Let it live

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This article was published 09/05/2024 (837 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Tonight’s Bros. Landreth concert is all about family — related and musical.

Siblings Dave and Joey Landreth will be joined on stage at Burton Cummings Theatre by Murray Pulver and Roman Clarke, Winnipeg musicians and producers who have become key members of the Americana outfit over the last decade.

The foursome — with Clarke on drums and Pulver on second guitar — has been touring Europe and North America since the fall to mark the 10th anniversary of the band’s debut album, Let it Lie.

“It has grown into our favourite version of the outfit,” Dave Landreth says. “When you really love one another and get along and support each other, then the music reflects that. We’ve been playing some of the best shows we’ve ever played, sounding better than we’ve ever sounded.”

“Everybody is there to try and make something beautiful,” Joey Landreth adds. “It’s just been really joyful.”

When brothers released Let it Lie in 2013, they had no idea where the experiment would lead. Up until then, Joey and Dave, sons of local studio musician Wally Landreth, had been playing in backing bands for other artists.

“What if we were at the front of the stage for a minute, just for fun?” Dave says of the inspiration behind the record. “It was never meant to be a full-time project.”

To their surprise, the album earned widespread accolades, including a Juno Award and kudos from Americana icon Bonnie Raitt — who won a Grammy Award in 2022 for her own version of the track, Made Up Mind.

The Landreths have since released two full-length albums, ‘87 and Come Morning, with various configurations of the band.

Ten years on, it felt important to celebrate the record that forever changed the trajectory of their lives and careers. In 2023, The Bros. Landreth put out a deluxe anniversary version of Let it Lie, featuring acoustic renditions of each track.

“That is their most nascent form. When we wrote all those songs, it was me and Joey sitting in a room with acoustic guitars batting around different ideas and chord changes and melodies and lyrics,” Dave says.

In the recording booth, Pulver, who has produced most of the band’s records, joined in on the strumming.

While many artists choose not to linger on previous projects, Let it Lie has taken on an enduring life of its own since its debut.

“It’s still most of our fans’ favourite record and I really did expect that to hurt my feelings more,” Joey says with a laugh.

“We were writing songs the only way we knew how and so to have them still be relevant for folks is pretty special.”

For Joey, the songs offer a hit of nostalgia and a barometer for how much has changed, personally and professionally, over the last decade.

“Going back to some of this old heartache has been really, really interesting and cathartic. You find new meaning in some of these stories and there’s certain things that are no longer relevant for me as somebody in my mid-30s instead of (my early 20s),” he says.

The live anniversary show follows a similar format to the band’s re-released album, with an opening acoustic set of Let it Lie played front-to-back, followed by an electric set of other fan favourites from the rest of their catalogue.

The show will also include ASL interpretation with reserved seating available for deaf and hard of hearing audience members.

Ahead of Thursday’s show, the brothers were looking forward to capping off the celebratory tour with a hometown performance.

“I’m really excited for my wife to see the show,” says Dave, who is married to Juno-winning graphic designer Roberta Landreth. “Both of our wives at home, when we’re on the road, are doing all this extra work to hold down the fort so we can do this thing.”

Joey’s wife _____, who is 32-weeks pregnant, and their daughter ____ will also be in the crowd tonight, along with many friends and family members.

“It’s a great sacrifice for everybody for us to do what we do. To show everybody what we’ve been working on and share it with the people who are the village that surrounds our families while we’re away is so special,” he says.

After a fun, but busy touring season, the siblings are ready for more time at home and more time in the studio working on their next album.

eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com

X: @evawasney