A CRITICALLY-acclaimed Canadian traditional roots music trio will perform tracks from their latest album when they visit Barnard Castle next week.
The East Pointers are currently on a short tour of the UK before series of summer dates which will see the group performs at the Cambridge Folk Festival in early August.
The band, which hails from Prince Edward Island, comprises fiddle player and singer Tim Chaisson, banjo player Koady Chaisson and guitarist Jake Charron.
They followed up their 2015 debut album Secret Victory with last year’s What We Leave Behind.
The songs on their latest release were written when the group spent ten months on the road and were inspired by countries they visited.
The track 82 Fires resulted from their visit to Australia.
Koady Chaisson explained: “While in Tasmania, we spoke with an older gentleman, a lifelong resident, who said there were 82 wildfires currently on the loose in Tasmania, the most in half a century.
“Being in the middle of that brings an immediacy about it. You can feel powerless.”
On a lighter side, the song Party Wave came as the result of a surfing experience the band enjoyed on the New Zealand leg of their world tour.
Described as a “folk power trio” guitarist Jake Charron says traditional music at the centre of what they do.
“There’s something powerful about a style of music that has been passed on for generations around the world,” he said.
The East Pointers perform a mix of instrumentals and lyric driven songs that have helped build their audience.
They make their first visit to The Witham on Tuesday, June 26.
Support comes in the shape of Barnard Castle singer-songwriter Toni Sidgwick, who has been making a name for herself across the north east since moving to the town from her native Shetland.
Her latest release, Try, came out just last month and is a follow-up to last year’s Lions EP.
Tickets for the show are £13 in advance and £15 on the night. Contact The Witham box office on 01833 631108.
