*UPDATE: this show has been postponed and a new date has not yet been set. All tickets will be automatically refunded.
Frigid winter notwithstanding, Diyet is ready to warm hearts during her Jan. 26 [This concert date was postponed on Jan. 18) set at the Arden Theatre. Speaking on behalf of her band The Love Soldiers (which includes husband and multi-talented collaborator Robert van Lieshout and producer/also multi-talented performer Bob Hamilton), the lead singer-songwriter from the Arctic North expressed how there is not only a fair bit of catching up to do in terms of performing but also a bit of simply even having the whole band back together.
COVID has meant not always getting together for a proper jam.
“It's been a hard one. I think for [all of] 2020 we got together a handful of times with Bob just to play and rehearse. We've done the recorded stuff and some online concerts and things like that, but we haven't had that time that we usually get to put into getting together rehearsing the show,” she said, elaborating on how the larger social and societal dynamics of the pandemic affected her.
“Two things happened: one is I felt really rusty playing together again. There was a lot of, ‘Whoa … what is this?’ The other thing that happened was it felt kind of new again, in a sense. It was exciting, like wow. We'd been touring so much up until the pandemic started. You get into a rhythm, and then once we're out of that rhythm, there was a lot of excitement that happened around playing songs again and discovering things that we forgot.”
Diyet & The Love Soldiers hail from Yukon, so don’t expect any pity because of Alberta’s recent cold snap. Instead, welcome them for they will surely bring a refreshing twang of alternative country, folk, roots, and traditional music featuring some delightful stories grounded in Diyet’s world view and life north of the 60th parallel. It will definitely be a treat to listen to her sing in her native Southern Tutchone, though she will alternate with some songs in English.
The melodies they bring will fill your soul even long after the show lets out.
Diyet is ardently looking forward to the show. Though she and The Love Soldiers were able to come to Alberta for some dates in the fall, it was the first time in close to 18 months that they had even left Yukon.
“There is really something about playing music, especially with other people and playing together and, especially you can play in front of other people. There's a chemistry and a magic that happens. There's a lot of times you just get so lost in what you're doing. It is so joyful. It brings so much; it gives you so much. You give that out, and then you get it back. It's a wonderful exchange.”
Diyet & The Love Soldiers were set to perform at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 26 but this concert date has now been postponed. Call the Arden box office at 780-459-1542 or at stalbert.ca/exp/arden/tickets-box-office.
