Barney Bentall brings small-town concert vibe to Island

IN CONCERT
What: Barney Bentall and the Cariboo Express
When: Tonight to Nov. 24
Where: Sidney, Sooke, Saltspring and Nanaimo
Tickets: $15 to $42
For more information: barneybentall.com

Roots rocker Barney Bentall packed up his ranch in Clinton for the winter this week to head south, where he has a home on Bowen Island, and prepare for his annual Cariboo Express tour.

The idea to caravan a bunch of musicians in a variety show around the western provinces to raise money for local charities came 12 years ago.

“It was hatched playing a rodeo dance with my son, Dustin, Ridley Bent and Leeroy Stagger in [Clinton],” said Bentall, who brings the Cariboo Express to Vancouver Island this week with six shows in four towns — some already sold out.

This year’s lineup features a number of current and former Islanders, including Stagger, fiddler Kendel Carson, Daniel Lapp and Adrian Dolan, as well some surprise guests.

“The great thing is the musical part is so rewarding and fun, but the charity element is important, too,” said Bentall, who wanted to take the small-town-hall concert vibe on the road and give back to each community.

Each concert benefits a local charity and gives businesses an opportunity to sponsor a song and get a custom intro (and good-natured ribbing) by Bentall and his co-host, Calgary singer-songwriter Matt Masters.

“Right from the get-go, it’s an entertaining part of the show. Certain businesses make for better material,” said Bentall, noting law firms are always fun. Masters is also known as the NDP candidate who tried to unseat former Prime Minister Stephen Harper in his Calgary riding in 2015.

The Cariboo Express has three shows in Sidney in support of the Sidney Lions Food Bank and others on Saltspring Island and Sooke in support of local food banks. The Nanaimo show raises funds for the John Howard Society, a non-profit organization that supports adults who’ve been in the criminal-justice system.

“It’s a very proactive program. They do amazing work,” said Bentall, adding the society branch is putting together a choir for the show.

“We try to support some of the smaller organizations where our endeavour can make some difference,” he said.

Bentall was raised in a family where supporting the local community was an important part of life. His father was a Baptist minister in Calgary and his mother was also a leader in the church.

“My parents helped in the community where they saw a need. They were really progressive that way. It was not a Bibles-for-food kind of thing,” he said. “They were very involved in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver and helped set up houses for refugees. That’s the kind of thing I like to see in this country, even though it’s a touchy subject.”

Bentall’s family was well known in B.C. long before he made his name as a musician. His grandfather headed the Dominion Construction Company and developments around the province, including the Bentall Centre in Vancouver.

Bentall and his band, the Legendary Hearts, rose to fame in the 1980s and ’90s with Juno awards and hits such as Something to Live For and Come Back to Me. He’s since recorded and toured several albums as a solo artist and with fellow musicians such as Jim Cuddy and Shari Ulrich.

Two of his four kids are performing musicians: Jessica Niedermayer, who plays in the Cranbrook-based roots trio Wild Honey, and Dustin Bentall, a staple of the West Coast roots-rock scene.

“It’s a bit different for my kids. They grew up knowing music and this life,” said Bentall. “It wasn’t the most popular decision with my parents, and in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, the music we were playing was rebellious. Now, I probably listen to the same music as my kids.”

Bentall said he doesn’t dole out too much advice on the music business to his kids. “I try and keep my advice to a minimum. Everybody has to find their own way when it comes to music, follow their heart and be willing to take risks,” he said. “Oops, I guess that’s advice.”

In fact, he’s learned from playing and touring with his kids. He said the Canadian music scene has become more supportive since he started out, when “everybody was trying to break into the American market, which some still are in the new country music.”

But bands such as the Tragically Hip and Blue Rodeo, which wrote songs about Canadian places and people, helped open up a new homegrown audience.

“They wrote in a way that awakened a generation of writers and musicians,” said Bentall, adding geography and history also inform his songwriting. His new album, The Drifter and the Preacher, is inspired by his minister father and his father-in-law, who led a “vagabond lifestyle and rode the rails,” he said.

spetrescu@timescolonist.com