they showed as much energy as any punk band and got the enthusiastic crowd on their feet, dancing their faces off.
Old favourites like Every man needs A Chew, came early in the set to get everybody even more warmed up as Boots and the Hoots got everyone in the mood to party.
Dole added phenomena banjo playing and the band played a tight, tight set full of frenetic energy and blazing bluegrass licks, which drew a lot of applause.
“Banjo Odyssey,” allowed Doyle to show off her chops.
They also played several songs from their new CD “Illusions and Doubt.”
“ Time to Crawl” was another highlight.
The show was also a birthday celebration for promoter Lorinda Peel, so the band dedicated a hot bluegrass version of “ Happy Birthday” to her.