February will be a good month for local music lovers as the Back 40 Festival is hosting two concerts at the P.W. Enns Centennial Concert Hall in Winkler.
David Grogo headlines the Back 40 Festival’s blues night concert at the Winkler concert hall Feb. 6
First up will be a blues night Friday, Feb. 6 featuring David Gogo along with local opening act Link and the Moustaches. That’s followed by the always popular ‘70s Show fundraiser set for Saturday, Feb. 28.
Back 40 board chairperson Scott Bell said they normally wouldn’t look at doing two events in a month, but the opportunity to bring in Gogo was too good to pass up.
“This guy has played with some great people, and he has done some pretty impressive stuff,” he said.
Gogo has six JUNO award nominations and has been named guitarist of the year three times at the Maple Blues Awards, musician of the year at the West Coast Music Awards, and blues recording of the year at the Western Canadian Music Awards. He also received the Great Canadian Blues Award for his lifetime contribution to the blues in Canada as voted by the listeners of CBC’s Saturday Night Blues.
He has performed on stage with the likes of BB King, Johnny Winter, Albert Collins, Bo Diddley and Otis Rush. He has been chosen to open shows for ZZ Top, George Thorogood, The Tragically Hip, Little Feat, Jimmie Vaughan, Robert Cray, Robin Trower and Wishbone Ash, and his songs are featured in films and television and have been covered by a variety of artists, most notably Buddy Guy.
Bell noted how the blues has been a mainstay for the Back 40 over the years.
“There’s something about it. It’s a traditional form of music, and we’ve just been fortunate to have some really good blues musicians locally,” he said. “So there’s a tradition of the blues even in this area.
“In the past, these shows have been quite well supported. There’s an appreciation for the music amongst the concert-going public because it is a great unique form of music,” Bell added. “It’s rooted in tradition, and it goes quite a ways back.”
The annual ‘70s Show fundraiser, meanwhile, has also become a tradition of sorts.
“There’s a lots of local talent donating their time to help raise some money to cover the operational costs of the Back 40 Festival,” said Bell. “It’s going to be really cool.”
The lineup will run the gamut from Joe Willson and his band doing Waylon Jennings and Willy Nelson and Bill Dowling and The Even Breaks doing Bruce Cockburn to Vanessa Kehler doing Joan Baez as well as a band doing a tribute to Boston. Another highlight will be Faces for Radio doing some disco and dance music like Boney M.
“And there will be a big tribute to Elton John with a wide cross section of local musicians getting together for that,” said Bell. “There’s lots of amazing songs to choose from there.”
Bell noted everyone loves getting involved, especially with the ‘70s Show each year.
“Very often, the Back 40 tries to promote original music, but I think musicians really enjoy the fun of doing a theme night like the 70s Show and picking an artist that they really enjoy.
“The audience is so responsive and appreciative, and even back stage and in soundcheck and in rehearsals, the sense of fun among the musicians and how they support each other is really special.”
You can get your tickets through winklerconcerthall.ca.
