The Misery Mountain Boys, born in the remote, river-laced hills of northern Alberta, are coming to show off their musical talents to Bragg Creekers on Feb. 25.
Singer and guitar player Steven Gevenich assures people the band’s name is laced with irony – they promise an evening of fun, singalongs, some laughs, and maybe even some dancing.
“It’s funny because I don’t think of the name as the actual word – it’s a place where I grew up, Misery Mountain, Alberta, in Peace River country,” Gevenich said.
“It’s sort of an ironic name – it’s upbeat music, it’s easily digestible, for all ages.”
He promises something for a wide variety of tastes, all of it upbeat.
“It should be a good ‘ole time,” he said.
Bragg Creek Performing Arts (BCPA) Society, which is putting on the performance, describes the band as a “musical rarity in an industry busy with melancholy.” The BCPA’s promo goes on to say the Misery Mountain Boys “are a confident celebration of all that is exciting and moving about being alive.”
On their website, the band describes their music as a sound that might be heard “drifting from behind a rotating bookcase of a 1930s speakeasy. Harkening back to a simpler time, the [band] creates a soundscape infused with humour, tongue-in-cheek wit, nostalgia, and playfulness.”
They play catchy originals and contemporary songs re-imagined in swing numbers and velvety jazz tunes.
"The Misery Mountain Boys are way happier than they claim, and they’re not all boys either," said Clint Docken, of the BCPA.
Opening act Leanne Lightfoot is a singer/songwriter living in Millarville, Alberta.
She is well versed in the ways and heritage of the western lifestyle, having raised three children on the ‘Elbow River Ranch’, west of Calgary. A well-respected horsewoman, she earns her living coaching and training horses and riders for competition at a national level.
Being an avid singer from an early age, and having an ability to pick a tune on multiple instruments made song-writing a natural transition for Lightfoot.
In 2014, her debut album Redtail Flyer, featuring 11 original tunes with her band, Elbow River, charted on community and college radio stations, reaching as high as number one on the folk charts, and number five overall on the University of Calgary’s campus radio station, CJSW 90.9 FM. The album is available on iTunes.
The concert is at the Bragg Creek Community Centre, located at 23 White Ave. on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m. For tickets, go to bcpa.ca.
