I first discovered Fred J. Eaglesmith in 1989 at the Festival of Friends in Gage Park, Hamilton. My band, Grievous Angels, was playing there too, and we ended up swapping songs on a workshop stage with Fred and his band at the time, the Flying Squirrels.

To say that our eyes were opened that sunny Saturday would be an understatement. Fred and his trio played one amazing song after another, while taunting the audience and insisting on introducing our frontman, Charlie Angus, as ‘Chuck Norris’ when it was our turn to share a song. 

Like so many others before and since, we almost immediately became Fred Heads: die-hard fans.

While many people are familiar with the work of Eaglesmith, there are still some people who have not had the pleasure of discovering this 68-year-old Canadian gem. 

Since that day I have seen Fred many times; we have played at several festivals together. I have studied his albums, and heard many, many versions of his songs sung with varying degrees of gusto at song circles and campfire singalongs.

While many people are familiar with the work of Eaglesmith, there are still some people who have not had the pleasure of discovering this 68-year-old Canadian gem. 

Those in the know will tell you the familiar story: a young boy from a large religious family discovers Elvis. He starts playing guitar and writing songs at age 10, then runs away from home at 16 with dreams of becoming the next King of Rock and Roll, or at least the next Woody Guthrie.

Fred recorded his first album in 1980 at the age of 23. By 1992 he solidified his first touring and recording band, the trio Flying Squirrels. The original lineup included bassist Ralph Schipper who worked with Eaglesmith from 1975 until he retired from touring in the year 2000, and multi-instrumentalist Willie P. Bennett.

Bennett was himself an accomplished singer-songwriter with many classic songs and several albums recorded under his own name when he joined Eaglesmith’s band. The partnership between these men was exceptionally strong. Bennett stayed in the band for over 20 years playing mandolin, harmonica, and singing back-up vocals until health problems prevented him from touring. Sadly, Willie P Bennett passed away in 2007.

Eaglesmith’s songwriting has evolved and developed over the years, but at heart his songs manage to retain a strong moral core. While players have come and gone and the name of the band has changed more than a few times over the past 40 years, the songwriting and storytelling remain unique. 

They are tender, sometimes rocking, songs about the struggles of rural people and men of a certain age and situation. Characters are often facing times of isolation and quiet despair with resignation and a degree of humour.

As Eaglesmith’s long-time producer Scott Merritt has noted, the stories Eaglesmith tells are believably told. When he sings he convinces the listener that the songs come from lived experience.

On records, the music has changed with each collection. Over the years, recording engineer and producer Merritt has employed techniques that sonically enhance the stories. 

Early albums like the Juno-Award-winning Drive-in Movie (1997) were traditional studio recordings, but Dusty (2004) has Fred singing with a string quartet. For the album 6 Volts (2021), the entire band recorded live through one vintage RCA ribbon microphone into a mono-analogue tape recorder. 

The album Cha Cha Cha (2010) is self-explanatory.

Live, the music of Fred Eaglesmith is not folk, although it is folk-based. It is not country either, even though some of today’s biggest country stars like Alan Jackson and Toby Keith have recorded Eaglesmith’s songs.  Probably the best classification might be ‘alternative’, or perhaps what is termed ‘outlaw country’ south of the border. That said, the show on Saturday night was definitely a Rock-and-Roll event. Eaglesmith brought a collection of old and new songs to life with a band that made a joyful noise.

A Continuous Career

Fred himself was in fine form, if a little bit more mellow than in years gone by. Sure, he riffed like Lenny Bruce on familiar Fred themes like teachers, the Blue Skies folk festival crowds and how much he dislikes the Compass Point Theatre in Nepean. 

But for the most part, the often miserable bastard of yore seems like a thing of the past. 

He performed a rap song about losing his phone complete with an interpretive dance, and got the audience to participate in a Christmas sing-along about elves. 

Perhaps part of the mellowing is a result of Eaglesmith’s 12-year marriage to singer/multi-instrumentalist Tiff Ginn. He talked about the joys of love and matrimony a lot on Saturday night.

Ginn, a Texan and talented singer-songwriter, along with her multi-instrumentalist sister Britani, joined Fred’s band in 2009. Fred and Tiff began writing songs and performing together while Britani retired. In 2014 Fred got married, broke up his band and began touring with Tiff as a duo. 

After a four-year hiatus beginning in 2020, Fred now has a new band that prominently features his wife’s amazing singing, guitar, ukulele and accordion. Her presence, musicianship and energy add a depth to the songs last seen when Willie P. Bennett was a member of the band.

Eaglesmith noted he has gone through 12 tour buses over the course of his career. He told the audience how much he loves travelling around to as many small and midsize communities as he can, places like Sioux Lookout and Manitoulin Island.

He would rather travel to any small town where a few hundred people would be happy to see him than to play in huge stadiums. He spoke of the joy of being a 68-year- old fronting a great rock and roll band.

And what a great band it is. The performance was totally spontaneous. Nothing Fred said sounded rehearsed, even if he did explore many of his favourite tropes during his often achingly comic monologues.

While The Regent is still a fantastic venue to enjoy a movie, the acoustics and sightlines are perfect for live music and spoken word events. Many great concerts are booked. Don’t miss out on an opportunity to enjoy this fantastic local setting.