One of the best parts of the whole night happened before Blue Rodeo even took the stage. Their opening band, The Dustin Bentall Outfit, a folky-rock-country group from Vancouver, were amazing. I was so completely impressed - it is one of my greatest joys to discover new music, and it’s even better when it’s Canadian. Dustin is the son of legendary Canadian singer/songwriter Barney Bentall (didn’t know that til I Googled him this morning!), and as far as I can tell, it won’t be long before he’s taking the Canadian music scene by storm himself. Their set was such a pleasant surprise, with my personal favourites being “Emmy-Lou” and “Such a Shame”. We made sure to stop by Gate 1 to pick up their CDs (Street With No Lights and Six Shooter), as well as the CD of their guest fiddle player and vocalist, Kendle Carson (Alright Dynamite), who’s song “Baby Lie Down” was beautiful.
And what better way to end the show than with “Lost Together”? BR invited Dustin Bentall and his Outfit back on-stage to join them, and it was amazing. So many voices, so many guitars… Keelor began the song, as usual, but then gave way to Dustin for the second verse, and band member and vocalist Wayne Petti performed the third. It was then that I realized I wished the song could go on forever.
