Humboldt received an injection of country and western flair as the Sons of the Pioneers brought their award winning show to St. Augustine Church on Apr. 12
Margaret Morrissette is the bands Canadian producer in charge of organizing concerts like the one in Humboldt and said she thought the show went very well.
“People told me as they left the building that it was worth every penny and they wanted to see them again and that they really liked it.”
The band played a number of different songs, some their own and some from other songwriters throughout time for the 175 people in attendance.
Morrissette feels that the number of people that came out to the show speaks to the joy that they get when they hear the music and thinks it is starting to make a comeback.
“There’s a natural interest in cowboy vintage music coming around again and I know a lot of our audience was seniors but a lot of our audience was also interested in music and different venues of music.”
The band played a number of their classic songs and some classics by other songwriters including Cattle Call, Ghost Riders in the Sky, Don’t Fence Me In, Cool Water, and Tumbling Tumbleweeds.
Band Member and Trail Boss, Tommy Nallie, says that those songs are ones that they have to play at each show and then they sprinkle in a bunch of their other songs.
“We have so many songs and we can only get so many in a two hour period.”
He says that he does have a set list written up but he also has a list full of songs they can switch in and out depending on the crowd and the evening.
Band member, Randy Rudd, usually directs the band as they go picking songs he feels best suits the crowd and the situation but does not tell the other members until it is time to play it.
“It keeps us fresh and on our toes. We know what he usually might call but he could change it so we have to stay awake,” says Nallie.
Sometimes Rudd will even pick songs that the band has not played in quite a while, says Nallie, which poses its own challenges because they have to quickly remember the song and how it is played.
Nallie said they really enjoyed their time in Humboldt and would be open to coming back again in the future.
“We loved it…the folks have a grin on their face and the older folks that’s the music they grew up with…and they remember these songs and they were singing along with us on a lot of them and it makes them very happy and it makes us very happy.”
