Welcome to the Vaadeland Zone
The Sturgeon River Boys were already on the Pembina Stage, playing the first bars of “Father’s Son.” Stephen Williams’ bouncy bass line was overlaid with a low guitar riff flavoured with a country twang. Jaxon Lalonde’s banjo caught up and filled the gap as lead guitarist Joel Rohs spoke into his old-time microphone: “Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Jake Vaadeland.”
Jake emerged, smiling and eager, from behind the curtain.
In that moment, on January 26, 2024, the EPAC audience was transported into another dimension of sound, of sight, and another dimension of time. We had just crossed over into the Vaadeland Zone — Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry of the 1940s.
Songs, Stories and Serious Pickin’
As Jake Vaadeland was played into the frontman spot and began to sing, the audience was fully on board for a whirlwind ride on his well-oiled, high-performance way-back machine.
Throughout the 26-song set list, the lyrics were often personal and revelatory. Song titles foretold the intimate nature of Vaadeland’s lyrics: “Farewell Blues,” “Be a Farmer or a Preacher,” “Everybody But Me,” “The Bachelor’s Life,” “Retro Man,” and especially “Father’s Son.”
Other Vaadeland songs were humorous and sentimental. Most sprang from hard experience or quiet reflection, like “I Ain’t Going Back to Nashville,” “One More Dollar to Go” and “Cow On The Road.” Judging from the applause for the latter, it was a song many in the audience could certainly relate to!
Some tunes featured virtuoso instrumental duels between Jake and Jaxon on banjos, or Jake’s banjo versus Joel’s lead guitar in “Farewell Blues.”
“Pike County Breakdown” and “Foggy Mountain Special” were played so fast, yet so tightly, you felt it might be a race with serious bragging rights for the player who didn’t trip up.
This was some serious pickin’ and grinnin’ that earned hooting and hollering, whistles and wows from the audience!
A Show Made for the Stage
Upright bass player Stephen Williams’ behind-the-scenes flashy percussive strumming, frequent high-carry fly-bys and tornado-inducing bass fiddle twirls grabbed the attention of the amused front-line players. The audience approved his antics with raucous applause.
The musicianship of Vaadeland — AKA “Retro Man,” a nickname he appropriated from his school bullies — and the Sturgeon River Boys was exemplary.
The acoustics and professional sound of the theatre lifted old-school rockabilly, bluegrass and classic country music off our dusty, scratchy records and into a crowd-pleasing, high-energy mix of fun, fantastic and unforgettable live music.
Vintage wear and gear, old-time banter, very down-home jokes and two spoken-word advertisements topped off with musical jingles made a standing ovation easy to give.
Their explosively welcomed encore piece, “Blue Suede Shoes,” ended our evening’s trip back in time with smiles and a happy buzz all around.
I left wanting a return visit to the Vaadeland Zone next season!