Three Winnipeg musicians have endless stories to tell, from the amazing feats of their courageous grandparent to the agony of breakups.
Red Moon Road trio Sheena Rattai, Daniel Jordan and Daniel Peloquin-Hopfner will bring its stories and musical talent to the Beneath the Arch Concert Series’ Jan. 5 concert at the Flare ‘n’ Derrick Community Hall in Turner Valley at 7 p.m.
Rattai said the audience can expect what Red Moon Road always delivers – a big performance with a full sound and plenty of stories.
In addition to old favourites, including songs from the band’s 2015 album Sorrows and Glories – which spent six weeks at #1 on the Earshot! Folk/roots charts – Rattai said the audience will hear songs the trio’s been writing in preparation for its next album, expected to be released in 2019.
“It’s still true to what our sound is at Red Moon Road,” said Rattai. “The new songs will be less about our grandparents and more about my feelings.”
Fans of Red Moon Road are familiar with the trio celebrating the achievements of their grandparents, like the song Leisl Friedl that tells about Jordan’s German great grandmother escaping the Russian army with her brother on horseback.
“It tells that story about how those horses saved their lives and what it was like then,” she said. “People constantly come up to Daniel after the show and say, ‘That was so much like my grandparent’s story.’ That’s one that really resonates with people.”
Another favourite is Peloquin-Hopfner’s Breathing Slow, about his grandfather who moved to the big city at age 18 to attend university.
“The song talks about the idea of wanting to get out of the small town and find something bigger and better, yet when you do get to the city you’re looking back and seeing the value of where you came from,” Rattai said. “That’s a real favourite of people’s.”
In Red Moon Road’s more recent storytelling, they’re looking ahead rather than back.
“It’s a little less about looking back at stories that have come before us like stories of our grandparents and looking a little bit more to the future,” she said. “The writing I’ve been doing has been part of my internal process in dealing with stuff in my own life and some of the things I have been processing in my heart and how that relates to some of the things going on in the world today.”
In the song Moving On, Rattai looks at the heartbreak that comes with relationships.
“Moving On is about breaking up and moving on,” she said. “The good thing about being an artist is the things we’re feeling, whether it be pain, joy, anger or excitement, we have somewhere to express it in an active and direct way.”
Red Moon Road has been making music together for seven years.
In addition to performing three-part harmonies, Rattai plays percussion and keyboard, Jordan plays guitar and mandolin and Peloquin-Hopfner plays mandolin, banjo, guitar and keyboard.
“We stared in our mid 20s and now we’re all in our early 30s,” said Rattai. “We’re better performers and we have stronger relationships with each other. We’re more connected to each other and the people we care about and, consequently, to the music and the audience.”
Red Moon Road spends most of its time performing in Canada, having toured from coast to coast six times in its seven years. The band has also toured the United States, United Kingdom and Europe, said Rattai.
“We have a little bit of an element of being exotic over in Europe,” she said. “They’re excited to hear folk music from Canada. We’ve been nothing but well received by audiences abroad, especially in places like Switzerland and Germany. It seems to be a real culture of music loving. That’s the same for the UK as well.”
Tickets to see Red Moon Road cost $25 for adults and $10 for children ages six to 12. Children five and under are free.
Tickets can be purchased at beneaththearch.ca, Bluerock Gallery in Black Diamond or at the door.
To learn more about the band go to redmoonroad.com
