MUSIC
The Harbourfront Theatre is pleased to welcome back to its stage Nathan Wiley and Saddle River.
Speaking about his career Nathan Wiley says, “The longer I do it, the more I can get into it,” he says. “I haven’t had a day job in ages, and when I gave that up it was in order to make song writing a full time thing. I think I just pushed myself in that direction and when it came time to do a third record…I just kept writing…and the songs kept piling up.”
Wiley returns to the Summerside venue having recently come home from the East Coast Music Awards in Fredericton with his third ECMA award, in the Alternative Album of the Year category for The City Destroyed Me.
Fellow ECMA recipients Saddle River took home this year’s title of Best Bluegrass Recording in the February ceremony. Saddle River began as a Summerside, P.E.I project, taking their name from the Canadian cult film Road To Saddle River. In its present form, the string band is comprised of James Phillips (guitar and mandolin), Mike Dixon (guitar), Troy MacArthur (banjo), and Tom DesRoches (bass), with all four contributing to the group’s vocals.
Playing strictly for fun, the group explored the traditions of old time country and bluegrass. Their enthusiasm carried over to their audiences and the group began to take on a life of its own. They released a self-titled debut CD and won 2007 PEI Music Awards for top Bluegrass/Country album and best new artist recording. Show starts at 8 pm.