ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Labrador-based folk/pop/rock band Silver Wolf band made the trek from the Big Land to the big city in February for MusicNL week, and local audiences – especially relocated Labradorians – were excited to take in a show at The Black Sheep on George Street on Friday.
Hailing from Happy Valley-Goose Bay, the members of the four-piece band are no strangers to St. John’s audiences, having previously performed at the Spirit Song Festival, Petapan First Light Indigenous Arts Symposium, and Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival.
It was immediately obvious the band, consisting of Jamie Jackman (guitar, lead vocals), Matthew Barrett (piano, keyboards), Brandon Pardy (bass), and Justin Jackman (drums, percussion), had a lot of friends in the audience Friday, as the crowd began to cheer as the band tuned up.
Silver Wolf Band opened the set with “Storms,” off their latest album “Storms & Prayers,” released in August of 2020.
Though the album is only about six months old, it’s been in heavy rotation for many, as evidenced by the crowd singing along.
They followed with “Estuary,” another selection from their 2020 release, before going into “Woman of Labrador,” a selection from the Great Canadian Songbook.
Penned by UK-born Canadian folk singer Andy Vine, this song has also been covered by Newfoundland legends Figgy Duff and Shirley Montague, who is also well-known for writing the music for the"Ode to Labrador "and as founder of Trails, Tales and Tunes, a festival in which Silver Wolf Band has also performed.
The group’s set bounced around its three-album discography, playing songs such as “Butter and Snow” off 2018’s “Pockets Filled with Rocks,” “Violets & Roses” from 2010’s “Jam the Blues,” and many, many, more, with a good few covers thrown in.
The audience thoroughly enjoyed their renditions of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Have You Ever Seen The Rain,” Spirit of the West’s “And If Venice Is Sinking” and “Helpless” by The Band, so much so that the venue had to quickly enforce the “no dancing” rule, as patrons wandered from their tables to the dance floor.
Despite the audience maybe not being on its best behaviour per se, the band treated those in attendance with a brand new song titled “Settling Dust.”
Their first set ended with another crowd favourite, “Sons of Labrador,” dedicated to all the Labradorians in attendance. It seems Silver Wolf Band boasts a lot of crowd-pleasers; a quick glance at the setlist revealed a whopping 40 songs.
After hearing Silver Wolf Band play both originals and covers, their sound can be likened to the latest releases from The Fortunate Ones, Sherman Downey, and The Once, while harkening back to the mid-1990s acts such as The Wallflowers and The Gin Blossoms.
The all-inclusive blend of folk, pop and rock shows why the band was nominated for the First Light Indigenous Artist/Group of the Year in 2019 and Rock Artist of the Year in 2018.
Silver Wolf Band won another MusicNL award Sunday during the latest annual awards ceremony, getting the nod for a second time as First Light Indigenous Artist of the Year. The band had also had been nominated as Yamaha Group of the Year, but that award went to Nick Earle and The Restless Hearts.
The 2020 MusicNL Award Winner of the First Light Indigenous Artist of the Year is Silver Wolf Band! #MNLAwards
Posted by MusicNL on Sunday, February 7, 2021
