Great Big Sea

Related Content

• Sonny Landreth
  November 14, 2012
• Lindsey Buckingham, Aimee Mann, RNDM, and more
  November 14, 2012
• Roster McCabe at the Cabooze, 4/19/13
  April 22, 2013
• Chicago Afrobeat Project
  May 8, 2013
• Saxophonist Ben Wendel: Touring with Snoop Dogg was a circus
  April 9, 2013

More About

• Steve Berlin
• Sonny Landreth
• Randy Bachman
• Ivan Otis
• Arts, Entertainment, and Media

Emerging from the St. John's pub scene nearly two decades ago and rooted in the rough-and-tumble, Celtic-laced folk music of its home province, Newfoundland's Great Big Sea specialize in forging a fervid cross between traditional and contemporary music. Employing mostly trad instrumentation running to mandolin, fiddle, pipes, and whistle, the band often uses a drum kit to kick the tunes into raucous overdrive, including the rousing pub anthems "Road to Ruin" and "Wandering Ways" on GBS's latest, Safe Upon the Shore. The title track, on the other hand, is an original tragic seafaring tale that easily matches Maritimes trad fare, especially showing off GBS's bracing a capella harmonies. All the new tracks are originals except for a sprightly cover of the Kinks' "Have A Cuppa Tea" and the folk standard "Gallows Pole," but even then GBS's rousing version is based on Led Zeppelin's. A number of the pieces are collaborations with other Canadian songwriters, notably Randy Bachman. The band also got fresh inspiration from recording several tracks in New Orleans with producer Steve Berlin and a smattering of locals, most prominently guitarist Sonny Landreth and the trombone onslaught of Bonerama. Renowned for their live energy, Great Big Sea should come on like a wave of the icy north Atlantic in the face. (Photo by Ivan Otis)
Sat., Oct. 23, 8 p.m., 2010