Kenneth Brown
of The Clarion
A trio of performers known as Sweet Alibi are coming to Kindersley next week to entertain and help people get over the hump of their work week.
In the sixth of eight concerts in the Kindersley and District Arts Council’s annual Stars for Saskatchewan series, Sweet Alibi will hit the stage at the Norman Ritchie Community Centre on Wednesday, March 21, starting at 8 p.m.
Winnipeg’s Sweet Alibi is a Western Canadian Music Award-winning group and its members have captivated audiences with their charming and personal performances. Sweet Alibi is Jess Rae Ayre, Amber Rose and Michelle Anderson, who blend soulful and powerful vocal harmonies with the sincerity of folk music and energy of roots music.
Tickets for arts council concerts are available at Lela’s Music Centre, LaBelle Boutique and Integra Tire. Tickets are also available online at www.ticketpro.ca and at the door if the concert has not sold out.
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The trio has released three studio albums starting with a debut self-titled release in 2011, and then followed it up with We’ve Got To in 2013 and Walking in the Dark in 2015. The group has performed more than 360 shows across Canada to accompany festival appearances and radio performances.
Rose, who spoke on the group’s behalf, said the trio is touring with a full band, so they will be accompanied on stage by a bass player and a percussionist. She said the percussionist does not play a full drum kit to avoid overpowering other musical and lyrical content.
Local arts council members would have booked Sweet Alibi after an Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Councils showcase and Rose said the group has performed at several showcases in the past, so the concept is nothing new to them.
She noted that she, Ayre and Anderson have all grown up in Winnipeg, but they have played in a long list of small communities before. She said audiences in small towns tend to be more appreciative, but they do not often get musicians passing through and they love when it happens.
Rose said the group is coming off a tour in Europe with shows in Germany and the Netherlands, so she anticipates the group’s tour in rural Saskatchewan to be relaxing. Sweet Alibi has been performing together since 2009.
The group writes about common personal experiences such as death, sobriety, moving away and being there for loved ones among other themes. Rose explained that they love telling stories and they love hearing other people’s stories after the shows.
Rose said the group is often inspired to write songs about stories they hear on the road. Sweet Alibi has been touring consistently since its first release in 2011 and she said touring is what the group enjoys doing the most.
“Touring is something we love doing,” she said, recognizing that the group is really looking forward to getting on the road in Saskatchewan and it is going to be fun. “I think we just all really enjoy being on stage together, and I think the audience can see that.”
She said she believes Sweet Alibi’s music hits a wide audience of younger and older people because the writing style is easy to listen to as well as fun. The music is family friendly, and the group also has fun with cover songs, she added.
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