Singer-songwriter Tony Dekker near Thunder Bay, Ont., during the initial recording sessions for the Great Lake Swimmers album Uncertain Country in July 2019.Joe Lapinski/Supplied
Forget the amphitheatres and concert halls, Tony Dekker is coming to a cottage or campfire near you, if you will have him.
In the tradition of the roaming troubadours of yore, the leader of Great Lake Swimmers, the Juno-nominated folk-rock group, plans to spend some of his summer performing solo private shows in living rooms and on back decks in between the band’s festival gigs.
Dekker, based in Ontario’s Niagara region, recently posted notices of his plan on social media and the band’s website soliciting invitations from fans. The singer-songwriter will show up, share stories, consume snacks, play songs from his band’s eight-album career – and even entertain a cover song or two. “How many Gordon Lightfoot songs does Tony know how to play? This could be your chance to find out,” the pitch reads.
The new project is on brand for a thoughtful balladeer with a woodsy sonic aesthetic who seeks out acoustically distinctive venues for performing and recording. Tracks from the Great Lake Swimmers’ latest album, Uncertain Country, were taped in the Silver Spire United Church in St. Catharines, Ont., and in an old chapel and historic barn in the picturesque village of Jordan Station, near Niagara-on-the-Lake.
Dekker hasn’t booked any back-deck gigs yet, but he shared a few guidelines and insights with The Globe and Mail, so fans can have an idea of what to expect when hiring him for his melodic, unplugged services.
Why: “I’m playing a little bit of catch-up after the pandemic, which was devastating on a lot of levels for people in general but also for a lot of musicians. We’re getting busy again, and this is another avenue to share music with people.”
What: “The idea goes back to the time before music was recorded, with travelling troubadours or the Carter Family travelling across the Virginia countryside, playing churches and parlour rooms in the open air and without amplification. I find it to be a visceral thing when you can connect with people that directly.”
Where: “What I had in mind was Ontario cottage country, in Muskoka, the Bruce Peninsula or the Kawarthas. I wouldn’t limit it to that, though. It could be Quebec, Michigan, Southwestern Ontario or upstate New York. I get comments from fans saying that Great Lake Swimmers is their cottage music. They’re sitting on the dock with our music in the background. Nature and the Canadian landscape are such an integral part of our music and my experience as a songwriter. Maybe this can be an extension of that.”
Fees: “This is informal. I imagine friends and families together throwing a few bucks in the hat or a jar. There won’t necessarily be a fee that has to be met. The cost has to do with the travel aspect of it. It will depend on the logistics. I’d be pretty flexible, and I get the sense that people will come up with something that’s reasonable for everybody.”
Vibes: “Part of it for me is having my brain picked, and to have a conversation and telling stories from the band’s last couple of decades. It’s hanging out and talking to people and getting to know them. That’s something I’ve gotten a lot better at over the years. Initially, I was a very introverted person. Now, I’m feeling much more comfortable.”
How many Gordon Lightfoot songs he knows: “I do know several of his songs, but the Lightfoot reference was somewhat tongue in cheek. It could just as easily have been Neil Young or Gord Downie songs. I did cover Carefree Highway on my 2013 solo album, Prayer of the Woods. I’m not exactly a human jukebox, but I am a pretty quick study when it comes to learning songs. So, taking requests is definitely something I would entertain.”