A thirty-hour trip home may have been next up for Gordie Tentrees but nothing was going to be left on the table after the final show of his latest UK tour. In a lengthy and extensive performing existence, wooing new towns is second nature for a Canadian where the travelling gene is as imperative as one born to share songs and stories. The call of the road is a must when your base is the town of Whitehorse located in the far north western Canadian province of Yukon. Learning that over a thousand shows have been played with existing touring partner Jaxon Haldene alongside hundreds more in different guises translates into distance being no obstacle. Therefore a shortish hop from Scotland to Birmingham would be small feed to a serial gig player. Not a minute was wasted to engage the fresh ears of a Kitchen Garden audience from a booming opening note to closing an hour and a quarter later with an audience singalong to Fred Eaglesmith's '49 Tons'.
An evening extending to almost two hours of riveting roots music began with an impromptu collaboration between Jaxon Haldane and English fiddle player Samantha Flounders. We learned they only hooked up at an earlier show on the tour and this was a fleeting chance to add extra depth to the core presentation. The opening forty-five minute set saw Haldane primarily deliver his own songs from banjo and guitar with Flounders' sweet sounding fiddle proving the perfect accompaniment. A little bit of Haldane's Winnipeg background was shared and it was obvious being in the presence of an assured and astute operator. This was to prove just the starter as impressively witnessed after the break.
There was a short pause before Haldane joined his long term musical partner to commence the main set. Immediately, a vocal burst from Tentrees jolted the music into action and things never looked back. A pattern soon emerged of Tentrees owning the vocal, song and banter part with his partner showing an extraordinary dexterity of stringed instrument playing. He constantly switched between a numerous array of guitar, banjo, mandolin, cigar box contraptions including one seemingly electrified and the bog standard DIY saw that occasionally pops up in folk instrument arsenals. Haldane's immense versatility contributed heavily to the show's success.
Gordie Tentrees has a backstory, charismatic personality and innate musical entertainment qualities to own the spotlight in invited spaces. The sound projects with voluminous intensity, likely schooled in spit and sawdust establishments sprinkled across the vast Canadian and US heartlands. The more refined confines of the Kitchen Garden's jungle room had a taste of life on the other side as we delved deeper into what forms Tentrees as an artist, performer and person.
The set raced along with intermittent pit stops of candid banter capable of piercing the heart of sterner souls. Connective admiration grew the more Tentrees unveiled the inner workings of a background and approach to life. Underpinning a gracious and increasingly warm demeanour was a batch of boisterous songs brought to life via the strumming of a couple of guitars and evoking the folk music spirit by punctuated harmonica blowing. Invited audience participation further sealed the deal and when the inevitable curtain was drawn, you felt invigorated by the music of an artist you knew a lot more about than a couple of hours previously. The evening ended with all three artists tangling wires in a cramped space for the encore, once again adding the depth offered earlier.
Although the UK has long featured on Gordie Tentrees' vast international touring schedule, this was a Birmingham debut and a fitting performance to engage with new people before embarking on the long haul back to Whitehorse. Without doubt, this intrepid Canadian will soon be off again bringing smiles, uplifting stories and fine music to fresh faces and seasoned fans. Plant your seeds far and wide and forests will grow.
