Diamond Valley's iconic Beneath the Arch concert series will see bluegrass band John Reischman and the Jaybirds take the Flare n' Derrick stage this weekend.
The band, led by the eponymous John Reischman on the mandolin, features guitarist Patrick Sauber from L.A., singer-songwriter Trisha Gagnon from Chilliwack, B.C., banjo player Nick Hornbuckle from Nanaimo, B.C., and fiddler Greg Spatz from Spokane, Wash.
"I moved to Canada [from San Francisco Bay area] about 30 years ago," said Reischman. "And a few years after that, met people in the music scene and bluegrass scene in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia, and put together this band. We've been together for, in May it'll be 25 years."
The band, which is renowned for its bluegrass music, is looking forward to its first Beneath the Arch performance.
"We played a lot in Alberta over the years," said Reischman. "Played Edmonton and the Calgary Folk Festival and the Canmore Folk Festival, Calgary many times and also in Turner Valley a few times, but never for Beneath the Arch, so we're happy about that.
"You know, there's lots of great concert organizations in southern Alberta, and I like that part of the of the world. The Turner Valley area is super beautiful."
Reischman looks forward to putting on a good show.
"The songs we do, we do some traditional things, some old time numbers," he said. "And then we do a lot of original stuff. Original songs and instrumentals, and it's not in-your-face bluegrass music, you know.
"Some of it's pretty reminiscent of Bill Monroe and Flatten Scruggs and Stanley Brothers, but a lot of it is because it is original. It's never been done by anyone else recently I know of."
The show will be at the Flare n' Derrick Community Hall on Saturday, March 23 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here.
