If you are new to opera,  The University of Lethbridge opera workshop is an easy way  to dip your feet into it, Nov. 4-5 at  the University of Lethbridge Recital Hall.
“It’s called All in the Family, but Archie and Edith Bunker are not involved, ” laughed artistic director Dr. Blaine Hendsbee.

 Instead he explored all of his favourite operas and chose 10 selections which were not only well known and beloved by audiences, but which would also work best with his 30 performers’ voices.

 So selections will include Hansel and Gretel, The Marriage of Figaro, La Bohème, the Pirates of Penzance and the Gondoliers, just to name a  few of them, all of which involve family relationships like  young newlyweds in marriage of Figaro,  or  a group of four sisters in Little Women, or a brother and sister in Hansel and Gretel.

“And in La Boheme, it’s about  a group of young people who go to Paris to find themselves and form their own  their own support networks. It’s kind of like going away to university,” he continued.

Big Sugar frontman Gordie Johnson believes in helping his friends.
“I wouldn’t want to be successful if I couldn’t bring my people with me. Big Ben, the bassist from Grady will be taking care of lights,” Johnson said, driving in Kamloops with a reinvigorated Big Sugar.

 They come to the Stone, Nov. 7 with Wide Mouth Mason, with whom Johnson will be playing bass.
Big Sugar didn’t play together for seven years, until the Trews, one of many bands Johnson has produced, came to him with an idea.
“They convinced me to do a couple of  shows of Big Sugar songs. And I was very flattered they would take the time to learn all of the songs,” he continued.

 That lead to Johnson contacting the other members of the Big Sugar and asking them if they wanted to play again, which they did, so they played a couple shows and recorded a new CD “Revolution Per Minute.”

“ There is a bit of a trend with guys from ’90s bands putting their bands back together even though they couldn’t stand each other. We didn’t want to be that way with Big Sugar,” he said.

“There are also a lot of bands playing the greatest hits circuit and we didn’t want to do that either, because if you come to a Big Sugar show three or four times it will be a different show every time. It will still be Big Sugar songs. Though I might throw in a verse of a Joel Plaskett song or a Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers song, just to see if the band is paying attention. But I can’t fool them anymore,” he laughed.

“ We’re all on the same page musically and spiritually.”
The new CD has a lot of great guests on it like Warren Haynes of Govt. Mule and the Allman Brothers, plus Tim Chiasson and more.

Dustin Bentall is more than his father’s son, though he is following in his father’s musical footsteps.
 Dustin Bentall, the son of ’90s Canadian rock icon Barney Bentall, is making his way as a roots rocker along the lines of Gram Parsons and the Byrds.

 He and his band, bassist Del Cowsill (son of the late Billy Cowsill), drummer Rich Knox and fiddler Kendel Carson will be playing Lethbridge, when they hit the Slice, Nov. 3.

“We’ve come to Alberta several times, over the past couple years but couldn’t make it  work in Lethbridge,” croaked an ailing Bentall, just leaving a Hallowe’en gig at the Ironwood in Calgary.

“ They show this time  will be very different. The last time I was there, I was still pretty much a greenhorn as  a performer. I was still learning  a lot. I still am. But I’ve played 300 or 400 shows since then. I know Kendel wasn’t there and I don’t think Del was in the band yet either,” he said.

“Del has those Cowsill  genes and  Kendel (who plays with Canadian acts like the paperboys and has played with Spirit of the West)  is phenomenal. She’s spent a lot of her life  touring and paying and she’ll play things on the fiddle that will make people just tear their hair out,” Bentall enthused, adding their harmony vocals are an integral part of the band’s sound.

“We’re all good buddies so it is going to be good,” he said.

He was still suffering from a little jet lag after a three week European tour mostly concentrating  on Holland, but with a couple shows in Germany. It was his second time playing Europe, though the last time he was playing in Denmark about three weeks ago.

“Kendel’s been there a couple times though. And there is a record label there who is interested in my music, so I finally got to meet them,” he said.

“And there’s a lot of North American people  who live over there now, who had seen the show, so they came out.”

 Audiences over in Holland are different, but he was warned about it by Kendel and some of his other friend who had played there  were familiar with them, so they prepared him for the experience.

“ In Holland, audiences only applaud for a short time after each songs, but they were really enjoying it. They’d come up after the show and buy CDs and say how much they enjoyed the show,” he observed.

“It’s very cool because they see us as an Americana band. And while that’s what we do, but we never think about it. But over there, you are one of them,” he said.

 He got into Americana and folk music after his dad introduced him to the music of Bob Dylan and the Band. But what really  got him into it was hearing Gram Parsons for the first time.

This coming week is a little slower than usual as far as touring acts coming to Lethbridge.  But there are a lot of excellent local shows and a lot of roots and country music.

  Dustin Bentall, the son of ’90s rocker Barney Bentall will be coming to the Slice, Nov. 3. Bentall junior  is a popular roots and country musician who is just returning from a  successful European tour. 

Cosmic Charley will be playing on the bill as well. There are a couple good country shows on the weekend. Shaela Miller Threesome will be playing the Slice along with Karen Romanchuk and Rancho Deluxe,  Nov. 4.

 The next night, the Slice features the return of the Uncas as well as Treeline. There is a $10 cover for each of those shows.