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Peter Butala

Peter Butala, Eastend rancher and conservationist, died on Thursday at the age of 72 (see the article in today's Regina Leader-Post). His memorial service will be held today in Eastend.
Peter and his wife Sharon – one of western Canada's most well-known authors – donated their ranch to the Nature Conservancy of Canada several years ago. This important legacy has preserved as a working ranch. The mixed grass prairie of what is known as the Old Man on his Back Prairie and Heritage Conservation Area now hosts bison as well as other native flora and fauna.
Peter was a gentle man who loved the land. He was quiet, unassuming, and wise.
We shall miss him.

Land of Living Skies

We drove from Edmonton to Saskatoon yesterday afternoon and could not resist making some more sky photographs using both black and white (film!) and a digital camera.
Saskatchewan license plates say 'Land of Living Skies.' It's the best description I've seen of this landscape.

These interesting skies opened about an hour later to produce one of the most severe thunderstorms I've driven in. We drove the last 90 minutes to Saskatoon in rain which was heavy enough to limit visibility. I tucked in behind a semi-trailer and followed him to the city.
The Saskatoon Star-Phoenix reported this morning that 40-50 mm of rain fell and that the storm generated 1,500 lightning strikes per hour (one of those set fire to a city house).
It was an exciting trip. Living skies, indeed.
The sun has just broken through. It should be a fine day.

Traditional Folk Music At The Edmonton Folk Music Festival

Those of us who grew up in the time when folk music became popular (again) think that it is and should be about relationships, politics, and social awareness. That, indeed, was the case in the last concert on Stage 5 yesterday at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival.
Tom Paxton, Mary Gauthier, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Connie Kaldor and a several hundred audience members participated in this session, the theme of which was 'If I had a rocket launcher...' (You know the second line of Bruce Cockburn's song).
Tom Paxton started with a song about his daughters, then switched to political commentary, to the delight of everyone except the fellow who sat beside me. Connie Kaldor sang about the prairies, family and relationships, while Mary Gauthier sang about the difficulties that relationships sometimes bring.

Buffy Sainte-Marie sang The Universal Soldier and Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. She finished the set with a hard-driving song with a message (a song I didn't know) and the crowd was on its feet, cheering for her and the rest of the fine musicians, including the excellent back-up singers and guitarists.

Some sessions work: and this one was an experience that will be remembered by the musicians and fans for a long time.
Thanks to Terry Wickham and all the staff and volunteers who made this Festival a success. Thanks also to the many headliners and back-up musicians who worked so hard to create such wonderful music.
Personal thanks to several special people whose perfomances made Festival '07 a great experience for me: Roy Forbes, Kat Danser (a singer and guitarist whom I had never heard before), Karla Anderson and the great bassist Mike Lent, and the amazing Connie Kaldor.

The Edmonton Folk Music Festival

My wife Merle and I spent the day at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, one of our musical highlights of the year. Each year we and 18,000 other music fans are privileged to hear some of the best musicians in the world at seven small stages and one large stage at Gallagher Hill in Edmonton.
The sessions ('workshops') at the smaller stage usually feature three or four musicians. Each session is given a theme. Today we listened to sessions with themes including 'A Sense of Wonder', 'Promised Land' and 'In the Tradition.' The musicians take turns singing songs which fit the theme. When Steve Earle was here several years ago he told us 'In Nashville, we call this a guitar pull.'
Often the other musicians join in and the results can be surprising and wonderful, especially when they are from different countries and traditions.
Today we enjoyed hearing Tagag, an Inuit throat singer (backed by Celina Kalluk) sing with Black Umfolosi from Zimbabwe. The cultures and the music connected, and the crowd cheered.

I'm a great fan of Guy Clark and Connie Kaldor and was very pleased that they were featured, with Martin Sexton and Greg Keelor, in a ninety minute session.

Verlon Thompson provided back-up vocals and fine guitar work for Guy Clark. Guy passed on one of his turns, asking Verlon to sing. His song, 'Joe Walker's Mare', was one of the highlights of the day for me.

Other highlights included Buffy Sainte-Marie and the great Stephen Fearing.

More Prairie Music

Our band from the sixties (the Jurelles) played for the Seiferling reunion last Saturday, August 5, in Sedley, Saskatchewan. We also played at Barb and Cecil Werner's home in Regina the following afternoon for friends and neighbors.

We'll be playing at Danceland at Manitou Beach near Watrous, Saskatchewan, next Saturday, August 18. Danceland, one of the most famous dance halls in western Canada, was built in 1928 and still attracts dancers from throughout the province. We're looking forward to the experience of playing there. Join us if you can.

Warm Prairie Winds And Saskatchewan Music

We travelled from Calgary to Regina yesterday, about 740 kilometres (460 miles). It's a fine drive: big skies, shortgrass prairie, the edge of the Cypress Hills, ranching country, and, finally, the Regina Plains, the flattest and most productive agricultural land in Saskatchewan.
The wind in Medicine Hat was warm, almost hot and the temperature in Maple Creek was 33 degrees. However, as we dined on Barb and Cec Werner's patio with the members of the band (The Jurelles) who will be playing tonight for the Seiferling reunion in Sedley, Saskatchewan, we enjoyed the late night cool breeze.
It's August, the beginning of harvest on the prairies. The weather has been unusually hot and the crop yields will be average at best, likely below average. Peas and lentils are being harvested in the Regina area sooner than normal.
Our sound check is at 4:30 PM. After that we're invited to join the family for a turkey dinner in the Sedley school auditorium.
We'll play late into the evening, then carry our equipment into the warm prairie night, glad that we can again be travelling musicians, playing to prairie people who love to dance to live music.
We'll play again tomorrow in Regina.