There is no dust on Barney Bentall. He is excited to come back to Lethbridge to bring music and raise money for Youth One as the Cariboo Express rolls into Lethbridge, Nov. 7 at Southminster United Church for the Geomatic Attic.
Bentall had a handful of hits in the ’90s including “ Life Could Be Worse,” and Something to Live For,” but he has evolved into a Juno award winning country and roots musician, who has released two albums this year including “Cosmic Dreamer”, produced his daughter’s band’s album and spends time working up north.
He has been supporting community charities with The Cariboo Express since 2006.
Lethbridge is among the 10 Cariboo Express shows happening this fall.
“ We will have local guy Ryland Moranz who’s a just a great musician and from that area. Ridley Bent, my son Dustin Bentall , Stephanie Cadman who is an incredible fiddler and dancer and my son’s band who are kind of a bluegrassy band the Blue Wranglers, they’ll be there,” Bentall said.
This year’s Cariboo Express also features Matt Masters, Wendy Bird, Geoff Hicks, Rob Becker, Geoffrey Kelly, Scott Smith, Geoff Holhorst, Jamielynn Caswell and Dan Fremlin
“It’ll be the usual thing. The shows have always been so fantastic there. It’s just wonderful,” he said.
This Old West‐inspired troupe helmed by Barney Bentall, was established in 2006. Since then it has become a favourite annual touring event in Western Canada. Building on an Old West-inspired variety show, a typical Cariboo concert features a regular cast of some of Canada’s finest roots and country musicians each taking turns in the spotlight, collaborating, and warming the hearts of audiences with every stop they make. To date, the Cariboo Express has contributing over $2 million to worthwhile local causes.
“It’s a variety show, though that has the connotation of being cheesy, but it‘s not that way at all. There’s just so many artists. And we’re also doing this in support of Youth One which is a great charity there that supports youth. Which Lord knows they need a lot of that these days. So they get song sponsors to contribute to the charity. And we do have an element where my good friend Matt Masters is co-MCing with me and we give intros based on the companies or the individuals who sponsor songs. In which case it becomes a very humourous and entertaining part of the whole show. It‘s just an interesting format that I thought of 15 years now and we‘ve raised well over $4 million for various western Canadian charities by doing this,” he said, adding all the money stays in the community. This will be the third time in Lethbridge for Youth One.
“What we need to do is just get people. We’re half way there to selling it out and we’d really like to sell it out though it always is well attended,” he said.
He found it easy to get motivated during the pandemic.
“ It was pretty easy. I realized what a time commitment touring all the time is. Music has changed in that for most of us the income stream is mostly live shows,” he observed.
“With streaming, things have changed dramatically. So you have to travel and you have to play and when you take that away, you realize oh my goodness, I have a lot of time and you’re also not feeling, oh I’d better get out and hustle because everybody else I know is and so it kind of takes off that pressure. And then you find you have a lot of time. I worked on my house, I checked off a lot of items on the list at my ranch and I wrote lots of music. I really attribute that to the lack of that grind of getting on a plane and flying somewhere. I love live performance, but when you take that away, you have a lot of time,” he said.
The fruits of that time off the road was two of his own albums and another by his daughter’s Cranbrook based roots act Wild Honey, which has just been released.
“ I’m obviously biased, but I think it’s a great record,” he said adding they are playing some of the B.C Cariboo Express shows.
“It was a productive time musically for me during Covid because we weren’t playing. We weren’t touring. I mean there we some things that did present themselves when the situation relaxed somewhat. But there was a lot of time to write music and produce music and so i just really enjoyed making Cosmic Dreamer but then I also made Ranch Riders with my friend Geoffrey Kelly from Spirit of the West. And both of these were just nominated for Canadian Folk Music Awards. So that was really quite gratifying,” he said.
