ATHABASCA – July 1 is shaping up to be a day that will offer a little something for everyone as the Magnificent River Rats Festival returns to Riverfront Park in Athabasca for its 24th edition, offering a chance for the COVID-weary public to put the pandemic behind them and enjoy a variety of up-and-coming artists.
The lineup has been evolving since the MRRF Society decided to try to organize the festival on short notice after it was cancelled in 2020, and will now open with a familiar local face — Adrian Chmil, or Adri Chem, as he is known on stage will strum the opening chords to kick off the festival at 11:15 a.m. as the Athabasca District Chamber of Commerce’s reverse parade wraps up.
“I mean, having a stage presence and playing stuff on a stage in front of live people is nothing foreign to me. I'm comfortable with that,” said the 20-year veteran songwriter who has played solo and in bands at venues across Canada, in Japan, South Korea and on cruise ships abroad.
Chmil will be bringing his trusty Fender to the stage, and says he hopes to be able to offer something for the whole family by bringing along songs from his catalogue that he wrote as early as age 12, all the way up to recent material.
“I realize that this is going to be a family event, so I want to see them clap along, to stomp along, some interaction,” he said. “If they can stomp along, or clap along, I think it’s going to drum up some fun.”
As an aside, Chmil has also been working on a theatrical concert play he hopes to premiere at a small, local venue in the near future.
Emcee John Traynor will then introduce dignitaries mayor Colleen Powell and reeve Larry Armfelt who will each say a few words at noon, before local puppeteers provide a special performance with their felt creations at 12:15. Aline Tuzubaze will then perform O Canada at 1:15 before William O’Donnell, who also plays with the Richard Woodman Band, takes the stage at 1:30. He’ll be back with the band at 4:30.
Flyin’ Bob is also bringing his “One Man, Three Ring Circus” back to Athabasca to entertain the kids, as well as the young at heart.
Former Skeleton Lake resident and multi-genre, multi-instrumental, multi-talented Zak Keller will be bringing his electric cello and his favourite six-string to the stage at 2:30 as the afternoon progresses. Keller is known as a passionate performer whose four-octave vocal range allows him to mix it up on stage with everything from blues to punk, to metal, to folk.
Keller will be followed by fellow local product Eric Creaser at 3:30. Now residing in Leduc, Creaser will be bringing along a couple friends for accompaniment. Growing up in Athabasca, Creaser used to play in a band called Sidestep Fate that played locally and around the province, but was focusing on his solo work before the pandemic hit.
“Life happened and I was doing nothing for music for a while and then right before COVID I just started to ramp up with my own stuff. I got a really cool video in Banff for one of my songs live on YouTube there, that's really cool,” he said.
Creaser says he’ll be offering his acoustic-folk, Jack Johnson-esque song stylings, along with some country and whatever else may strike his fancy.
“This will be our first show coming up for our new band and new music,” he said, adding he also has a few other gigs booked throughout the summer. “And then I think we're gonna try and do a lot of writing and record … and then hopefully, a few shows here and there. But then I think next summer we're really planning to try and apply for as many festivals as we can.”
Fiddler Breanna Lizotte will follow the Richard Woodman Band at 5:30 before River Rats veterans and rising country stars, Dirt Road Angels hit the stage. Dahlia Wakefield (Maidstone, Sask.), Danita Lynn (Plamondon), Karen Claypool (Spruce Grove) and Shila Marie (Tofield) will commence the two-stepping as the evening nears.
The all-female, rockin’ country quartet’s hard work over the last eight years is starting to pay off, releasing their new single “Dance in the Rain” in April, which is now a hit on Canadian country radio.
Wakefield describes the single as “an uplifting song about keeping your spirits up, following your dreams and taking chances when life hands you lemons.” The song was in line with their positive outlook on life, and the combination of vocal harmonies along with the pickin’ of the banjo and a solid country-rock sound has made the song a hit.
The group has been busy writing new material during the pandemic, and did their first live show of 2021 just this last weekend at a small, back yard festival called Babe Fest, and that’s just the start of a busy remainder of the year.
Martin Kerr will then try to mellow the crowd a bit at 7:45, but things will get loud and a lot more intense around 9:15 when local heavy rockers Delirium ride the lightning right up to the stage with a Metallica tribute that will close out the festival before fireworks around 10:30.
The local five-piece headbanging ensemble consisting of Justin Nicholson and Richard Nolan on guitars, Trevor Bochon on drums, Joey Gerlach on bass, and Darin Wentworth providing the vocals, have been performing at local venues in different forms since 2016, and they’re stoked for the opportunity to entertain fans in the community they’ve spent the majority of their lives in.
Primarily a cover band offering their own renditions of everything from 80s hits to the mind-melting metal crowds will experience July 1, the band is also working on original tunes, and hope to bring their brand of heavy, high-energy performance to stages everywhere soon.
Tickets for ages 10 and up are just $10, and children under nine can enter for free, so bring your favourite lawn chair, some sunscreen, bug spray, drink lots of fluids and a healthy appetite for several courses of delicious live music and entertainment spanning the genres. E-mail [email protected] to book tickets, or you can pay at the gate.
