The rain held off the majority of the evening, and the temperatures were mild enough to enjoy another incredible night of music on Watson’s Main Street for its annual Streetfest.
It was a homecoming of sorts for both sets of entertainers. Among the Barrelmen’s rotating frontmen was Craig Wilson, a former teacher in Watson for a few years who renewed acquaintances with former students and colleagues.
Armed with an acoustic arsenal and a saddle bag of harmonies, Saskatoon’s Barrelmen delivered an opening set of pure roots magic. There’s no mistaking the talent of four musicians comfortable and confident enough with virtually every instrument on stage to gypsy from banjo to acoustic guitar, from dobro to mandolin and standup bass. Most even took a turn on the cajole, the sit down handslap beat box that formed their percussion section.
Original songs like “Top Hand,” a true cowboy refrain, held the audience with its laid-back shuffle that puts you on a saddle in a sunny pasture. For the modern-day cowboys, “Diesel” was a homage to the rigour of the road with harmonies that harkened back to the Sons of the Pioneers, all while carving a more contemporary sound.
Their “autobiographical,” or at least self-referential song about “barrelmen” of all types, brought out a lyrical playfulness that tapped into their roots sound. Occasionally, the music was infused with a surf-sound, a throwback to Jan and Dean styled harmonies. The pedal steel reverberated down the street with a sweet nostalgic top note for a distinctly Saskatchewan flavour.
It was no less a reunion for headliner Brock Andrews who was greeted by area family and friends. Andrews’ straight up, high energy mix of rock and country covers was stirred into a healthy showcase of his own finely crafted tunes.
The set started appropriately with Morgan Wallen’s “More Than My Hometown.” Andrews dropped a mix of the Chuck Berry classic “Johnny B, Goode” in a southern shuffle style, followed up by a little retro rock with Matchbox 20’s “3 AM.”
Whether setting a softer town with an onstage ballad or mixing it up street level and back-to-back gunslinger style with the fiddler, Brock traded chords and beats with a quartet of award-winning backing musicians that are Nashville primed.
The set list was a genre-wandering delight with contemporary originals, a splash of nostalgia brought home by classics like “Fishing in the Dark,” and a blistering version of another ‘90s gem, “Semi-Charmed Life.”
Missing out on the rain, you’d have to think the Watson Fire Department leads a semi-charmed life as they received a wonderful $1500 boost to their fundraising courtesy of the Watson Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion. The Legion has hosted several concerts over the past year, including Tim Hus and Mike Plume, and those activities plus all their annual fundraising efforts, allowed them to support the Fire Department at this Streetfest.
Enjoy a gallery of the evening’s events from this year’s Watson Streetfest.