Growing up surrounded by music inspired Ed Peekeekoot to travel the country sharing his talents, all while educating the public about life on a prairie reservation.
He will stop by the Hazel Bluff Community Centre on Sunday, Sept. 18 as part of his tour of western Canada.
“Being a performer and an artist, I feel I’m privileged to be able to travel around the country and share my talents,” Peekeekoot said, adding that he is very excited for his stop in Westlock.
Peekeekoot grew up on a reservation in Prince Albert, Sask., which is where he first got involved in playing music after seeing his mother and uncles play guitar and fiddle in a band.
After expressing interest in guitar at the age of about five, Peekeekoot’s mother showed him how to play on an open-tuned guitar, since his hands were too small to make chords.
With practice came skill and by the time he was 10 years old, Peekeekoot could complete chords as well as play slide guitar, which he did by improvising with small pieces of metal or a bottle.
“From then on, I just branched out to playing. I got really interested as I got older,” he said.
Peekeekoot has no formal training and learned primarily from his family as well as through listening to different artists.
“I just played everything by ear and as I got older, I got a job and was able to afford records of other guitar players. I listened to them and learned from the records,” he said.
In his show, you can expect to hear a variety of instruments, from guitar to fiddle to banjo and even the Native-American flute. As well as the tunes, you can expect to hear some of the tales that Peekeekoot grew up with.
“Being native, I tell some of my stories of growing up on a reservation on the prairies,” Peekeekoot said. “I write songs about growing up on the Prairies, native legends and Indian stories that I heard when I was growing up.”
He said he hopes that people will learn from his performance, especially about the native culture.
“(There are) lots of sad things that happen on a reservation. But there are some happy, good things that happen,” Peekeekoot said. “(A native community) loves to laugh and when we get together, you can hear us telling stories, people laughing. So that’s what I like to bring when I do a show.”
Rose Bibby, treasurer for the Hazel Bluff Community Centre, has seen Peekeekoot perform at various festivals in the past and said she felt she had to get him to perform in Westlock.
“He is an instrumentalist like you wouldn’t believe,” she said. “We just thought he was one of those guys that people should see.”
Opening for Peekeekoot is Darla Daniels, a championship fiddler, who has an impressive resume at the age of 19. Along with her skilled fiddle playing, which has had her perform at numerous festivals throughout the province, she will also bring aspects of her Métis culture to the performance.
“She is worth watching and she’s got tremendous personality. She’s just wonderful on stage,” Bibby said.
The show is $20 for adults and $10 for those aged 14 and under. Tickets can be purchased in advance at The Flower Shoppe and if any tickets are remaining, they will be sold at the door. The show gets underway at 2 p.m. at the Hazel Bluff Community Centre on Sunday, Sept. 18.
