The Owl Acoustic Lounge has been bringing in bands for the L.A. Beat open jam on Wednesdays.
 This time, they featured a couple fantastic acts, April 11.

Duane Forrest was up first to play a set of soulful solo acoustic music. He sounded like Dave Matthews singing ‘80s pop along the lines of UB40 with just a touch of jazz as his fingers flew over the fretboard of his guitar.
 He played a variety of upbeat originals and threw in a  beautiful version of Nancy Sinatra’s “Bang, Bang,” before bringing up Amy Thiessen to sing a blues song with him.

 Thiessen sang a beautiful set of original jazz tinged pop music, she sang with much soul and passion.
 She had a powerful voice which turns heads and silenced a particularly loud crowd sitting at one table by mere virtue of her presence.
She supplied the beautiful melodies while Duane Forrest provided a rick tapestry of acoustic guitar sounds.

It is an embarrassment of riches for live music lovers in Lethbridge this week.
This week I’ve been lucky to talk to musicians playing any and all manners of country music including modern, reality TV powered talent like Jaydee Bixby, Nashville pop country like Carolyn Dawn Johnson and roots country stalwart Fred Eaglesmith, plus hungry up and coming country folk musicians like Sweet Alibi, who all play Lethbridge this week. It is going to require some tough choices. It has been an interesting week talking to people playing more or less the same genre of music, but making names for themselves by adding their own unique twist to it. But I was almost moved to tears at how down to earth and friendly each of them were. Fred Eaglesmith called a little late and was in a bit of a hurry but convivially thanked me for doing the interview.

And Carolyn Dawn Johnson, who penned the Chely Wright hit  “Single White Female,” which I used to cover in a country band which I played bass for back in the day, called early and talked my ear off for a good half hour. And Jaydee Bixby is always personable, being excited this time about playing for Ronald McDonald House at Essies, April 19. All of them, even the road wearied Fred Eaglesmith can barely contain their child-like enthusiasm for being able to play music for a living in an increasingly difficult business.

Sweet Alibi are yet another folk/ country/ trio of females with gorgeous voices to sprout out of the fertile Winnipeg music scene.
 The trio, Jessica Rae Ayre, Amber Neilsen and Michelle Anderson, formed in 2009 and are coming to Lethbridge for the first time to play the Slice, April 18. So if you like groups like the Be Good Tanyas, Oh My Darling and Jill Barber you will enjoy Sweet Alibi.
There will be  a five dollar cover for the show.

Jaydee Bixby is best known for Canadian Idol, but he hasn’t forgotten where he came from. So he will be playing a special fundraiser or the Ronald McDonald House, April 18 at Essies.
Tickets for the fundraiser cost $15 in advance, $20 at the door with all proceeds going to Ronald McDonald House.

Lethbridge trombonists can get “boned up” on their skills this week with the Lethbridge Trombone Festival, April 19-21.
“Trombone players are unsung heroes. We sit at the back and play loud when we’re told to and count rests for the rest of the time,” said University of Lethbridge professor Nick Sullivan who has organized three days of trombone powered excitement including  workshops concerts and guest speakers like  Allen Jacobson.

 “It’s just something we thought we’d try because there are surprisingly a lot of trombone players in Lethbridge,” said Sullivan. Events take place at Long and McQuade, The Gate and University of Lethbridge.
“When I was at the University of Lethbridge around 2000 or 2001, my professor did something similar,” he continued adding there are dozens of trombone players in Lethbridge including at the University and in the community and even more when including high school and grade school bands.

“ It’s a great opportunity for trombone players to get together and have a special guest and play together,” he said.
He is excited to welcome back Allen Jacobson, who he met at last year‘s jazz  festival.

“We got along very well, he’s even going to five schools,” he enthused.

Fred Eaglesmith is a road warrior as well as a gentleman. As rushed as he sounds over the phone from the road en route to a gig in Chicago, he still takes the time to sincerely thank the interviewer for taking the time to talk to him.
 The long standing Canadian folk/ roots/ country musician, who released his first album in 1980, remains stubbornly independent and is gaining increased popularity all over the world.  While he is best known for writing grass roots anthems about trains, truckers, jilted lovers and pretty much anybody living on the fringes, he isn’t afraid to experiment. He was exploring bluegrass a few years ago, then moved in a more gospel direction, then went Caribbean. He appeared on the David Letterman show dressed like a circus ringmaster, but on his latest CD “6 Volts” goes back to his country roots.

“Yes, a lot of people are saying that. It’s definitely something I wanted to do,” Eaglesmith said adding he just writes the way he writes and does what he feels.

“I can’t out-finesse anybody anyhow,” he chuckled adding he considers himself pretty good at gauging his market and figured the time was right to go back to his roots.
While setting out to record this album, he was also tossing around the idea of recording a traditional country album.
“That’s still in the back of my head,” he said.
In the past few years, he got a number one hit on the bluegrass charts after James King recorded a version of “30-Years of Farming.”
Meanwhile mainstream country musicians like Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert and Allan Jackson have started recording his songs. non-mainstream artists like Todd Snider, Mary Gauthier,  The Cowboy Junkies and Chris Knight and countless others have recorded his songs as well.

 But he is enjoying revisiting his roots on this CD.
 Case in point, the harrowing murder ballad “Katie,” about a farmer who catches his wife in bed with his best friend, kills them and buries them on his property and refuse to sell even as the town grows around him.

“Yes, that’s become the big favourite. I used to write whole albums of songs like that, ” he said, joking he stopped writing them to avoid raising the ire of feminists.
“But I think I can get away with a song like that again,” he chuckled.