Jayhawks’ Gary Louris plays first Canadian solo show at Red Bird Live

Gary Louris
8 p.m. March 16
Red Bird Live
Sold out

Gary Louris, one of the United States’ most influential singer-songwriters of the roots-rock scene, is now a happily married resident of Quebec who’s plotting a setlist for what he believes is the first Canadian solo show of his 30-plus-year career.

Fewer than 100 people are lucky enough to have tickets for Louris’ rare appearance Thursday in the intimate confines of Ottawa’s Red Bird Live, the one-year-old venue/cafe/music school on Bank Street. It’s far more common for the silver-haired troubadour to appear with his band, Jayhawks, on a big stage in front of hundreds, if not thousands, of fans.

So what are we in for at Red Bird? According to Louris, the concert is shaping up to be a career-spanning performance that touches on several of the projects he’s been part of over the years, from the Jayhawks, the still-active alt-country band that emerged from Minneapolis-St. Paul in the mid-80s, to his latest solo album, 2021’s Jump For Joy. And perhaps there will be a selection or two from Golden Smog, the all-star collective that also includes members of Wilco, Soul Asylum and the Replacements.

“It’s going to be difficult to figure out what to play but I’ll come up with something,” said the multi-talented musician on the eve of his 68th birthday. “There will be some new songs that I’ve written but haven’t recorded officially yet.”

Louris’ most recent solo effort is Jump for Joy, which belies its cheery title with bittersweet, Beatlesque songs that seem to long for meaning and connection. Louris not only wrote, sang and played all the instruments on the tracks, but he also produced them, although he was not in a particularly good place at the time, he recalls.

“It was before the pandemic and I was just not in the right place in my life, physically and emotionally,” Louris said. “It was a record that I made pretty much in my room by myself.”

Things have changed dramatically since then, he adds. “I met the woman of my dreams and she happened to be Canadian,” he said. “I would have followed her to Timbuktu.”

Louris first encountered the love of his life, Stephanie, after a 2019 Jayhawks show at Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern. She was backstage in the club’s office when he spotted her. “I was getting ready to leave and she was in the office talking to the owner, and we saw each other. It was literally love at first sight,” Louris said.

They spent as much time together as possible until COVID hit, and then got married at the St. Paul, Minn. courthouse in October 2020, with former Soul Asylum guitarist Dan Murphy as best man. The couple initially settled in Hamilton before buying their home in the Laurentians. (Though still an American citizen, Louris has obtained a permanent-resident card for Canada.)

When the home studio renovations are complete, Louris plans to tackle some recording, including a father-and-son project with his 24-year-old son, Henry Louris, and a new solo album that’s likely to be full of romance. “Nearly every song, if not every song, is about falling in love with my wife,” Louris said of his newest material.

As for the possibility of more solo shows, it seems likely. “It kinda depends on what I find around here,” Louris said. “It depends on a few factors but yeah, I think the future holds more solo shows for me than what I’ve done in the past.”

Meanwhile, over at Red Bird Live, the Louris show signals the dawn of a new era of programming, says Geoff Cass, describing himself as a “massive” Jayhawks fan.

“We don’t want to lose sight of the fact that Red Bird has become an important spot for local bands and community programming, but I absolutely want to start getting bigger acts in here to play small, intimate shows,” Cass said. “It’s all about establishing (industry) relationships, and building a good reputation.”

The connection with Louris’ team was forged when Kathleen Edwards played a fundraiser at Red Bird before Christmas, and Cass realized the two artists – Louris and Edwards – share the same booking agent. A few phone calls later, the Louris show was booked; it sold out in days, despite the $65-plus-tax ticket price.

In another neat connection, Cass has been chatting with the owners of Neat Cafe, the intimate music venue/coffee shop in the village of Burnstown that’s been presenting top-notch acts in a small space for years. The topic of discussion is hosting back-to-back concerts by higher-profile artists in both venues as a way to make it financially feasible for all parties.

“They do some really cool shows, and I’d be happy to share the acts that we bring through, and they have said the same thing to us,” Cass said. “Hopefully we will be working together quite a bit.”

Another new initiative at Red Bird is the advent of matinee shows, including a series presented by folk impresario Chris White. Ottawa’s Toasted Westerns sold out their 1 p.m. show on March 7; the next one features Ball & Chain and the Wreckers at 1 p.m. March 21.

“Way more people showed up to the first one than we were expecting, so that was exciting. A lot of retirees have time in the afternoons and are looking for something to do,” Cass said, adding an observation about their drinking habits: “We sell more tea than Scotch.”

lsaxberg@postmedia.com