Rogers, a solo folk artist and member of folk band Dry Bones, has performed upwards of 50 shows to pay tribute to the work of his late father and well-known folk musician Stan Rogers.
The “Nathan Sings Stan” tour, as it is labelled, includes both faithful and modern renditions of Stan Rogers’ songs.
“I try to do as much justice to the music as possible,” Nathan Rogers said. “A really supreme effort goes into giving it an authentic representation of the original concert recordings and studio recordings that we have, but at the same time, keeping them fresh and modern.
“People should expect to hear some of their favourite songs from a beloved artist in Canadian music and to participate in a sing along.”
Rogers embarked on the tour while keeping in mind that his father would be pleased to know people would and will continue to sing along to his music on a daily basis.
“What’s really amazing about it is if I had never gone into music -- if I had never chosen it as a career -- I really don’t think it would have a detrimental effect on how Stan is remembered,” he said. “He wrote so that people in this country could take it personally, and I think he’s been successful with that.”
Rogers has released two albums as a solo artist and one as a member of Dry Bones.
While he won’t be playing his own songs for the Feb. 27 show, he plans on devoting more time to both Dry Bones and writing another solo album following the tour.
“It’s not like I wouldn’t ever do it again. It’s just something we’re doing on a trial basis,” Rogers said of the tribute show. “It’s been a lot of fun and the response from audiences has been wonderful, but I’m moving in other directions musically, and I want to make sure that I’m really safely allowed to move in those directions.”
For Rogers, one of the major points of focus as a solo artist is to make sure his lyrics are reflective of a highly literary quality.
“It’s really important for me that the English language and the written word are respected,” he said. “A lot of the time, I think my music is limited in scope to a degree, because I have such profound respect for the people who listen to music and the people who come to my shows.
“I don’t feel that I should ever dumb down what I’m saying for people in hopes of reaching a larger audience,” he continued. “As a result, my lyrics, my music will probably never be in wide circulation -- top-40 type of thing -- because it does require a person to think.”
Rogers will be performing at the E.A. Rawlinson Centre on Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 7:30 p.m.
alex.dipietro@paherald.sk.ca
