The Red Hot Hayseeds are bringing western swing music back again, much like Asleep at the Wheel did back in the early ’70s.

 The Calgary based Red Hot Hayseeds stopped by  the Owl Acoustic Lounge, May 31 to  give a sneak preview of their new album “ How the West Was Swung” which isn’t officially released until the weekend.

I caught the second set along with approximately 30 people, which included most of the  CD. As usual the band, including clarinetist Cedric Blary, Rikki Brown,  Dayna Lyn and Sydney Zadravec plus drummer Matt Dawe, upright bassist  Keith Rodger and frontman Tyler Allen and Cathy Billington  laying down fiddle for the show.

The band, clad in red to match their name brought, back a vintage 1930s and 40s feel, witch   Dayna Lyn, Sidney Zadravec and Rikki J  Browne handling most of the lead  vocals and beautifully delivering three part vocal harmonies, with each one getting to sing lead on at least one of the songs.

 Allen added subtle guitar solos on his red Jaguar Fender guitar. A highlight  was an instrumental which referenced  blues classic “ Nobody knows You When You’re Down and out.

“ They did a beautiful job of Merle Travis’ “Peaches and Cream” early in the set.”

 For something a little different from the Cd, they played a cool cover of “ Smoke,Smoke, Smoke That Cigarette.”

 They wound  up the set with a catchy number  called “ Get the Swing.”

 They ended with Zadravec yodelling her way through  “ I Wanna Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart,” with Allen playing steel guitar.

 They didn’t play one of my favourites “ Play Something We Know.”

— by Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor