Boots & Hearts 2013 Spotlight: The Stone Sparrows

Playing the opening slot of a festival isn’t always the easiest thing in the world. But at Boots & Hearts 2013 the crowd was lit up and ready to party by the time 6:30 rolled around on Thursday and The Stone Sparrows came out onto the Front Porch Stage.

A roots band with a fiddle, mandolin, acoustic guitar and stand up bass – The Stone Sparrows are a local act, Bowmanville born (which I think is pretty cool since we are in Bowmanville for the festival after all), with a sound that we don’t hear that much of.  Bonus, their Twitter bio includes this: We’ll get your feet dancin’ – guess what kids, they ain’t lying.

From the first song, Picture Show, it was a quick step party for the crowd of country music fans who were eager to dance and cheer and participate. There was a brief stop by lead singer Meghan to say hello to the crowd, a quick joke from the bass player Jim and smiles on the faces of all 4 members of the band. And I like that. I want to see a band who wants to be on stage. And The Stone Sparrows give that impression without a doubt.

Note: While this has absolutely nothing to do with their ability to play great music – this is a really attractive band. From left to right on the stage they are hipster country hot with moustaches, beards, long hair, short hair, sunglasses, short shorts, cowboy boots, loafers, ripped jeans, denim shirts and plenty of plaid.

It can be argued that roots/bluegrass music isn’t going to make anyone a star. It’s true that it doesn’t get a lot of play on mainstream radio. But I really hope that these guys keep playing and keep touring and keep making music because there is a place for them in Canadian Country. And there is certainly a place for them at festivals like Boots & Hearts.

If you want more from The Stone Sparrows check them out on Facebook & Twitter.

Work Hard, Play Harder, Be Awesome.