It has been a long time since Montreal singer/ songwriter Sam Roberts has come to Lethbridge.
But he will be back to play a special show in the South Pavilion at Exhibition Park, April 29.
And even better, part of the proceeds will be donated to the Lethbridge and District Humane Society.
“If you can do something like this, it’s nice to add this extra dimension to what we do,” Roberts said from his Montreal home.
His band has two tour dates — Lethbridge and Lac La Biche, before the actual tour for the new CD, “Collider,” is released May 10.
The music from the new CD is very much based on rhythm.
“I’ve been listening to a lot of blues music and afro-beat music. Those are the things I like to listen to. And I’m still going through all of Bob Dylan’s music. I always learn something new from listening to it about how to write a song,” he said.
“I’ve always been a rhythm and melody guy, but this one is definitely a rock and roll record,” he continued.
“I started with the rhythms or a strong sort of groove this time and built a lot from those beats,” he continued adding he really wanted to emphasize the rhythm on the new songs.
“That’s always at the heart of what we do, but you don’t realize how important it is. There is a real sense of freedom on this CD,” he said adding he doesn’t know what to think of the CD yet or what fans think of it yet as it is still fresh in his mind.
“The Montreal scene is characterized by diversity. Anything goes. There is no one sound that is identified as the Montreal sound, unlike the Seattle sound in the early ’90s which is why Montreal has lasted. There is just so much good music going on here. We’re defined by our diversity,” he said.
“Hopefully that will last. ”
He is looking forward to playing the benefit for the Lethbridge and District Humane Society.
“Hopefully there will be a good crowd. We come into town for one night, but the people at the Humane Society are working 356 days a year,” he continued.
“The most important thing is that the show inspires people to get engaged with the Humane Society. Hopefully it will raise some awareness and some money. But most importantly it helps inspire people to get engaged in their community,” he continued.
He is looking forward to returning to Lethbridge.
“ I think the last time I played there was four or five years ago. It was a typical bar show in a roadhouse type place. It looked like an old factory. It was five or six years ago,” he said.
“It’s the luck of the draw. We have shows in Lethbridge and Lac La Biche, and those are the two shows that are before the actual tour for the CD,” Roberts said.
“It would be nice to have a CD out for these shows, but we’ll be playing the new songs. We’re very excited about them,” he continued adding he is also looking forward to touring the United States later this year.
“It’s getting better every time we go there. We’ve spent the last 10 years building up our fan base. Because we don’t get played on the radio or seen on TV as much down there as we do here, we have to come out and play because the live show is the strongest weapon we have,” he emphasized.
He said the actual CD won’t be released until May 10.
“People like Neil Young and Bob Dylan used to put out CDs year. Now it doesn’t make sense to put a new CD out as often,” he said.
“This is the one that will make us break out, but we say that about every record,” he said.
“A lot of things have changed. It’s been almost three years since I released a CD,” he said.
“I’ve got three kids now. And that answers that question,” he said of the being asked what else he has been up to.
“So I certainly want to be involved in their home life as much as I can and make the most out of all the opportunities I’ve been given, ” he said.
Roberts is looking forward to returning to Lethbridge.
“I think we’ll draw from the well of some of the old chestnuts, but we’ll definitely be playing a lot of the songs from ‘Collider.’ These are the songs we’re excited about now. It’s hard to play a set of oldies when we have all of these new songs burning a hole in our pocket,” he enthused.
The concert is April 29 at 8 p.m. beginning with special guests The Dudes.
Tickets are $50 for the floor and $45 for the upper stands. A portion of the proceeds, five dollars per ticket, will be donated to the Lethbridge and District Humane Society.
