The train is an iconic part of the Canadian landscape and has been the subject of dozens of songs, perhaps most notably Gordon Lightfoot’s “Canadian Railroad Trilogy”.
The train is also the subject of a 2003 movie called Festival Express, which is the footage of a 1970 cross-country tour featuring greats like The Band, The Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin.
Toronto-based musician Ben Kunder will follow in the footsteps of the musicians before him and travel the country by train. But rather than stopping to play along the way, he’ll be playing on board the train for the passengers as part of Via Rail’s Artists on Board.
Kunder is landing in the west this week to kick off his western tour to promote his album Golden, which was released in May. He’ll be making a stop in Fernie on Oct. 1.
“I’ve been to Fernie and it’s beautiful, so I wanted to play there on my tour,” Kunder told The Free Press, adding he has lived on both coasts, including Salt Spring Island, BC where he lived off the grid in a solar-powered cabin.
“That’s where I sort of started writing a lot of the songs that are on this record,” he said.
The singer-songwriter describes his music as “folk-roots; sort of Canadiana- and Americana-inspired”, naming folk artists like Joni Mitchell and Neil Young as a couple of his musical influences.
Kunder will play at Infinitea on Oct. 1 at 8 p.m.
For more information about this musician, visit his website at Benkunder.com.