Lucinda Williams tribute night planned
Tribute night to cover compelling career of Louisiana-born singer-songwriter
Aleksandra Danicic was a latecomer to Lucinda Williams appreciation.
Her initial introduction to the Louisiana-born singer-songwriter was actually second-hand. Nine years ago, she heard Ruthie Foster cover Williams’ Fruits of my Labor at the Kaslo Jazz Etc Festival in British Columbia.
“I took note because it just punched me right in the gut and I found myself standing there completely overwhelmed,” says Danicic. “From there, I went and checked out ‘Who is Lucinda Williams?’ I realized that I been living under a rock. I’m not sure how I had not noticed this artist before.”
So Danicic, a Belgrade-born, classically trained violinist and former instructor at Mount Royal University’s Conservatory Academy Program, made up for lost time. She immersed herself in Williams’ work over the years and began performing it at local clubs. Roughly 10 months ago, she performed a version of the songwriter’s slowburn 2003 ballad Overtime at an open-mic jam at Mikey’s on 12th and announced that she wanted to dedicate an entire evening to Williams’ material.
“I just blurted out ‘We should have a Lucinda Williams’ tribute,’” she says with a laugh. “And then the idea wouldn’t leave.”
While it has taken some time to put together, it certainly was not hard to find Williams converts among the ranks in Calgary’s music scene. Danicic currently plays violin with Calgary alt-country vets The Wandering V’s, who will be the house band at the Ironwood alongside Lovebullies’ guitarist Chantal Vitalis. Singer-songwriter Heather Blush will be singing a number of cuts by Williams. Other participants include Toby Malloy, Jenny Allen, Toni Vere, Stacy Baker, Ethan Collister, Kathy Garvey, Wendy Walker and Tone Indbryn.
“Almost all the guest artists that are coming in for the show are people I have worked with and played with in the past or that I admire and just asked to be involved,” Danicic says.
Williams certainly has a singular style, particularly as a vocalist. But her songs, which often expertly distil strains of blues, country and folk, are pliable enough to fit a number of sensibilities. Guests were encouraged to put their own stamp on her material for the tribute, says Danicic.
“There is value in putting on a show that is sound-for-sound identical to an album, basically an imitation or copy of a previous album,” Danicic says. “Coming from the classical world myself, where you read from scores and play an orchestral part, that’s a very valid and worthy endeavour. But that’s not how I wanted to approach this show. So, yes, everyone has learned the songs and there was definitely lots of work that went into that. But there is freedom for the artists that are performing to bring their own personality.”
With a discography that dates back to the late 1970s, Williams certainly has plenty of songs to choose from.
The Ironwood tribute will cover most periods of her career. The evening will include I Lost It, originally from 1980’s Happy Woman Blues (although later re-recorded) and flash-forward to tracks from Williams’ 2014 double album Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone. Not surprisingly, a number of artists will focus on 1998’s Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, Williams’ breakthrough and arguably still her high-water mark that included classics such as Drunken Angel, 2 Kool to Be 4-gotten, Concrete and Barbed Wire and the title track.
“Every time I research something I find another song that happens to be my favourite that day,” Danicic says. “It’s an ongoing process. The hardest thing was to figure out what songs not to play, because we could probably make this a three-hour show.”