Heartwood Folk Club’s spring season begins at the Nancy Appleby this Sunday, Feb. 2, at 7:30 p.m. with Winnipeg’s Dry Bones folk quartet.
“We have a lot of fun, and we hope that that’s kind of an infectious thing,” said Dry Bones band member Nathan Rogers, adding that he tends to “be dramatic about the delivery of the song … by jumping and standing and dancing a little bit.”
The high-energy quartet is just the beginning of a widely varied, if somewhat condensed season, said Heartwood organizer Peter Opryshko.
“We try to space them apart, but there’s a cluster in February and March,” said Opryshko of the club’s five spring shows.
That cluster begins with Dry Bones on Feb. 2 and carries on with Katherine Wheatley and Wendell Ferguson Feb. 12. A new show has been added Feb. 23: The Once from Newfoundland.
The Once is a folk trio renowned for three-part harmonies and melancholic approach to the east coast sound (think less raucous pub fodder and more haunting ballads, courtesy of lead singer Geraldine Hollett).
“People who have season passes will be able to get in for $15,” said Opryshko of the recently added show.
Season passes, which cover the four other shows, are $85 for adults and $75 for youth and seniors.
Individual tickets are $22 in advance and $25 at the door for adults. For youth 19 and under and seniors, tickets are $19 in advance and $22 at the door; children under 10 get in for free.
Tickets are available at Athabasca drug stores, Whispering Hills Fuel and by calling Opryshko at 780-424-2915.
Caladh Nua all the way from Ireland is the first of two shows in March (March 19), and Stephen Fearing and Andy White round out the season March 29.
“We’ve tried to get almost completely brand-new acts,” said Opryshko, though he noted that in the case of Dry Bones, Rogers has visited Athabasca before as a solo artist.
“We’ve got all generations and various genres and various kinds of traditions,” he said.
Artists have taken note of Heartwood’s wide-ranging approach to bookings, said Opryshko.
“People are phoning for next fall and even next spring,” he said of performers’ interest.
Heartwood’s first show took place in 1997, and the club began gaining steam in 1999, booking anywhere from four to 10 shows per year. The club has no formal board; “It’s sort of an anarchist model,” said Opryshko with a laugh.
Volunteers do fall into specific roles, like keeping the books or running the soundboard. But the division of work is fairly organic, said Opryshko.
Heartwood not only relies on volunteers; it counts on community support.
“We rely on members and people from Athabasca to come,” said Opryshko. “We’ve had good support, and I hope that people continue it.”
He added that Heartwood has an enviable venue in the Nancy Appleby Theatre, which he feels is underappreciated.
“Many small towns in Alberta — even in Edmonton, people would die to have access to that,” he said.
