Lethbians gorged themselves on ribs and cornbread and listen to some hot live music at Exhibition Park, June 28-July1.
The rib booth hawkers shouted about their wares like carnival barkers and pretty much drowned out the music coming from the stage which set in the shadow of a giant pink inflatable pig.
I only caught a couple of the acts.
Whitehorse indie rock/ folk trio the Vanstones made the most of playing Lethbridge for the first time by playing two shows, Friday, June 28.
I missed their evening set at the Slice, but they opened the musical portion of Western Canadian Ribfest at Exhibition Park for an enjoyable afternoon show.
They have undergone a complete lineup overhaul since releasing their debut album “Cascadia,” but drew heavily from it for their set.
They have opened for bands like the Strumbellas, and showed a lot of similarities in tender yet upbeat melodies and multi- part vocal harmonies..
“ California” was a highlight.”
They also played some blues flavoured new songs to appear on their next album with the new lineup of drummer Rob Jones and bassist Hannah Mazurek joining original vocalist/ guitarist Sarah Murphy
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They wound down their set with “Sleepy Northern Town,” from the album.
They added a cover of Led Zeppelin”s “ Heartbreaker” and a few new songs before winding things down with Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain.”
Murphy’s powerful voice reminded me of Samantha Martin as she belted out the line.“ I know it’s going to get better.”
They wound down their set with a song about Nova Scotia .
I returned for more ribs on Sunday, but mostly to listen to Jolene Draper and The Inquisitive Few playing as a duo with Steve Martin playing upright bass and vocals.
They were at their hippie best for their laid back set, playing Simon and Garfunkel’s hippie classic “ 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin Groovy) ”some Bob Dylan and, Janis Joplin’s version of “Me and Bobby McGee.” for something slightly different, they played the Dixie Chicks’Wide Open Spaces.”
Getting ready for their upcoming Paganfest show next Saturday in Galt Gardens, they played a short set of moon inspired songs including their original “Moongrate” about yin and yang and an acoustic cover of Gowan’s ’80s hit “Moonlight Desire.”
They added Carol King’s “ Beautiful” featuring a harp solo played by Draper.
They wound it up with Barenaked Ladies’“ Brian Wilson.”
They finished their set with a mellow acoustic set of “ Born To be Wild.”
— by Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor
