The Wardens roll into Jasper, June 6, with a brand new album full of tales of backcountry adventure.
Bear 66 is the trio’s first full-length album, with 10 tracks, including one about Jasper National Park.
The song, “High Country Nights” references a number of warden cabins in JNP, said Bradley Bischoff, who started his career as a backcountry warden right here in Jasper 33 years ago.
Bischoff, who now resides in Canmore, knows those cabins well, having patrolled the Brazeau District on horseback in his early days.
Years later, and numerous homes later, Bischoff said returning to Jasper always feels like a homecoming, with many familiar faces populating the crowd, as he and his bandmates share stories of the land they lovingly worked to protect.
Collectively, Bischoff, Scott Ward and Ray Schmidt have worked for Parks Canada for more than 80 years, all beginning their careers in the Rocky Mountain national parks.
The Wardens formed in 2009, with Ward and Schmidt joining musical forces during the national park warden centennial. Bischoff joined later, and since then the trio has shared its music and gorgeous photos of the parks with audiences throughout Western Canada.
“When people come to our shows they get great stories and pictures,” said Bischoff, adding that there are some spectacular night sky photos to go along with “High Country Nights.”
The photos appear on a projector behind the band, visually complimenting the sentiments and stories in the songs and transporting the audience into the world of a backcountry warden.
The idea is to let each person vicariously live through the band’s experiences in Canada’s National Park Warden Service, all while sitting in the comfort of the Legion.
For more information on The Wardens, visit www.banffwardens.com.
