The Spinney Brothers bluegrass band’s busy schedule will bring them to Ladner for a performance at the McKee Seniors Recreation Centre Sunday.
The Nova Scotia band is out on the road over 200 days a year.
“This year is going to be a pretty busy year. I think we’ve got around close to 105 dates booked. So it definitely keeps us out on the road a lot,” says Rick Spinney, who plays the banjo and helps provide vocals for the group.
He and his brother Allan have been performing together for over 20 years but for the last five it’s been a full-time occupation.
“Our travel motto is we drive when we can and fly when we have to,” he says, explaining that airports can be a nightmare to navigate through these days.
One of the keys to staying out on the road is getting enough rest, says Spinney.
“But if you can get your rest at night time and get ready or the show the next day and try not to stay out too late, that’s a key to the success, is to rest, definitely.”
The band’s latest album, Tried and True, came out in October.
Every time you get into the studio you hope you do something a little bit better than the one before, Spinney says, noting they’re coming off of a great album called No Borders.
One of the songs on that album, Grandpa’s Way of Life, hit the number one spot on the bluegrass chart, he says, adding it also earned a nomination for an International Bluegrass Music Association award.
Spinney says they went to some of the best songwriters in the bluegrass industry to put together tunes for their new album. It also includes songs the brothers wrote like Proud To Be Your Dad (Rick) and She Doesn’t Mourn Any More (Allan).
Spinney says it’s always great to get back to the West Coast because that’s where he and his brother were introduced to bluegrass music.
They came to Mission in the mid 1980s and lived with their dad, he says, noting they moved “up in the mountains and cut cedar logs.”
The only music they had were some old bluegrass cassette tapes their dad had, Spinney recalls.
“We listened to them faithfully for the three months we stayed up in the bush. That was really our introduction to bluegrass music.”
Bluegrass is rural based and there’s a lot of real-life ballads, he says.
“The songwriting itself, I think a lot of those songs pertain to blue collar workers. People who are just regular people. It goes right to the core.”
The Spinney Brothers perform Sunday, March 8. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m.
Tickets for McKee members cost $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Tickets for guests cost $25 in advance and $30 at the door.
Call 604-946-1411 to pre-order tickets.
