Now celebrating 40 years, Cowboy Junkies will perform Saturday, Nov. 14, at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.
The band is celebrating its long career with a triple-vinyl retrospective album called “Open to Beauty,” featuring a selection of songs from 2000 onward, including material from its most recent release, “Such Ferocious Beauty.”
Initially, the band was inspired by the dark, spacious qualities of post-punk and goth groups such as Siouxsie and the Banshees and Joy Division. But the musicians soon settled on an organic, rootsy country-blues sound with hints of psychedelia. Their hushed sound developed from playing quietly in their garage rehearsal space so as not to disturb their neighbors.
Formed in 1985, the band made a huge impact on the indie rock scene with its second album, “The Trinity Session,” recorded with a single ambisonic microphone at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Toronto.
“Part of going to Trinity Church was because I couldn’t afford a studio. We continue to do as much recording as live as possible, said guitarist and songwriter Michael Timmins. “Playing together for 40 years, you develop a certain chemistry. You react to each other, and that lends the track your personality. We want people to hear the band when they listen to our record,” Timmins said.
The album included a serene version of Lou Reed’s “Sweet Jane,” later used in Oliver Stone’s “Natural Born Killers,” TV’s “Stranger Things” and many other productions.
When asked if Reed ever heard their version, Timmins said:
“Yes. He said it was the best and most authentic version he’d ever heard. The record company used that quote on the cover. He really appreciated the bridge section, which had been taken out of his version. We met him a few years after the record had come out, and he said he’d started to play it live again. He thanked us for that, which was pretty amazing.”
The band also toured with legendary singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt while promoting 1990’s “The Caution Horses.” Cowboy Junkies continued recording, producing 16 studio albums and five live albums.
Reflecting on the band’s earliest days, Timmins recalled how his sister Margo had not envisioned herself as a singer.
“Margo was reluctant. Alan and I were working on this next project, which had this more rootsy kind of direction. We knew Margo could sing because, as a kid, she always got the lead in the school musical. She wasn’t looking to do that as a career, but we knew she had a voice, so we invited her to the practice. She quickly fit right in.”
Asked how the musicians view their Canadian identity, Timmins said:
“‘The Trinity Sessions’ got our name around the world. So, we consider ourselves a Canadian band, but we’re not Canadian-centric.”
Over the years, the band members grew up, married, took on mortgages and had children. But the lineup has remained essentially unchanged, with singer Margo Timmins, guitarist and songwriter Michael Timmins, drummer Peter Timmins and bassist Alan Anton.
Timmins said the Mahaiwe audience can expect old favorites as well as new material.
“After 40 years, you have people who have come to the band at different points along the way.You’re bound to hear something you know and a lot you don’t, which is always a good thing at a live show, I think. Hopefully you walk away smiling and inspired.”For tickets, visit mahaiwe.org.
