Lonesome Ace Stringband’s new album "Try To Make It Fly" marks not only a reinvigorated, live-on-stage sound for the band, but also a brave foray into more Americana leaning songwriting with an album full of original songs.

 

With "Try To Make It Fly", the acoustic power trio of John Showman (fiddle), Chris Coole (clawhammer banjo), and Max Malone (upright bass) use their already beloved chemistry and musicianship to steer their ship into a whole new, unexplored musical world. “It felt like a place where we could be ourselves as writers and craft music that would fit the genre regardless of what we found ourselves writing about lyrically,” says Showman. 

 

Masters of their trade, The Lonesome Ace Stringband bring grit, skill and abandon to Americana music, bridging old-time, bluegrass and folk traditions into a seamless hybrid of original material that is at once fresh and timeless. Instrumentation alone sets this Toronto based trio’s sound apart with the band moving freely between a sound so commanding it doesn’t seem like it should be coming from a string band, to a sparse fragility that draws the listener closer. . The spine-tingling harmonies and interchanging lead vocals only bring more magic to the equation.
  

Whether singing about climate change, modern love, BBQ techniques or life's inevitable existential crises, the band cuts to the core. They can also turn and churn out a tune with so much verve that it will make your heart spin and set the dance floor swirling. There’s a reason why they are a smokin’ hot outfit, they’ve put in their time. In 2007, Lonesome Ace Stringband took up residency in Toronto’s legendary Dakota Tavern, routinely playing 10 sets of music every weekend. They went on to spend seven years as the house band before ever taking the show on the road or recording a note.

 

Those years of musical percolation honed them into a group that thinks and plays as one, something that comes from clocking thousands of on-stage hours together.  Outside of their trio work, each musician is a veteran of the Canadian music scene, sought after for teaching camps, recording sessions and touring with some of the best artists in North America.  

 

The band’s recording journey mirrors the arc of their on-stage evolution.  Their early catalogue is anchored in inventive and engaging versions of  traditional repertoire punctuated by original compositions.  Now with more than a decade of group music-making under their belts,  their fifth album,  is a feisty and mighty collection of all-original material titled ‘Try To Make It Fly’.

 

And much like their seamless live performances where they trade-off lead vocals, each member has brought their songwriting voice to the album.  ​Lonesome Ace Stringband are back on the road next week with a run of dates through the Northeast and Midwest States before their tour takes them across the entirety of their home country of Canada.  They’ve become festival favorites at Rockygrass, Celtic Connections, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Merlefest and regularly tour the USA, UK, Germany and, of course, Canada.

 

With more than a decade of group music-making under their belts, call Lonesome Ace Stringband whatever genre you want,  they are just unorthodox enough to be brilliant.  Discover their unique music  and their incredible talents in their new album "Try To Make It Fly".