The gypsy-jazz group The Road to Django Collective performed outside of Edmonton for the first time last Saturday, although group members have performed around the world in other bands.
The Nancy Appleby Theatre was three-quarters full to welcome the group, the first the Heartwood Folk Club has brought in for its fall season.
Cam Neufeld, the group’s lead, revealed Saturday he is neighbours with Heartwood Folk Club principal organizer Peter Opryshko in Edmonton.
Opryshko said they have been neighbours for at least 20 years.
“I thought the variety was great … having that many performers, and they’re all very competent musicians,” said Opryshko.
During the intermission, Neufeld had time to reflect on Heartwood’s heartwarming audience reception and the Nancy Appleby’s good acoustics.
“The audience is great. They seem very responsive,” said Neufeld. “I love the theatre. It’s a beautiful theatre, and the sound is really good.”
Neufeld said the group is a “collective in the real sense of the word” and represents the sounds of the Roma people and their rich cultural background.
“I try to bring my own sound into whatever I’m trying to play, so that’s how it’s inspired … (through) the adaptability from Roma musicians as they play different music around the world,” said Neufeld.
“We are The Road to Django Collective. Thanks, and hope to see you all sometime down the road,” Neufeld told a cheering audience to wrap up the night.
