After years in the background, Denis Dufresne and Aaron Young are finally making their way into the spotlight with GhostBoy.
The Calgary-based, country roots duo will return to Westlock as part of the CATS Theatre Series Jan. 11. The show starts at 7:30 p.m.
The band will be on familiar territory, having most recently played the town’s Canada Day celebrations in July. They have been to Westlock many times before that though.
“We love it, we’ve been there quite a few times,” said Denis Dufresne, a multi-instrumentalist who plays mandolin, violin and a host of other instruments. “I’ve been there with different artists and we had some friends who used to live out there, so we’re looking forward to it.”
The audience can expect a mix of covers and GhostBoy originals as the duo is touring to promote one recently released album of each.
“Our covers are a selection of people we’ve either recorded with or played live on stage with or have some association with,” said Dufresne.
The list of cover songs include works by k.d. lang, Billy Joel, Prince, Merle Haggard and David Bowie.
“It’s a pleasant shocker for the crowd,” said Dufresne. “ Prince on a violin, yeah, we do it.”
The name of the band is derived from the fact Dufresne and Young have a history as background musicians, performing with large acts like Gord Bamford, Dierks Bentley, Blake Shelton and Johnny Reid, among others. Just ghosts, haunting the dark parts of the stage.
“The GhostBoy name comes from us playing with famous musicians. When you play with a famous singer for two hours, people watch the singer and they don’t know we’re up there with them. That’s where the name GhostBoy comes from” said Dufresne.
Westlock is the start of a hectic 2019 that will see the band spend much of the spring touring the prairie provinces, with numerous stops throughout Alberta and Saskatchewan.
“It has been picking up like crazy,” said Dufresne, who has been plugging away in the music business for two decades. “We’re pretty happy, it’s one of those things where people don’t quite understand that you can be pretty successful, but still unknown in this industry.
“We’ve been plugging away at it year after year, but we’re ready for it to be a little bit easier.”
Getting the music out to radio stations and becoming well known is one measurement of success the band has already conquered. You can hear GhostBoy regularly on CBC Radio as well as CKUA, but cracking the mainstream is an entirely different goal the band is striving towards.
As for the Westlock show, Dufresne encourages all music lovers to take in the performance.
“It’s an all ages show, it’s just going to be acoustic, so we’re not going to blast anyone out of there. Anyone who likes a little bit of country, a little bit of rock and some good stories are going to dig this show, so they should come on out.”
Tickets are on sale either at the box office or can be bought in advance at MTech (formally Clancy Graphics) or online by going to Ticketpro and then searching Westlock.
