Rising Bluegrass Stars The Slocan Ramblers Make Their Grand Ole Opry Debut
IBMA and Canadian Folk Music Award winners to perform live at the Opry Saturday, November 11
NASHVILLE, TN – October 23, 2023 – Canadian bluegrass band The Slocan Rambers are excited to announce their debut performance at the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday, November 11. The band will take to “Country Music’s Biggest Stage” and share the evening’s bill alongside country luminaries including Bill Anderson, The Oak Ridge Boys, and more. Tickets are on sale now, and the performance will air live on Circle TV, Facebook Live, YouTube, and WSM Radio. More information is available at the Opry’s website.
As recent recipients of the Canadian Folk Music Awards’ Ensemble of the Year (2023) and the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Momentum Band of the Year Award (2020), The Slocan Ramblers continue to gain traction in the North American bluegrass music scene and beyond. The group also just wrapped a summer-long tour that included iconic festivals including ROMP, Red Wing Music Festival, and a sold-out show at Nashville’s historic Station Inn.
“Being a kid who started playing the banjo at the age of ten, playing on the Opry was something I literally daydreamed about,” said Frank Evans, Slocan’s banjo player and vocalist. “My dad had a record of all the Opry stars we used to listen to growing up that came with a square piece of the original curtain. I remember thinking that was the coolest thing. It’s hard to put into words the honor I feel being able to perform on that stage.”
Following their Opry debut, the band will stay in Nashville to record two new singles with 2024 release dates. The first single is Gordon Lightfoot’s “Sundown” in honor of the late Bluegrass legend who served as one of Canada’s biggest influences on the genre. The second single, “Forever Has Come to an End,” was written by Nashville songwriters Buddy and Julie Miller, and serves as a perfect complement to the band’s signature, “fast-ripping” bluegrass sound. Both tracks will feature 14-time GRAMMY® Award-winning dobro legend Jerry Douglas.
About The Slocan Ramblers
The Slocan Ramblers (2020 IBMA Momentum Band of the Year Award Winner & 2019 Juno Award Nominee) are Canada’s bluegrass band to watch. Rooted in tradition, fearlessly creative and possessing a bold, dynamic sound, The Slocans have become a leading light of today’s acoustic music scene. With a reputation for energetic live shows, impeccable musicianship and an uncanny ability to convert anyone within earshot into a lifelong fan, The Slocans have been winning over audiences from Merlefest to RockyGrass and everywhere in between.
On their new album Up the Hill and Through the Fog, the all-star Canadian roots ensemble channels the past two years of loss into a surprisingly joyous collection of twelve songs intended to uplift and help make sense of the world. Bluegrass music is nothing short of catharsis for The Slocan Ramblers.
Though the past few years have brought the group accolades, that same momentum was abruptly halted by the pandemic’s brutal impact on live music. Over the next year, bandmates Adrian Gross and Darryl Poulsen both lost close family members and their bassist decided to step back to spend more time at home. They channeled these tumultuous changes into some of their most honest and direct compositions yet. Up the Hill and Through the Fog showcases the breadth of their varied influences while staying true to their roots in the rough and tumble bluegrass scene of Toronto’s no-nonsense bars and dancehalls. From Frank Evan’s classic, dusty vocals, to John Hartford-inspired lyrical musings, it’s all buttressed by impeccable musicianship, and emotionally raw songwriting from the three core members. This is roots music without pretension, art powerful enough to cut through the fog of the past two years and chart a more hopeful course forward.
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