Lakeshore St. Andrew's Church (LSA) was host to two-time Juno Award winning bluegrass band Tim and The Glory Boys last week. The auditorium was the perfect setting for an evening of music that could best be described as uplifting and fun with a strong dose of bluegrass/country, mixed with a bit of a pop flavour. They call it newgrass.
The Christian band held nothing back, giving Windsor its full stage show – one that resembled a log cabin or lodge, complete with a giant moose head mounted dead centre. It wasn’t surprising that a multi Juno winning band would sound good, but this wasn’t just good, it was incredible. Even though it was the last date of the tour, the band gave it 100% and more, including a (fake) campfire Christmas sing-along right in the middle of the church. If Christmas and Christian songs weren’t for you, you were definitely at the wrong show.
Much of Tim and The Glory Boys music centres around praise and worship songs, but that doesn’t mean they’re not infectious and catchy. They played a few tracks from their latest CD *The Buffalo Roadshow* including "Count On Me", "Sweet Chariot", the beautiful country radio hit "Blessed" and the catchy and fun country-fueled song "Heaven’s Got A Dirt Road". The absolute standout was "I’m Free" from their debut album *The Joy*. The upbeat song is an incredible way to end a concert and guarantees to get everyone on their feet. Oddly the song reminds me of "Shot of Glory" from The Washboard Union which borrows heavily from "I’m Free" in its style and chanting, although "Shot of Glory" isn’t as fast. "I’m Free" was released first in 2014, with "Shot of Glory" coming out in 2015. "I’m Free" appears on the Juno Award winning album *The Joy*.
An evening of music that could best be described as uplifting and fun with a strong dose of bluegrass/country, mixed with a bit of a pop flavour.
The band is a talented bunch, led by vocalist Tim Neufeld, as well as the extremely skilled drummer and dobro player Colin Trask, bassist Matt Stride, who played a standup bass the entire night – even when they moved to the campfire setting, and newest member Brenton (Thor) Thorvaldson on banjo, electric guitar. The band all shared in the harmony vocals.
Along with the show, the band took a mini-break halfway through to chat about helping children in Africa through World Vision, a cause the band has supported for the entire tour.
It was a great way to end a tour and kick start the Christmas season in Windsor. If you ever get the chance to check out Tim and the Glory Boys, it's worth the trip. Here’s also hoping LSA Church brings more great entertainment in 2019.
