Tuesday 4/15 & Wednesday 4/16, The Jefferson Theater
Any music act that’s been writing, recording, and touring over the course of 40 years deserves respect. For Cowboy Junkies, the unwavering dedication to their craft equates to more than 20 studio records and countless other contributions to a pioneering style of what jerks like me in music journalism have lazily called alt-country, or folk rock.
The Toronto-based quartet created a singular vibe early on with whispery instrumentation supporting remarkably moving but sedate vocals; the original combination undoubtedly helped them to stand out from the brash tumult that defined many of their late-‘80s contemporaries. The quiet jazzy blues famously captured via a singular expensive ambisonic microphone on their debut record, and its revered follow-up, The Trinity Session, spurred the group’s success. The latter collection spawned CJ’s widely known track, a soft and sleepy cover of Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane,” which embodies that tiptoe approach.
Unlike, say, AC/DC, the band did not take the if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it approach to a lengthy career, and experimented with putting together records, the musical traditions they incorporated, and the personnel with whom they collaborated. The Cowboy Junkies are shockingly still the Timmins siblings (Margo on vocals; Michael on guitar; and Peter on drums) and Alan Anton on bass, but maybe the fact that the four are still at it is a testament to their regular use of guest musicians across many recordings and tours, folks who aided in keeping the ongoing musical relationship fresh.
Over the long discography, they didn’t always play as if the neighbors were about to complain (a reason given for their initially toned-down sound), but they’re not known for having turned into Throbbing Gristle at any point either.
It will be interesting to hear what the setlist holds in our neck of the woods, considering the band’s hefty catalog. I was pleasantly surprised to see that earlier this year, the group dug deep into tracks from 2023’s Such Ferocious Beauty, including the brooding “Hell Is Real.” You can also be sure Cowboy Junkies will pull out a number of blues, country, and classic rock tracks alongside “Sweet Jane,” to interpret them in the inimitable way that has made the group so beloved.
Publicity photo
