Connection.

That’s what Gordie Tentrees, Yukon roots artist, and his two band mates will be striving to do when they play at the Brushfire Gallery next Monday (Nov. 16).

Tentrees is on tour celebrating the release of his third album, Mercy and Sin, which contains story-driven songs, edgy foot-stompers and heart-worn odes, and was describe by the Globe and Mail as “in the rough-cut vein of Fred Eaglesmith or Kelly Joe Phelps, Tentrees is gifted.”

Joined by Jennie Sosnowski, on an upright bass, and Ken Hermanson, on lapsteel, banjo and guitar, they’ve spanned the country as they travelled from the Yukon, to Nova Scotia and now to Jasper.

Noting that he prefers to play in “listening” venues, where he can speak to the audience, Tentrees said, “we try to capture them in... get them a little more connected.

“It depends on the audience, who’s in the room, and what I think they might be able to relate to... what their interest might be and what would touch them and connect with them.”

But, that doesn’t mean you can’t get your feet a-tapping and your hands a-clapping at a Tentrees show. “We’re able to play all different atmospheres... it’s possible to get a dance floor going or play in a soft theatre.”

For Tentrees, it’s his best album yet, as it captures their raw live sound, which he calls their “bread and butter”, by keeping it simple. “Not trying to add to much of this and too much of that... it’s not sixteen different instruments, it’s just our live trio sort of captured on a record.”

“It’s been the best capture of our live show,” he added.

For Scott Crabbe, executive director of the Jasper Heritage Folk and Blues Society (JHFBS) who are bringing Tentrees to town for the third time in as many years, Jasperites are in for a treat.

“His songs are steeped in the art of story telling, and can be as haunting as the music is gritty,” he said. “His band of seven plus years are multi-instrumentalists whose dobros guitars and uprights tell stories all their own.”

There are a limited number of tickets for sale at Coco’s Cafe for $15. The show runs from 8 – 11 p.m. with food and drinks available.