I first met James Keelaghan at the Rogue Folk Club in Vancouver in 1989 or 1990. He was already an established performer with a large fan base. My band, Grievous Angels, was on a mission to discover Canada by crossing the country in a battered van as often as we could. James Keelaghan was doing the same thing. Over the next few years we would meet at different venues and folk festivals across Canada.

At the time, Canadians were grappling with their identity. What did it mean to be a Canadian? This was the time of Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and Brian Mulroney. Dark times. We listened to Peter Gzowski on CBC radio and argued amongst ourselves. The West, Quebec, the Maritimes, and Ontario were all pieces of the puzzle we were trying to put together. Did they even fit together at all? What about Newfoundland?

Is there one Canada or many? Stan Rogers, our great hero, had passed away, and Stompin’ Tom had retired. A new generation was reaching for the torch they had passed. Meeting our peers from different parts of the country was an amazing experience, especially if it happened somewhere like Yellowknife or Whitehorse and there were boxes of warm beer for the performers. And everyone stopped to listen when James sang a song.

So, needless to say, the crowd that braved a blizzard earlier this month to gather at the Sergeants Mess at Base31 were rewarded with a powerful evening of stories and songs from one of Canada’s best singer-songwriters.

The bass work and background vocals of David Woodhead, himself a legend in Canadian music, met Keelaghan’s guitar playing and beautiful baritone voice more than halfway. As a bass player myself I have always been in awe of both Woodhead’s sound and melodic inventiveness.

Coming from a large immigrant family of Gaelic and Celtic descent, Keelaghan acquired his interest in history and politics around the dinner table. Having a large family also ensured that he was exposed to the music beloved by his older siblings. Bruce Cockburn and Gordon Lightfoot albums were just as important as the Dubliners and Clancy Brothers records his parents listened to. He also developed a deep love and respect for the legacy of the late Stan Rogers.

Originally from Calgary and now living in Ontario, James Keelaghan has been writing, performing and recording for well over 35 years. His lyrics are beautifully crafted and reflect a deep love of history and character. They examine the way people react to situations in their daily lives and interact with each other. Many of them reflect the search for the elusive Canadian Identity.

During the Base31 performance, Keelaghan ranged through a selection of songs from almost all of his 13 albums. One of the most poignant was Kiri’s Piano. 

The song tells the story of a mother confronting her imminent internment as a Japanese Canadian during the Second World War. Told from the perspective of a neighbour who covets Kiri’s piano, it examines the banality of evil and how Kiri thwarted the attempt to take her prized possession. 

To add further gravitas, James played it on a 1905 Martin 0-21 guitar that once belonged to a sailor, Eugene Peck, who was killed at Pearl Harbour. His guitar was rescued from the battleship Nevada and returned to Peck’s family, who later willed it to Keelaghan.

Other highlights included the song Hillcrest Mine, about the worst coal mining disaster in Canadian history, in the Crowsnest Pass region of Alberta in 1914. Red River Rising is about the 1870 uprising of the Metis people against the government of Canada in the Red River Valley.

The duo also played a stunning version of Gordon Lightfoot’s Canadian Railroad Trilogy, with both Keelaghan and Woodhead sharing warm reminiscences of time spent in the company of Gordon Lightfoot.

During the concert there were stories of travel in Ireland and many parts of Europe. They sang one of my favourite Keelaghan songs, about the bravery and dedication of the firefighters who fought the 1949 Mann Gulch wildfire in Montana, which claimed the lives of 13 firefighters. This song is just as relevant today, as firefighters continue to risk their lives as huge swaths of forests throughout North America are consumed each year by wildfire.

Both the songs and the stories captivated the audience. Throughout the evening there was much laughter — and moments when there was hardly a dry eye in the house. As a duo the interplay between these two musicians was extraordinary, at times verging on telepathy. 

The impression that remained at the end of the evening is that Keelaghan and Woodhead are singing the stories that reflect the Canadian Identity. They are joyfully showing us our history in song. I hope they return to Base31 very soon.