From Metalhead to Country Convert: A Sunday with Corb Lund

I have a confession. Growing up in Saskatchewan, I did not like country music. As you can imagine, this caused a lot of problems, but I stuck to my love of Guns N’ Roses and Metallica.

Fast forward forty years. My musical tastes have veered much more towards Waylon, Johnny and all things country.

It is no wonder that I was eagerly looking forward to a concert with country music star Corb Lund in Carleton Place.

Lund was playing in Carleton Place as part of the Festival of Small Halls music series.

A buddy and I headed out to Carleton Place, with our first stop being to grab some lunch. We decided to check out the Sagar Indian Cuisine. The restaurant served up delicious naan bread, butter chicken and lamb curry.

With our stomachs full, we headed over to the Carleton Place Arena to see Lund. At first, I was surprised the show would be at the arena. Even though Lund is a star, I was not sure he would fill a hockey arena.

To my surprise, there was a large hall above the arena that made for a perfect space.

The hall was adorned with Christmas garlands. The Carleton Place Civitan Club was selling coffee, muffins, and cookies that I am sure were homemade.

The crowd featured a very healthy smattering of cowboy hats and western wear. There were many, including myself, from the city who also enjoyed Lund’s music.

Corb took to the stage with just an acoustic guitar and immediately captivated everyone. He sang about heartache, travel, historical events and of course, whisky. I loved the fact that his songs did not fit into any formula. He was often self-deprecating, sarcastically saying, “I bet this song will be a big hit on country radio”.

He also frequently interacted with the audience, telling funny stories from the road and just sharing what it was like to grow up in rural Alberta.

When Lund returned, he set into a few songs with a historical theme. My favourite was “Horse Soldier, Horse Soldier”, where he detailed soldiers ranging from Cossacks to the U.S. Cavalry.

The biggest crowd reaction was for “Rye Whiskey. Time to Switch to Whiskey”. Everyone sang along as Lund turned the microphone towards the audience.

In perhaps the most Canadian of moments possible, the Carleton Place Canadians were playing a junior A hockey game just beneath the hall. Whenever the Canadians scored, it was punctuated by a loud air horn, which happened a couple of times. It was brief and not overpowering, but I couldn’t help thinking Stompin’ Tom would have been proud. It was a Carleton Place Sunday afternoon instead of a “Sudbury Saturday Night”.

There is still time to catch a Festival of Small Halls concert. A few concerts include Ben Caplan in Westport, Ontario and The Once at the Carleton Place Arena.

For more information about Festival of Small Halls, check out ontariosmallhalls.com

Photo: David McClister