Last Friday my buddy Buzzard I went to River Cree Casino to see Alan Doyle (ex of Great Big Sea) perform. This was a show that was way out of my price range, but Buzzard really wanted to go and was nice enough to buy my ticket, Thanks BZ. Friday night was miserable weather wise and really just wanted to stay home in a warm place under a blanket. But I was committed to going, therefore, we made our way to the show.
Opening the show was Jake Vaadeland & The Sturgeon River Boys. Jake is a songwriter from Cut Knife, Saskatchewan. Jake and his band play a bluegrass style of music and are quite good at what they do. I enjoyed their first three songs, but then like most bluegrass music, I find myself finding all the songs starting to sound the same. Jake does have a great voice and the two members playing with him are good as well. Just not really my thing.
Jake Vaadeland & The Sturgeon River Boys.
Even with a raging blizzard happening the venue was filling up for Alan Doyle, my guess would be about three quarters full. Alan Doyle used to lead the Newfoundland band Great Big Sea before going solo, and ya, there were a lot of Newfies in the audience ready to party and have a good time. And Alan and his band did not disappoint. this was the first date of his 2025 Welcome Home Tour.
Alan and his band opened the show with the song "Dancing Like We Did Last Night" from his 2024 album Welcome Home. And from their, the crowd were on their feet dancing, clapping and singing along the rest of the evening. always fun to see a crowd having a blast, especially when it's a bunch of East Coasters getting down. I don't know a lot of Alan's solo material but what I heard sounded great. It was the Great Big Sea songs that I'm more familiar with, and ya, of course he did a few of them. Including "When I'm Up (I Can't Get Down)", "The Night Pat Murphy Died", "The Old Black Rum" and "Ordinary Day", I'm sure there were a few others. While it was no Newfoundland kitchen party, it was the next best thing. Good times!!!
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