The venerable Blackie & The Rodeo Kings are set to kick off their Canadian tour on February 25. Colin Linden, Tom Wilson, and Stephen Fearing will be joined on stage in select cities by special guests Ian Tyson, Lindi Ortega, Murray McLauchlan and stars of the Nashville TV series Sam Palladio, Charles Esten, and Jonathan Jackson.
Last week, the trio shared the new video for “Live By The Song” featuring Rodney Crowell, from their latest album, Kings And Kings. “The first line of the song is a quote from Roger Miller,” says Fearing on writing the track. “I collect quotes and this one had been talking to me for a long time. I got the first two verses roughed out and then the song ground to a halt. Tom and Colin came in and finished the song in a Halifax hotel room in about half an hour. The bridge is pure Colin Linden and the last verse is very much Tom Wilson.”
Out now via File Under: Music, Kings And Kings is the companion piece to their 2011 collaboration album Kings And Queens. Where that album featured guest appearances from some of the band’s favourite female singers, this one features some of the band’s best ‘guy’ friends from the world of roots, blues, and country. Each one of them an accomplished “king” in their realm of creative endeavours and in many cases absolute “king” legends in the entertainment industry.
Dallas Green, Eric Church, Raul Malo, Bruce Cockburn, Fantastic Negrito, Nick Lowe, Jason Isbell, Vince Gill, Buddy Miller, Keb Mo, Rodney Crowell, and the men of the TV show Nashville have all lent their voices to the album. Exclaim! says Kings And Kings is so full of great songs that “it’s difficult to single out highlights on an album devoid of lowlights.”
Blackie And The Rodeo Kings originally formed in 1996, when Colin Linden, Stephen Fearing, and Tom Wilson came together to record what was suppose to be a one-off tribute album to the great Canadian songwriter Willie P. Bennett. At the time, all three members were deeply committed to burgeoning solo careers that they had no intentions of putting on hold, and had no plans to turn Blackie into an ongoing concern.
Now 20 years later, eight albums, one JUNO Award, and several JUNO Award nominations under their belts, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings have organically evolved into one of the finest roots-oriented band in North America. Blackie and the Rodeo Kings remains one of Canada’s greatest musical treasures.
Northwestern Ontario tour dates include a stop at Crocks, Thunder Bay on March 2 and a stop at the Lakeside Inn, Kenora on March 3. For details visit blackieandtherodeokings.com.
