Cort Delano and The Bownesians

The Calgary Folk Club is like a grande dame dowager with a closet full of classics, a tried and true sense of style, but a yen for the trendy. Darling, what is a girl to do? Accessorize, accessorize.

Friday night the CFC did just that. The opening set featured two guests, the Bownesians and Cort Delano, both finalists in the Calgary Folk Festival Songwriting Competition for the “Best Song For Alberta” category. Not only up-and-coming and trendy, these acts have folk cred as well.

The Bownesians (from Bowness, of course) are a six-member band who won the 2009 Best Song of Alberta for “How Allen Saved the Radio Station.” More than one CFC patron I spoke to commented on how rare and wonderful it was to hear songs that celebrated Calgary like the songs of the Bownesians did. Lyrics like “He’s from Bowness, she’s from Montgomery” had the audience giggling and possibly contemplating their city in an entirely new way.

The musicianship of this group lived up to their lyrics. Smiling Doug Waite’s voice lit up songs while Leah McCartney’s jazz-tinged vocals and nonchalant sway brought just a hint of illicit backroom hootch dive to the staid CFC. The bass, keyboards, drum kit, and percussion were notable for their infectious energy. It was needed in a set that effortlessly jumped from rockabilly, to surf, and even to a gorgeous cover of a bossa nova standard. The Bownesians are a class act that, hopefully, will become a classic in the CFC’s closet.

When Cort Delano and his sidekick “Chester” strode on stage in the second half of the opening act the hats (black Western and porkpie jazz) seemed to promise an astounding fusion: country & western with jazz inflections. Not to be. Cort has positioned himself firmly in what CKUA’s Allison Brock might call “Wide Cut Country.” The chorus of his opening song probably captures his essence, “It’s all for the love of the game.” In his case, the game is songwriting and singing. He has the words and he has the feeling but above all Cort has a clear and unabashed love of his home that shines through his music.

Fort MacLeod, jughounds, hockey, and horses like family members all found their way into Cort’s set on Friday night. “Since then she’s been the patches for the holes in my life” typifies the soulful phrasing that Cort is making his trademark. This young artist certainly has time and talent on his side.