Hailing from Vancouver, British Columbia and surrounding environs, the Lonesome Town Painters currently call East Vancouver home. “It’s where the majority of us live — and have lived — and there’s a real independent creative spirit in this community.”
So says guitarist Angelo Eidse, who with Patrick Bartel (banjo), Fred Beach (bass), and Jeremy Freeman (mandolin), make up the band. “We met just over ten years ago at the Anza Club during the weekly jam night run by the Pacific Bluegrass and Old-time Music Society here in Vancouver,” Eidse explains. “We were all relatively new arrivals to the club and to the genre at that time, each of us coming to it later in our own musical journeys. Our shared love of traditional bluegrass and harmony singing — the Stanley Brothers in particular —are what brought us together.”
That was a common cause initially, but it soon developed into much more. “The first time we knew we were a band was during our road trip to the Shady Grove Bluegrass Festival in Nanton, Alberta,” Eidse continues. “All those hours on the road just flew by, and we knew that if we could survive that, we could do anything. It also happened to be the first bluegrass festival The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys ever played. We made an immediate and enduring connection, and have been on that path ever since.”
In that regard, they describe their sound as having an archival imprint. “We adhere pretty strictly to a traditional bluegrass sound where a minor chord is seldom heard,” Eidse says. “We’re somewhat unique in that we have three lead vocalists, and exchange three-part harmony roles on each and every song, depending on who’s singing melody.”
Nevertheless, their sound was spawned from the usual iconic influences. “As with many bluegrass bands, the O Brother Where Art Thou? film and soundtrack got most of us hooked on traditional music,” Eidse maintains. “In keeping with that, The Stanley Brothers are our main influence; our name is derived from their song, Go Out and Paint the Town. Jimmy Martin, and of course Bill, Earl and Lester, are the other main inspirations. We also tip our hat to West Coast bluegrass and country by playing songs of Vern & Ray, as well as Buck Owens. More recent influences, particularly as it applies to how we play and carry ourselves on stage, include The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys and the Kody Norris Show. We just love the joy they bring to live performance, and how they try to have as much fun onstage as is allowed. Hence, the ‘Town Painter’ reference in our band name.”
These days, the Lonesome Town Painters mostly perform in the Pacific Northwest region, including the Western Canadian Provinces of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan, as well as the State of Washington in the U.S. “We’re working on playing further afield in places like Oregon and California, and anywhere else that will have us,” Eidse continues. “We usually play small weeklong tours when we travel out of town for festivals.”
He went on to say that they’ve played most of the major festivals in the region, including the Cowichan Valley Bluegrass Festival on Vancouver Island, the Blueberry Bluegrass Festival in Alberta, and the Darrington Bluegrass Festival in Washington. Eidse adds that that they’ve become regulars at the latter event. “The State of Washington seems to have been particularly welcoming to Lonesome Town Painters, and we feel very much at home in our adopted state, having made many friends there along the way. We also strive to play more eclectic festivals where we can spread the word of traditional bluegrass to people unfamiliar with the genre.”
The band has also had the opportunity to perform with any number of notables. “We’ve had the pleasure of sharing the stage — and moonshine peaches — with The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys,” Eidse said. “We’ve also had wonderful exchanges with Doyle Lawson, who can somehow stay cool in a full suit during a hot mid-summer afternoon set, as well as the indomitable Little Roy Lewis, Jens Kruger (who can change banjo strings faster than anyone thought possible), and Kody Norris and crew, who were were as kind and generous as anyone you’d have the pleasure to meet. Just a few days ago, we backed up Molly Tuttle & the Golden Highway at their concert here in Vancouver. It was one of the highlights for our band thus far, with a very boisterous, appreciative, and roaring crowd.”
Happily then, their hometown fans retain their devotion as well, and in some instances, it’s the result of the educational experience they offer.
“We’re regulars at some of the finest live-music venues in and around Vancouver, from bars to clubs to concert venues and theaters,” Eidse insists. “Many of the folks attending these shows are uninitiated to bluegrass music, and we do our utmost to convert them. We usually sing around one microphone and pull out all the stops to make sure those folks get a good earful of what true bluegrass really sounds and looks like! Once they see us the first time, it’s usually not the last time.”
Thus far, the band has recorded three albums — their self-titled debut, a sophomore set dubbed The Lonesome Town Painters Play & Sing Blue Grass, and the latest, Go Out and Paint the Town. Each is available for streaming and for purchase through their merch table or their website. “We’ve just completed the recording of our tenth anniversary album, which consists of all of our favorite cover songs from our set lists over the last decade,” Eidse adds. “It’s called Our Blue Grass Favourites. Plus, our fifth album is already in the works, and will be all originals.”
Eidse also says that Lonesome Town Painters write and record their own original compositions which, in turn, tend to closely emulate traditional bluegrass sounds and themes. “Folks say we sound like the real deal, which is what we’re striving for,” he noted. “Our shows generally include a 50/50 mix of originals and covers by the likes of The Stanley Brothers, Jimmy Martin, James King, and more obscure traditional songs.”
It’s hardly surprising then that Lonesome Town Painters are so pleased with their quest thus far.
“All four of us feel very lucky to have found each other when we did, and we just hope to keep making this music together as much as we can for as long as we can,” Eidse insists, noting that bluegrass music offers a very special experience overall.
“There’s really nowhere to hide in bluegrass music,” he muses. “It’s acoustic instruments being played full out, and folks singing each song like it may be the last song they’ll ever sing. We always say bluegrass is happy music about sad things, and that seems to resonate with almost anybody.”
For more about the Lonesome Town Painters, visit them online.
