CANMORE – Big brass is coming to Canmore.
Full of energy and irresistibly danceable, Apollo Suns and Delirium Street Party Brass are bringing a special double bill to rock the stage at the Canmore Legion in a pre-New Year’s Eve concert tailor-made for locals, legion-regulars, ski staff and tourists on Thursday (Dec. 29).
“It’s pretty rare to see this kind of thing in Canmore,” said Scott Morin, who plays saxophone with Calgary-based Delirium Street Party Brass and is the owner of consultancy company Mascot Music. “The whole scene of brass band music is kind of finding a bit of renaissance across the world where the mixture of New Orleans style jazz and brass band music is mixed with rock, funk and ska influences.
“It’s kind of a commercial version of what you would hear from New Orleans brass bands, but it’s almost sort of taking on a life of its own. It’s many genres fused with different popular styles of music from around the world.”
Morin, a two-time Juno winner and jazz musician in his own right, said the show is expected to be high energy, with lots of horns – a toe tappin’, foot stompin’ good time for people of all ages.
“It’s fun seeing the shows because they often draw a really wide variety of people of different backgrounds and ages,” he said.
Instead of a bass guitar, a saxophone or tuba often plays the bass lines in a brass band show, while the trumpet or sax plays the rhythm sections that a guitar might.
“It really is for a dancing crowd,” said Morin. “There will be a mixture of popular, well-known covers and original songs. It will be everything from No Doubt to Taylor Swift tunes to original songs that we’ve written as a band, led by strong female vocals.”
Headlining the show is Winnipeg-based Apollo Suns, who won best instrumental band in 2018 and 2020 at the Western Canadian Music Awards. The group is comprised of nine musicians, who have created a refreshing and innovative sound in their live performances, combining instrumental, jazz, rock and psychedelic influences.
There will be a total of 20 musicians gracing the stage throughout the evening, said Morin, a steal of a deal at a $20 cover fee.
Delirium Street Party Brass opens the show at 7 p.m. and Apollo Suns will take over around 9 p.m.
Tickets are selling fast and are available through Eventbrite or at the door.
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada. The position covers Îyârhe (Stoney) Nakoda First Nation and Kananaskis Country.
