When Jeffery Straker steps onto the stage at the Coal Creek Festival on August 23, he’ll be doing something he’s never done before: performing beside the iconic Roche Percee Rocks.
It’s a fitting milestone for an artist whose music is steeped in the stories and landscapes of the prairies. The Saskatchewan-born singer-songwriter pianist has built a career on weaving everyday moments into song, drawing comparisons to the likes of Kris Kristofferson and Jackson Browne. His most recent album, Great Big Sky, earned him a Canadian Folk Music Award earlier this year.
For Straker, the starting point of a song usually begins with a story. “Generally speaking, for me, I start with a lyric idea or there’s like a subject or some topic I want to write about. Some writers start with a musical idea first. I typically don’t [because] I’m very much a storyteller through my songwriting. It’s like folk storytelling type of lyrics that I write.”
That lens of storytelling helped him shape even unlikely subjects into something moving. He recalled writing a song about grain elevators on Great Big Sky: “You couldn’t just write a song describing a grain elevator. I think that would be incredibly boring. So, what I did was I imagined one on its last day before the bulldozer pulled up. And as the bulldozer pulled up, what was going on? And all of a sudden, if you, if you can distill it on that angle, like you, you, I think you’ve got something a bit more interesting, you know?”
Straker’s songs have also been a vessel for processing personal loss. “Both of my parents have passed away in the past six and a half years, sadly and unexpectedly. And so there have been songs about them that initially, like as I wrote them, I was sobbing. And then the first couple of performances was also very hard and I cried a bit. But now, you know, that that deep grief seems to be able to be almost channelled into enjoying the song.”
Performing those songs live, he says, is about creating space for the audience. “You almost have to not let that get in the way of sharing that experience with your listeners. I think you have to allow listeners to experience what they’re going to experience live. And if you’re there crying, crying for your song, God help you. I mean, it almost sort of impedes their ability. You know, of course, it’s really emotional, but I want them to enjoy that song, too. And if they have something to feel in it, I want to allow them I want to allow their feelings to come through.”
Southeast Saskatchewan has been a frequent stop for Straker, and he says the connection with audiences here is something special. “I love it down there. I mean, and to be clear, since I was born and raised in Punnichy, Saskatchewan, anything south of Regina is the south,” he joked. “The whole south has been very good to me. Audiences are wonderful. I think part of it is that I have several songs that really connect to Saskatchewan and tell a Saskatchewan story. And they seem to really resonate with listeners there. And they’re just they’re just good people down there. Like they’re they’re down home, down to earth. What you know, like, you know, hard on sleep type of people. And that’s kind of how my music is.”
That hospitality even comes in unexpected ways. “There’s some people down there who when I’ve gone to shows have baked me some really nice pies,” Straker laughed. “They brought them to me as gifts before the show. And, you know, I’ve got a sweet tooth. So that’s gone right to my belly and my heart at the same time.”
At Coal Creek, Straker will be joined by guitarist Bryn Besse for a set that features songs from Great Big Sky. “We just go through a whole bunch of songs in my 45 minutes to an hour that I have with the audience and, you know, try to try to sing some songs, tell some stories between the songs and leave people feeling good.”
And while he joked that one of his favourite things at festivals is “really clean port-a-potties,” what he looks forward to most is that spark of connection. “You can feel from the stage when there is a connection between music and an audience and you can you can see it in an intimate setting… That’s wonderful. But you can also feel it in those bigger venues. And I’ve never done this for, you know, for audience response. I realized the thing that motivates me over the years… it’s connection.”
Straker will be the very first artist to take the stage on Saturday, August 23, kicking off the day at 12:30 p.m. “No pressure,” he joked.
With his stories, his songs, and his prairie roots, Jeffery Straker seems ready to make that first Coal Creek performance a memorable one.
Coal Creek Festival takes place Saturday, August 23, at Roche Percee Regional Park. Gates open at 11:00 a.m. For full festival details, visit coalcreekfest.ca.