MACKLIN — Two local art councils are excited to welcome The Wardens to their communities: Nov. 1 at the Luseland Homecoming Hall and Nov. 2 at the Macklin Credit Union Legacy Centre.
The Wardens don’t just sing about the land, they’re part of it. Band founders, Scott Ward and Ray Schmidt, uses their musical talents to regale stories and songs that have risen from the very land they’ve protected as Canadian national park wardens.
Ward, who served as a park warden for over 30 years, shares what life was like in the deep wilderness of the Canadian Rockies as a horseman, search-and-rescue dog handler and technical alpine specialist.
Schmidt is currently working with grizzly bears and the abundance of wildlife within the borders of the Jasper National Park. When on stage, Schmidt’s high lonesome sound of the Kentucky hills amplifies the spirit of The Wardens’ mountain-style music.
The trio is rounded out with fiddler Scott Duncan, who has been surrounded by the sound of the fiddle from an early age. His grandfather, Herb Duncan, played fiddle for over 100 years in Maple Creek. Although Herb passed away in 2021 at the age of 106, his music is still alive through the bow strokes of Scott.
The band’s haunting three-part harmonies and chilling tales blend folk, roots and western styles. Celebrating the return of wild buffalo, wrangling grizzly bears, lonely nights on the pack trail and reflecting on an environment in crisis, a performance by The Wardens has been dubbed "the quintessential mountain-culture concert experience."
For the Luseland show, advance tickets will be available at the Luseland Credit Union and at the door. Doors will open at 6 p.m. for those interested in dining before the show, with pulled pork, beans, coleslaw and dessert on the menu. The show will start at 7:30 p.m.
In Macklin, doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for a smokey on a bun and baked bean supper for $5. Tickets will be available at the door: $25 for adults, $15 for students.
