I keep missing Dory and the Weathermen, so i made a point of checking them out on Jan. 9 at Casino Lethbridge. I caught  the last of their sets. They wound up  the previous set with a sedate version of “Roll Over Beethoven,” before taking a break.
 That set the stage for break up related songs, beginning with one of my favourites, Brandy Clark’s “ Stripes.”

The rest of the set featured a diverse set of classic rock and pop including Carly Simon’s  “You’re So Vain,” and  Linda Ronstadt’s“ You’re No Good” which allowed lead singer Dory Rossiter to take centre stage and show off her range, while the band stood back and laid down the groove while adding vocal harmonies.

 They jumped a decades into the ’80s for a laid back version of Robert Palmer’s “Addicted To Love,” before slowing things down for “I Shot the Sheriff.”

Calgary based country/ roots musician Carter Felker returned to the Owl Acoustic Lounge to play for a good sized crowd on a chilly night, Jan. 8.

I caught the end of Victoria  singer/ songwriter Peter Gardner’s set. He had a strong Jason Isbell styled tenor voice as he played sole songs, some of his band Hawk and Steel songs and a couple of brand new songs. He ended his set with “ Oh Caroline.”

Calgary’s Carter Felker, accompanied by Danny  “ Skinny” Dyck ” on pedal steel guitar was up next with a rawer sound, more along the lines of Steve Earle mixed with Leeroy Stagger and a touch of Hayes Carll.
He started off slowly, but quickly picked up the pace.

 He picked some pretty licks on acoustic guitar while singing about small town life and love. He even dedicated a song to Shaela Miller who was among  the good sized crowd added added Lethbridge into some of his lyrics.
“What you Gonna Do,” was a highlight.

“ I Wish” was another heartfelt highlight”
 He tackled darker matters like pain, poverty and addiction, drug problems  before winding up  his set with a song about the oil-patch called ‘Alberta Woes.’

Winnipeg based  folk punk musician Greg Rekus showed he keeps true to punk spirit during his brief show at the Owl Acoustic Lounge, Jan. 11.

He ferociously attacked his battered acoustic guitar and jumped up and down on a home made percussion pallet, creating a whole lot of rhythm from a variety of tambourines placed on it. You couldn’t blink for fear of missing his set let alone being able to finish your beer during it.

He sounded like Rancid playing an acoustic set as he played about 20 songs in as many minutes including a variety of songs from his most recent CD “Punkcoustic” and a couple of brand new  songs which he just finished writing. He got the audience of approximately 15 to raise their hands in the air, enthusiastically clap along additional rhythm while shouting along the lines to his songs which he fed them. And before anyone knew it, he leaned up his pallet back up against the Owl’s stage wall and made way for  other performers  for their open mic.

 He wound down his set after a catchy new song tentatively called either “ I Believe” or “ Left, Right,” Left Right,” by playing a song about il called “ LEave the Oil in the ground,” which had the audiences singing along.
 That included a medley  including a variety of songs using the same chord progression including “ Hit the Road Jack,” 16 Tons,” “ Fever” and  “The Cat Came Back.”
Rekus   took along local musician Steve Foord with him on a quick tour after the Lethbridge show.

If you can’t get to Cuba this winter, get a taste of Cuban culture and music when Cuban born, Smithers B.C. based musician Alex Cuba comes back to the Geomatic Attic, Jan. 20.
He begins his latest tour hot on the heels of  being nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Latin pop Album his 2015  CD “Healer.”
He received the announcement  right after winning a Latin Grammy Award for best singer/ songwriter, so he had high hopes he would get a Grammy nomination, though it still surprised him.

“I was pretty excited about it. I’m on west coast time and they made the announcement in East coast time, so I got a text from my friend at 6 in the morning about it and I couldn’t go back to sleep,” he enthused from Smithers, where he is finishing  the last details of the tour itinerary.
“I felt it was a beautiful record. You always have high hopes when you record music, but in the end, it is always the world that  to take it and one never knows,” he said, crediting his fans for making  the record a success from the beginning.
“We opened a crowd funding campaign to make it that was very successful, so that brought the level of expectations a little higher,” he continued.
“ All I want to do is deliver a good piece of music.”

 He said he is always writing new material and has a strong start on his next CD.
“I  have a pretty good group of songs that I’m already feeling proud of,” he said.
“It really is something super special receiving an accolade like that. What a blessing. So I’m excited to go out on tour and share it with audiences,” he said  
“This tour will have a nice spirit,” he said.
“I’m pretty excited to tour. It’s going to be pretty amazing,” said Cuba, who was born in the small town of Artemisia Cuba as Alexis Puentes.
 He moved to Victoria and ended up moving to his wife’s hometown of  Smithers in Northern , B.C.
“I’m from a small town in Cuba, so it was easy to get used to,” he said adding it means he gets to spend more time with his wife and  kids rather than wasting time on the road commuting.
“You don’t have to worry about traffic or traffic jams. And if I want to go on tour, the airport is only two minutes away rather than 20,” he said.