Walk Off the Earth wows crowds at Seven Music Fest

Nothing discouraged music fans from attending St. Albert’s second annual Seven Music Festival last Saturday – neither black clouds, lightning strikes, claps of thunder or drizzling rain.

Close to 2,000 patrons braved the sun and rain, and were rewarded with a dazzling performance from featured headliners Walk Off the Earth, newly returned from a month-long European tour.

Known for their mashups of popular cover tunes spanning a wide range of diverse genres, and for flashy, energetic performances, they did not disappoint.

The five core members, along with a couple technicians playing instruments, ran from one side of the huge stage to the other delivering a high-octane performance that never let up.

WOTE wowed the crowd with stage design gimmickry that projected flashing lights and massive plumes of fog shooting into the air.

But underneath the razzmatazz WOTE is a highly talented band with an act that flows fluidly and seamlessly.

The polished choreography was completely unpredictable. They kept the crowd engaged switching instruments and occasionally threw the odd guitar across the stage only to be caught neatly by a stagehand.

WOTE formed a drum circle, added sexy horns to arrangements and showcased the smaller ukulele. Generally they entertained with originals including Boomerang, memorables such as Happy and Material Girl as well as a few nonsense songs that engaged crowds packed thickly around the stage.

As the performance ended, they hopped off the stage and snap chatted a video with crowds and posted it immediately on the Internet.

When the stage went dark, the crowd chanted “Sing It All The Way,” (last album’s title) over and over until the band returned on stage for mind-blowing encore.

Producer Barry Bailey was very faithful in terms of creating a diverse lineup in terms of range and dynamics.

The evening opened with The Carolines, a singing trio similar to the Maguire Sisters, known for their sweet voices and identical polka dot outfits. They started with familiars such as Blue Moon of Kentucky and Walk The Line.

A crowd favourite was the haunting a cappella piece In the Pines originally sung by such diverse artists as Dolly Parton and Nirvana. Perhaps their most romantic number was Sincerely, a slow 50s dance number that gradually built without ever losing it’s lighter-than-air vibe.

Eyes on Ivan followed with a series of soft ballads and slightly punchier numbers that covered both traditional and original categories. Although the band was fairly energetic, it lacked a cohesion that gives polished bands a distinct personality.

Calgary troubadour Leeroy Stagger, with his down to earth personality and singing style, delivered a set of very personal poetic lyrics and music that stayed true to his origins.

Not afraid to poke fun at Trump or speak about political-social issues close to his heart, Stagger, wearing his signature pork pie hat, was probably the heaviest vocalist in the lineup.

However, the family audience ranging from newborn babes to seniors, could easily relate to his man-on-the-street songs, and gave the alt-country singer a hearty round of applause for a number dedicated to his brother while he was lying in a coma.

Doubling the energy on stage, Stagger brought out Joey Landreth of The Bros. Landreth to sing a couple of songs with him.

Immediately after the set, black clouds scuttling across the western sky, coupled with several lightning strikes and crackles of thunder forced a 40-minute shutdown. The pop band The Elwins was slated to play during the shutdown, but ended up being cut from the performance.

“We couldn’t have been more disappointed and we will do all we can to get them back,” said Bailey after the concert.

The Winnipeg based Bros. Landreth opened with Paul McCartney’s Let ‘Em In and kept up a relaxed, fun pace throughout their blues-roots set. While songs such as Angelina were completely serious, it was pretty obvious spokesperson Joey Landreth loved to joke.

At one point he encouraged the audience to stop and check out the four-piece band’s CDs.

“If you like our music, buy our CD. If you don’t like our music, buy a CD and give it to someone you don’t like,” he laughed.

Vancouver-based Synth-pop band Dear Rouge wasted no time in getting the crowd revved up. Vocalist Danielle McTaggart held the audiences attention with her high-energy performance.

She launched into a fevered act with This is My Time. There was a certain frenetic madness to her shtick as she ran across the stage, skipped, crouched, rolled on the stage floor and jumped into the audience.

And the three piece-support musicians, that included her husband Drew, matched her pace with a driving beat.

Although the final attendance count is not complete, Bailey estimates about 2,000 music fans attended the festival. And while many St. Albertans attended the event, many more from surrounding areas showed up, a sign the festival is picking up buzz.

“Many comments I received are that people are happy to have a festival in St. Albert they can call their own and walk to or bicycle to it. People liked the site, the food trucks and the variety of music. Most of the feedback I received was how amazing Walk Off the Earth was as a live act. They are very high energy and very engaged with a crowd, ” Bailey said.

The 2017 Seven Music Fest is already booked for July 8.