Scott Roos, Special to the Daily Herald
Under the prairie sky just south of Prince Albert, the Sunset Country Music Festival is gearing up for its fourth installment on Saturday, August 9.
What began as a small, informal gathering, has now grown into a marquee summer event with heart and hometown pride.
“Last year we were just shy of 500-ish people,” said festival co-founder Josh Stumpf in a recent telephone conversation with the Herald. “It’s been roughly like a 100 to 200 person increase per year. We’re trying to shoot for the 700 range (this year).”
Held on a farm just outside of MacDowall, the festival brings a uniquely rural Saskatchewan charm – complete with wide-open skies and a stage surrounded by trees to give a natural amphitheatre vibe.
“We’re gonna do it again down in that little garden area because it works so well to keep everybody in one space and kind of contained,” said Stumpf. “The hill works really great so that people, as you get farther back, aren’t having trouble seeing over top of people.”
Returning to the lineup this year are both Stumpf and Mercy Glover, who organize and perform in the festival alongside their trusted bandmates: Andon Schmack (guitar), Matthew Nadon (bass), and Ezra Seed (drums).
“They’ve been my boys through and through,” said Stumpf. “Any day that I get first pick at who is coming on stage with me… it’s always gonna be them.”
Glover agrees: “It’s just so easy to work with them. It’s nice — the people that you are friends with that you can (also) rely on (musically).”
The chemistry goes beyond music.
“When we have a rehearsal, it’s not just a rehearsal,” Stumpf explained. “We’ll go there, spend the entire weekend out there with them and build a set list, run it. But then at nighttime we’re having drinks around a fire or sitting in a hot tub and just kind of hanging out.”
Joining them this year are Saskatchewan favourites Brett Down and Evan Baxter. Stumpf says supporting up-and-coming artists is a core part of Sunset’s mission.
“Well I kind of knew Evan a little bit before… just being in the Saskatoon scene of things and he’s a great kid and he’s really really talented,” said Stumpf. “The whole point of why – alongside the charity factor of Sunset…. was to give the young guys a chance and people on the come up a spot to show what they can do and what they can pull off.
“I know just for me personally, Sunset every year is usually the biggest show that I play … so to give other people that are on the come up…. a chance to play for an extra couple hundred people that maybe they would have trouble doing on their own, that’s the added bonus of being able to do this.”
This year’s fundraising focus is the River Valley Resilience Retreat, a local organization that supports first responders and veterans through trauma-informed mental health programming.
“They work with EMS, fire, police, veterans — helping them deal with mental health and trauma and PTSD,” said Stumpf. “They have a great facility… it’s beautiful.”
“We were kind of debating for a while who to choose because there’s just so much (worthy causes) going in town… but when we looked into it I think it jumped up the most,” added Glover.
On the music side, Glover is set to debut some brand-new material at the festival.
“I’m excited for this one because it’s going to be the first one I’m going to have the band up for some original music so a good chunk of it’s going to be original music we’ve been working on,” she said. “Then I’ve got some pop songs, some Paramore. It’s all over the map this year but I think it’s going to be probably my best set I’ve done.”
She’s been working with Jesse Weiman at Nolita Studios on her upcoming debut single.
“It’s a little more rockish… kind of like a pop rock kind of country sound—heavier than you’ve probably heard me play in the past.”
In the meantime, Stumpf’s most recent single, “Highway Money”, continues to climb and is currently sitting at number 14 in the media based and billboard charts for Canadian Country.
“We’re over a million streams right now,” he said. “It’s actually crazy to have a label debut perform this well.”
Tickets are $25 in advance (available at PA Alarms or online) and $30 at the door. Gates open at 6 p.m. and music starts at 7.
