Vancouver’s The Wheat In The Barley is heading to the Canmore Highland Games to offer a Canadian roots/folk/fusion musical blend.
The band hasn’t found a musical genre and culture it doesn’t like, and proves this by weaving musical tapestries with styles and influences from Ireland, Scotland, France, Russia, the Ukraine and the Americas.
The group’s name evokes images of Irish and Ukrainian agriculture, which sums up the heritage of its founder, Steve Gidora, who holds down the bottom end with his rhythm guitar, as well as provide vocals and mandolins. The rest of the band includes Victor Smith on accordion, whistles, violin, flutes, guitar, bodhran drum and bones. Mark Dowding brings in the melodies and harmonies on a wide range of wind instruments, (flutes, whistles, saxophones and harmonicas). Nicole Soffield is the group’s newest member and violinist, with Mickey Hovan and Ed Johnson laying down the rhythm section.
Gidora says the band has been busy over the summer, hitting folk festivals on Vancouver Island as well as putting the dancing spirit into crowds on the mainland.
“Our accordion adds some percussion, Victor’s a multi-instrumentalist and we’ve got the guy that does the flute and the sax, harmonica, penny whistle and that’s Mark. We’ve got originals and do traditionals and we’re an eclectic, entertaining kind of a band,” Gidora said. “We like to say Canadian roots; we like to think we draw upon the various folk denominations of Canada from here to the East Coast, from Quebec, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland; and with our Slavic material, we hit home with a few Ukrainian types of things.”
The band is no stranger to Alberta, having played and made new fans at the Come By The Hills Music Festival last year in Wainwright, and members can’t wait to hit Canmore.
The band recently played Cortes Island, Port Alberny, the fiddler’s hometown, and Duncan on the Island, then Clearwater and Kamloops in the Interior. Canada Day was spent in Langley and they played a festival in White Rock
Gidora says it’s the eclectic mix of backgrounds and influences that are thrown into the musical pot that help make The Wheat And The Barley come to life.
“Both the flute guys, Victor and Mark, are big Jethro Tull fans and Mark is a jazz kind of a guy and Nicole has had a lot of classical training, but always jammed and she can sit in on a jazz routine,” Gidora said. “From a young age she always jammed and never just confined herself to the classical arena.
“We’re also on the same page with other issues like respect for the environment and problems facing our planet.
“Often on our Alberta trips we’ve stopped in Banff and Canmore and have a number of friends in Calgary that we’ve made,” Gidora said. “We know a number of people who have moved there from here, or here from there and we’re looking forward to them coming out for a great time.”
Catch The Wheat And The Barley on Aug. 31, at 12:45 p.m. in the Big Rock Festival Tent.
