MORRISBURG – How does a music group stay together for over 40 years and sound as good now as they did when they began their career? Concertgoers last Thursday found out firsthand as legendary Canadian group The Cowboy Junkies took to the St. Lawrence Acoustic Stage for a phenomenal sold-out show.
The band features siblings Margo Timmins (vocals), Michael Timmins (guitar), Peter Timmins (drums), and Alan Anton (bass), with Jeff Bird joining the group on the mandolin.
The Cowboy Junkies began their performance with songs from some of their newer albums, including their most recent release, Such Ferocious Beauty (2023). That album primarily dealt with the emotions involved with Timmins’ father’s health decline. “Real light stuff,” Margo joked with the crowd.
As the concert progressed, the group dug deeper into their vast catalogue of songs, reaching all the way back to their first album, Whites Off Earth Now (1985), with a stirring performance of Shining Moon that brought the group back to their early blues roots.
The group touched on all the different eras of their music career throughout the concert, and played two new songs that should feature on their upcoming unnamed studio project: Two Fierce Tigers and Big Orange Horse.
Unfettered by the technology some artists use in the recording studio, the Cowboy Junkies’ live performance was true to how the music was recorded. Their performance filled the Upper Canada Playhouse and enveloped the audience in a joyful listening experience.
Favourite songs like Sweet Jane and Blue Moon Revisited resonated in the theatre.
Playing off that evening’s extremely cold weather forecast, the group returned to the stage for a two-song encore — leading off with Fuck, I Hate the Cold from The Wilderness (2012), and finishing with Don’t Let It Bring You Down from Songs of the Recollection (2022).
From the thoughtful and masterful guitar playing of Michael to the smooth bass lines of Anton, the skillful beats of drummer Peter, the depth of sound from Bird, and the beautiful singing of Margo, the group’s performance was intense, but never exhausting. For a group that has been together for over 40 years, nothing was predictable or tired — something groups of similar longevity could learn from.
You did not have to be a fan of the group to attend the February 5 concert, but few could have left without becoming one. What a coup for the St. Lawrence Acoustic Stage as it continues to bring such talent to Morrisburg.
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