Bush Chords, Andrea BettgerSA国际影视传媒檚 new album, premiered in Yellowknife's Back Bay in perhaps the most Northern fashion possible with a paddle-in concert launch earlier this month.
The album, a mix of instrumental and vocals, is inspired by the stories of BettgerSA国际影视传媒檚 own Northern experiences.
SA国际影视传媒淎nimals that live here, the sunsets that I experienced out on the lake, the birch syrup season in the spring, all stories from my experiences through music,SA国际影视传媒� she said.
Most of the songs on the album were written while Bettger completed an artists in residence program at the Banff Centre for the Arts, she said. When she returned to Yellowknife in the fall, Bettger and the band rehearsed and traveled to Ladysmith, B.C. in January to record.
While Bettger says her favourite track on the album depends on the day, one highlight from Bush Chords was playing with a string quartet.
Since she played a lot of chamber music growing up, a form of classical music often involving a string quartet, Bettger says itSA国际影视传媒檚 a kind of marriage of two worlds.
SA国际影视传媒淭his one from the past playing classical music with a string group, and then now, having a band and and having those two things exist together, being able to write the transcriptions for the string group, and then have that join in with what I've been working hard on in the past bunch of years with the group here in Yellowknife.SA国际影视传媒�
A string group joined Bettger and band at the Back Bay concert on Aug. 10 as well, so they could recreate for a live audience what had been recorded in the studio.
Even though the idea for a paddle-in concert was a way to maintain a proper socially distant audience while having a live performance, Bettger says that they hope to make it an annual event, SA国际影视传媒淐ovid or not.SA国际影视传媒�
SA国际影视传媒淚t's just a beautiful way to play outside,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淭he way the sound carries across the water and sitting in a canoe, if I were in the audience I'd love to do that too. Sit in the water and watch people up on the dock play.SA国际影视传媒�
Between her Bush Chords concert, Buskers in the Bush, and playing for Leela Gilday at the Wiliideh site on the Yellowknife River, Bettger has been able to play three live shows in the last few weeks.
SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 given me a lift, for sure,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淵ou can't compare playing online stuff. Actually having reactions and seeing people's faces brings energy to what you're doing.SA国际影视传媒�
Bettger will be performing again at a livestream concert featuring Carmen Braden hosted by the Northern Arts and Culture Centre on Aug. 29.
Bush Chords is a 13 track album, but the band recorded 15 tracks and two will be released in the fall as singles. One song, called Getting the Kids to School on Time, Bettger hopes to release on the first day of school. The other she anticipates will come out sometime in October.
Bush Chords is available on all major streaming platforms and albums can be bought at Weaver and Devore, the Down to Earth Gallery, and the Gallery of the Midnight Sun.
