Playing in a band for popular singers, it鈥檚 easy to avoid the spotlight.
That was the basis for the band name Ghostboy, a duo composed of critically acclaimed musicians Denis Dufresne and Aaron Young who will take to the stage in Humboldt later this month.
Dufresne, an award-winning fiddler and mandolin player from Medicine Hat, Alta., and Aaron, a prolific guitar player from Prince Albert, first played together in world music band Barrage at the age of 20.
鈥淲e played on every PBS station and had toured the world by the time we were 25 or 26 years old,鈥� said Dufresne.
鈥淸Young] went off to the jazz world and I went off to the country world.鈥�
Fast forward to three years ago when the pair moved about three blocks away from each other.
鈥淲e started playing music together again and that鈥檚 how this all started. 鈥楪hostboy鈥� comes from the fact that basically our day jobs are playing music for relatively famous people, so when you鈥檙e on stage with a really well-known singer, quite often the band doesn鈥檛 really get recognized.鈥�
That isn鈥檛 the case, though, when the pair tours through small Canadian towns with their brand of country music that is a throwback to 1970s country with a modern twist.
鈥淕etting the music out there, getting to these small town communities, it鈥檚 kind of a different thing,鈥� said Dufresne.
鈥淲hen you put a show on in the big city, you put it on and then you leave. In a small town, you get invested in the people who come to your show. You get to go out in the audience after and meet people, and find out what their likes are and what they don鈥檛 like so much.鈥�
When it comes to writing their own original songs, Dufresne said a lot of them are inspired by 鈥測our token country stuff.鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 some leaving songs, there鈥檚 some love songs 鈥� a lot is based on our relationships,鈥� said Dufresne.
Audiences can expect a high energy show with world class playing from Ghostboy. The duo will perform some of their own tunes as well as covers of songs by artists they have backed or been influenced by.
Ghostboy will take the stage at 7:30 pm on Thursday, Oct. 18 at the Humboldt and District Gallery. Later, they'll perform at the聽Community Legion Hall in聽Wadena at 2 pm on Sunday, Oct. 21.
