Bill Phillips
Smithers/Interior News
What can you expect if you make your way to the Kispiox Valley Music Festival?
“You can expect a loving, fun-filled, awesome time,” says Caleb Hart, lead singer of Tasman Jude, a Canadian roots/reggae band that promises to deliver some wonderful music.
Tasman Jude has just returned from a three-month long tour of Australia and their stop at the Kispiox Valley Music Festival will be part of a cross-Canada tour that started in April.
Hart says he and the band are looking forward to playing the Kispiox Valley Music Festival.
“We pretty excited to be up in the middle of nowhere,” he says of the band, which hails from Grande Prairie.
The Kispiox Valley Music Festival will the farthest north in B.C. that the band has played. They have been farther north in other parts of Canada.
The band independently released its debut album ‘Green’ on October 7, 2014, and toured across Canada in support of the release throughout October and November. After wrapping up the Canadian Tour, the band kept the momentum going with tour dates in the Caribbean and then on to Australia in early 2015 for a tour that included the Adelaide Fringe Festival, Forest Edge Music festival and ‘Easterfest’ in Toowoomba on April 2.
Spending so much time on the road has been well worth it for Tasman Jude, earning the band a very loyal fan base here in Canada and beyond.
“We don’t have fans, we have family members,” said Hart.
Tasman Jude have played 350 shows over the past two years and that number will just continue to grow throughout the remainder of 2015.
Musically, Hart, who was born in Canada but grew up in Trinidad-Tobago, says they play roots reggae “with a tad bit of everything,” thrown in for good measure. The band has been together for about two-and-a-half years.
Tasman Jude will do a couple of sets during the festival and will also be holding a music workshop where attendees can learn about African drums and song writing.
Hart says even though most people might not associate Grande Prairie with reggae music, it just goes to show how the Canadian music scene is changing.
“A Canadian reggae band may be a strange concept,” he says. “It just proves the diversity of the nation. It’s a blessing.”
The Kispiox Valley Music Festival runs July 24-25 at the Kispiox Valley Community Grounds.