“ So there was a lot of things that happened. It was interesting making ‘Cosmic Dreamer.’ Other than the producer, Adrian Dolan and myself being in one room for virtually all of it when we would put songs together, the rest of the performances on the records were done by friends and wonderful musicians remotely so I didn’t know if that would make it a disjointed sound but quite the opposite it was really very remarkable to me how cohesive the record was. And that’s largely because you pick musicians you greatly admire and respect and turn them loose,” he said.
“ And they really just answered that call and did a beautiful on on the record.
Bentall credited producer Adrian Dolan for all of the piano of “Cosmic Dreamer.”
Bentall’s seventh solo CD, “Cosmic Dreamer” features talented special guests including Ruth Moody, Valentino Trapani, and Adrian Dolan joining on three songs. The 11-track LP features nine new all-originals from the prolific artist alongside two covers — Bob Dylan’s “You Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go” and Gordon Lightfoot’s “Shadows.”
“Adrian Dolan the producer is just a monster fiddle player, mandolin player, and piano. He’s really one of the most brilliant musicians I’ve ever met. One of those ones where you’re playing with him and you say I don’t even know if I should say we do the same job. He’s just that good.” he enthused.
“I’ve always just loved hacking away on the guitar and playing rock and roll. And he just brought that aspect to it. It just sounded beautiful.”
He is really pleased with the title track and video
“I mean we only played that song twice I wrote it while was taking a course a marine course because I go as a staff member up to the Arctic and I had to take a course. In the evening I’d be writing and his studio is right near where the course on Vancouver island and we played the song twice. And I love when you capture something so new and fresh like that. It was written two days before we go into the studio and bang, we play it and we got various people to sing and play and sing on it, notably Kirby Barber who is in Penticton, She’s just a stellar musician, bass player /singer. So she added her talents to the song,” he said, adding the video for the song features manager Gilles Paquin’s daughter Tarina who is retired from the Winnipeg ballet.
“She and her friend choreographed a dance piece and we filmed where I live on Bowen Island, which is another amazing part of the collaboration,” he said.
He gets a lot of inspiration working in the Arctic.
“I go up with a company called Adventure Canada. They’re the sort of pioneers in terms of Arctic expedition travel and so I did the Northwest Passage this September. I go with a musician. We go up and play some shows and there’s always a lot of writers there and various educators on the trip. But they also have a musician or two. So I play music but I also drive Zodiac and I’m also I’m a bear guard or bear monitor. because we go on land most days. It’s a 17 day trip from the Western Canadian Arctic to Greenland. So It just an amazing experience and I tend to do a trip each year,” he said he has been doing that for 10 years.
“ So I’ve gone through the Northwest Passage four times now, which I feel very fortunate to have been able to do that,” he said adding that has improved new music.
“ A bunch of songs were inspired by being up there,” he said noting “On the Shores of Grise Fjord” off his last album is one of those.
“ I ended up writing a song on the last trip with some fellow staff members which was really amazing, one being James Raffan who is a well known writer, and explorer and part time guitar player. And we wrote a song. All of those things are what make these trips so enriching,” he continued.
He noted he plays the big hits from the ’90s like “ Something to Live for’ and “Life Could Be Worse” and maybe a couple of the new songs
“People want to hear that (the hits) and I play a couple new songs, because that’s what keeps me enthusiastic and keeps me in the game is creating new material,” he said, adding he loves the Cariboo Express experience.
“ (My favourite part is) When everything gets clicking on all cylinders. A lot of people are in various different bands and we come together for this time. We all really enjoy each other’s company. So arguably it’s the biggest things is just the ‘hang’ and when the music starts clicking and it’s different from anything any of us do throughout the rest of the year, it’s just makes it so enjoyable and so rewarding. That’s my favourite part of it is the music and secondly the hang,” he said, noting the show is sort of a reunion for all his muscian friends.
“It’s great to perform with my son. I do see him quite a bit. I’ll have two kids there. I mean they’re grown ups, but that’s also a nice aspect to it,” he said.
Come hang with Barney Bentall and the Cariboo Express, Monday, Nov. 7 at the Southminster United Church.
Tickets are $30-$50.. The music begins at 8 p.m.
— by Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor
