Get Spoon-fed at the Downbeat Lounge

Rae Spoon calls his unique style "new skool folk music" and "new old-timey music," although as of late it has been heading down a more dusty country road.

"I had been into more contemporary folk, but then I took up the banjo two years ago, and started to move to the more country end of things. My arrangements are getting more and more countrified," Spoon told the Halifax Daily News in 2004.

Label shmabel.

What ever you want to call it, Spoon's sparse instrumentation, disjointed phrasing, sincere and often witty lyrics and outlaw attitude span generations and appeal to those of all musical tastes who are starving to hear something real.

His songs tell the stories of life on the road, growing up in Alberta, questionable employment opportunities and heartache.

They often reference places he has travelled.

And although Spoon is young and slight of frame, his voice is powerful, often poignant and reflects an old and wise soul that relishes every experience.

The occasional yodel is thrown in once in a while for good measure, in case you forget you're listening to a country artist.

Spoon created a ripple in the Canadian roots-music scene as he broke the surface in 2001 with his distinctive contemporary perspective of the greats who have influenced him, namely Bob Dylan, Hank Williams and Woody Guthrie.

This ripple quickly turned into a wave with the release of his first album Throw Some Dirt on Me in 2003 and earned him the Galaxie Rising Star Award for Best New Artist and Penguin Eggs magazine's Critics "Favorite New Discovery" of 2003.

As this wave of popularity swelled, it carried Spoon across Canada eight times since 2003 as well as a tour of the East Coast of the United States, five weeks in the UK and three major folk festivals in Australia.

His grassroots style of self-promotion has made him friends across the country and in the music industry itself as he has shared the stage with the likes of Sarah Harmer, Emmylou Harris, the Be Good Tanyas and Ani Difranco.

2005 and 2006 saw the release of two more albums" Your Trailer Door and White Hearse Comes Rolling respectively.

A large portion of his most recent tour was travelled via white hearse and the latest album has been heralded as Spoon's best work to date by peers and critics alike.

With this, his third album, he has turned the miles and stories into 10 solid new songs that will leave you tapping your toes and hungry for more. - Shayne Aeichele, The Klondike Sun, 2006

I will admit I was more than a bit disappointed when Trevor Harding of the Downbeat Lounge told me Spoon would not be rolling into town in the famous white hearse, but would be travelling in his usual manner.

Greyhound bus.

Regardless of his means of arrival, Rae Spoon will be performing at the Downbeat Lounge this Saturday evening, September 16, starting at 11 p.m.

He will be doing what he does best - taking the audience on an unforgettable journey through music, from folk to waltz to blues to bluegrass.

Oh yeah, and country too.

Two special guests will partake in the evening, as talented local singer/songwriter Shannon Moan opens the show and DJ Person 26 closes out the night.

To see some images from Spoon's last visit to Sault Ste. Marie, please view the attached photo gallery.