The Salmon Arm Folk Music Society (SAFMS) isn鈥檛 waiting until August to bring live music to the community.

B.C. singer-songwriter and rancher Barney Bentall is scheduled to play Song Sparrow Hall on Saturday, April 16, courtesy of the SAFMS.

鈥淲e are so thankful for the support and resiliency of our community and we are thrilled to welcome them back to in-person events once again,鈥� said ROOTSandBLUES/SAFMS artistic director Kevin Tobin. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been two long years, and we鈥檙e ready to celebrate the power of music with you and Barney Bentall.鈥�

Known for his 鈥�90s-era band Barney Bentall and the Legendary Heart, and their smash hit Something to Live For, Bentall鈥檚 music evokes the sounds of Blue Rodeo, John Prine and Tom Cochrane.

鈥淏arney Bentall is an ambitious songwriter whose personal artistry and life as a musician, husband and father shine through his music recognized by music-lovers across the country,鈥� said Tobin.

After winning a JUNO award for Best New Group and early success at the helm of the Legendary Hearts, Bentall stepped back from the limelight in 2000 to focus on the next phase of his career. With this wife and brother-in-law, Bentall purchased a cattle ranch in the Cariboo region of B.C.

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But Bentall always kept creating. In 2006, he released his JUNO-nominated solo album Gift Horse, and followed it up two years later with The Inside Passage and Flesh & Bone in 2012.

Bentall鈥檚 most recent album, The Drifter and The Preacher, is his most intimate and personal release yet.

鈥淢y solo work is very important to me,鈥� said Bentall. 鈥淩ight now, I鈥檓 focused on what I am doing on my own, but the other projects keep me learning, travelling new pathways and keeping music vital for me.鈥�

For Bentall鈥檚 April 16 performance in Salmon Arm, the SAFMS will be following B.C. Provincial Health Authority directives and require proof of double vaccination. Guests must also wear a face mask throughout the concert. Vaccine exemptions and negative COVID-19 test results will not be accepted.

Bentall鈥檚 performance provides a musical prelude to the SAFMS鈥� main event, the 30th annual Salmon Arm ROOTSandBLUES, Aug. 18-21. Early-bird passes for the in-person festival, the first since 2019, are now available.

Doors to Song Sparrow Hall open at 6:30 p.m. on April 16, 2022, with the show starting at 7:30 p.m. Limited tickets are available online at rootsandblues.ca, or by phone at 250-833-4096 from Monday to Thursday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The festival office is closed to visitors until further notice.

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