Battlefords residents are no strangers to great music, and this next week will see two incredible concerts from two very different acts.
Saturday, Feb. 25 will see the King Street Station Jazz Band playing a set at Sloan Auditorium at the North Battleford Legion. The King Street Station Jazz Band, in its fifth year, is made up of a core group of Battlefords musicians - Don Tatchell on drums, his brother Jack Tatchell on trumpet, Garnet Speer on tenor sax, David Dekker on alto sax, Ross Ulmer on jazz trombone, Diane Gryba on keyboards, Tom Kroczinski on bass and B.J. Harris on vocals. Each of the musicians is, of course, well-known in the Battlefords music scene.
Tickets are $15 for members and $20 for non-members, and can be purchased from NuFloors, Bee-J's Office Plus or from Battlefords Jazz Society directors at 446-3210. Tickets are expected to sell out, so be sure to buy in advance. A membership can also be purchased for $10 for an individual or for $15 for a family.
Feb. 28 will see a world-renowned musician, the Creole accordion and fiddle player Cedric Watson perform here. Only 28, Watson has nevertheless been nominated for four Grammy awards, and is taking time to tour across Canada playing small shows before playing for larger festivals like the Louisiana Swamp Stomp Festival, the Baton Rouge Blues Festival, and others.
From a small Texas town, Cedric proved himself an able musician at a young age, playing his first concert at the Zydeco Jam at The Big Easy in Houston. From there, Cedric embarked on a career that took him to 17 countries and created seven full-length albums.
Though rooted in Creole and Zydeco music, Cedric also plays reels, bluegrass fiddle songs and string band music, a mix of styles he has described as a "gumbo."
For tickets, contact [email protected].
