Rock and blues act Devon Coyote is at it again, playing not one but four upcoming shows in Jasper.
“Last time we played in Jasper we did three shows in a row and it was so much fun that we decided to add on an extra night this time around,” front man Devon Bjarnason said. “We saw different people come out every night so we were really excited to come back.”
After releasing their third album—The Wind—in 2015, the trio from British Columbia decided to take it easy, but after about a year, Bjarnason said the band was itching to get back on the road. They plan to spend the next few months touring Canada’s west.
“We toured all of Canada right after we finished the last album, so after that we decided to take a breather from the road, but we’ve been writing a lot and we’re already working on our new album,” Bjarnason said.
“We’ve already got a few songs recorded, but there’s a lot more work that has to be done.”
While The Wind embraces a heavier guitar and blues sound, Bjarnason said he hopes the next album will revisit the band’s original bluegrass vibe.
“The last album was very guitar-heavy so this time we want to step back and strip that sound down,” said the front man. “It’s going to be a lot of fun, but it’s definitely going to be more acoustic-based.”
As excited as the band is to get back to its roots, Bjarnason added that the group is in no rush to put out its next album.
“Every album we’ve ever done has been on a timeline, but this time we’ve decided that we don’t want to rush anything,” Bjarnason said. “We want to make sure we’re happy with every track.
“It could be out as early as the spring or it could be out some time in 2018—we just don’t know how it’s going to go yet.”
While the band is accustomed to performing in front of large crowds, sharing the stage with the likes of Blue Rodeo, Said the Whale and Dan Mangan, Bjarnason said the trio still loves playing smaller venues.
All four of the band’s back-to-back Jasper shows will take place at the Whistle Stop Pub, from Oct. 23 until Oct. 26.
“Just the way the room is set up makes this a very intimate show so we’ll tell stories and talk a little with the crowd. We’ll also do a variety of genres from rock to acoustic bass stuff,” Bjarnason said. “Because it’s such a small room we’ll tone down the show quite a bit and then kick it up by the end of the night when everyone wants to party.”
Each show starts at 9 p.m. and admission is free.
“We’re three great friends who are just happy to be coming back to Jasper to share our music—we love that town,” Bjarnason said. “We’ve never had a dead show in Jasper and we hope to see that continue.”
Kayla Byrne [email protected]
