Shining performance

By Melissa Piche Times Contributor

John Reischman and The Jay Birds played to a sold-out crowd on April 15 at the Strathmore United Church as part of the Arts on 817 Concert Series.

The band, which formed in 1999, have released seven albums jointly and have a pair of Juno nominations.

“It’s like family now,” said John Reischman of the Jaybirds. 

Originally from California Reischman moved to Canada 30 years ago and the band consists of members from both sides of the border.

“We haven’t paid too much attention to the border when performing,” said Reischman. “I would keep in touch with the blue grass music scene on both sides of the border.”

The band members are John Resichman (mandolin), Patrick Sauber (guitar), Trisha Gagnon (lead vocals and cello), Nick Hornbuckle (five-string banjo) and Greg Spatz is hailed as a “World class blue-grass fiddler.”

Reischman began his musical journey as a young teenager. 

“I had the opportunity to borrow a mandolin,” he said. “I had already been playing a guitar as a teenager. I got this mandolin and it set my musical course towards bluegrass.”

The Jaybirds have had a busy 2023 and are looking forward to a busy spring, 

“We’ve already been to Alberta once this year and we are looking forward to coming back,” he said. “(We’re) a little overdue for a new recording. (We are) slowly working up material for that.”

Each member of the Jaybirds has their own successful solo career. Of his own recordings, he has been nominated for a Juno and most recently attended The Canadian Folk Music Festival awards March 31-April 2 where he was nominated for an award.

The name The Jaybirds came from a label Reischman worked for called Corvus, owned by a woman named Susan Crowe. Corvus is the Latin word for crow.

“And when I decided to do a bluegrass record, I decided there should be a subsidiary for the blue grass recordings. I liked birds,” he said. “It’s interesting. Some of the music is what people would think of as folk music, a lot of instrumental songs, a lot of original songs.”

The Arts on 817 will be presenting their next concert on Saturday, May 6 where they will be presenting Strathmore’s Emerging Artist consisting of Rayanne and Shelby Laycock (vocals), Talia Sinclair (violin) and Susanne Sevick (piano). 

For more information on upcoming events people are invited to visit The Vault Cultural Collective or online (www.smoreuc.com).