PERFORMANCE Cook plays decoste for Members Night
PICTOU, N.S. – One might expect that living on a dairy farm as the eldest of four children would lend itself to be an influence on the type of music Ryan Cook would come to play. However, the 38-year-old would suggest that growing up in Yarmouth, he had more of an interest in punk rock and heavy metal, playing with his friends in garage bands and not country.
It wasn’t until he had a part-time job in a seniors’ retirement home during his university years that he was requested to get his guitar out and play some of the traditional country music for the residents that he started to develop a passion for the genre. It ultimately led him to pursue a career in the music industry playing country and folk music.
Cook and his five-piece band Sunny Acres will be on stage at the decoste Nov. 7 at 7:30 p.m.
Their 2019 concerts include songs from Cook’s award-winning albums, plus a special medley to Buck Owens and The Bakersfield Sound which many will remember as the distinct flavour of country music that opposed the “Nashville sound” yet charted 21 number-one hits on Billboard charts between 1963 and 1988.
There will be the familiar favourites from Buck’s catalogue of songs like A Tiger by the Tail, Waitin’ in Your Welfare Line, Together Again, as well as some of those popular collaborations and cover songs Buck worked into his shows of artists like Simon and Garfunkel, Ringo Starr, The Band, and Dwight Yoakam.
Anyone who is a decoste member gets to attend the show free, for Members Night. Tickets must be reserved in advance, and the show is already approaching a sell-out. With the 2020 membership drive on now, anyone purchasing their membership prior to the show would qualify for the Members Night deal. At $35 for a membership it’s a good deal since the tickets for Ryan’s show are $25 each.
Anyone interested in getting their tickets or a membership can contact the decoste box office, 99 Water St., Pictou, Monday to Friday between 11:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. at 902-485-8848 or 1-800-353-5338 or they can visit decostecentre.ca .