Juno Award winning Latin guitarist and singer Oscar Lopez’s career has come full circle.
he opens the Lethbridge Folk Club’s new season, Sept. 17 at the Lethbridge College Cave.
Lopez plays private, corporate functions, festivals as well as smaller venues like Calgary hot spots the Blues Can and the Ironwood.
“it’s come full circle. I was playing smaller clubs for 200 people and then I started playing big festivals like the Edmonton Folk Festival for 20,000. It’s a cool thing,” said Lopez, from his Calgary home, where he has been concentrating of taking care of his 10-year-old son.
“I have a little bambino at home, so I’ve been taking care of him. I love being a father and I’m an older father,” Lopez said. He has called Canada home since 1979 and moved to Calgary in 1981.
“People love to see me in a smaller club. People like to see me up close,” he continued.
He appreciates the recognition and higher profile that winning two Juno Awards has given him, but playing a variety of different shows still keeps him humble.
“It’s a wonderful feeling. It’s not just the style of the object itself, it’s the symbolic expression to have received them,” he said.
“I can show them to my grandkids and show them what I did,’ he said.
he has played Lethbridge a couple of times.
“I played , I think, Carole’s Cafe once and I played Casa. I used to travel a lot, but as I‘ve grown older I’ve had to slow down. I conserve my energy to play,” he said, adding it is difficult to remember the details of specific gigs.
He said he is working on new music, but has no plans to record a new album yet.
“I just let it happen when it happens. It has to happen organically. The songs are inside me,” he said, adding he doesn’t just want to force them out, just to put out a new CD.
“It’s baby steps,” he continued.
He is taking care of himself and taking care of his son who is also a budding musician.
“He’s only 10, and he plays piano very well. I’m taking care of him and myself. I stopped smoking our years ago and me and his mother are separated. So I have him one week and she has him the next,” he said.
He is excited to play for the Lethbridge Folk Club.
“It will be unpredictable. I invite people to take a chance and come and see the show,” he said.
Tickets for Lethbridge Folk Club shows are available at Casa for $30 (including the year’s membership.) Student tickets are only available at the door. As of press time only 30 had been sold. The show starts at 8 p.m. sharp. Dale Ketcheson opens the show.
