Enjoy an Afternoon Filled With Old Fashioned “Jazz from the Saddle”

Don’t Miss Woody Holler and his Western Swing Orchestra at Horizon Stage on October 27

Winnipeg based singer Woody Holler has been yodeling since he was a little shaver. Influenced by the crooning styles of Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, as well as the rustic blue yodeling of Jimmy Rodgers and danceable swing of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, Woody Holler plays dusty, down-home cowboy music. With a smooth, pitch-perfect voice that rises and falls like that big prairie moon and a lyrical yodel that dances around the jingle-jangle of that old guitar, Holler feels a real sense of nostalgia for the Western genre. Holler's orchestra consists of Manitoba's finest folk/jazz musicians and together they create a western swing style that Woody defines as "jazz from the saddle.”

 

Woody Holler grew up hearing the songs of the cowboy. Although he was later trained in opera, a sense of belonging and nostalgia held him close to the early Western genre. In 2009 he hooked up with Richard Mood (violin), Greg Lowe (guitar) and Daniel Koulack (double bass) and the rest, as they say, is history. Woody Holler and his Western Swing Orchestra is not your average country western band. Their clever arrangements are rich with virtuosity and style and their repertoire is eclectic, fun, and fascinating. Their concerts feature everything from finger-snapping  swing beats, to honey-slowed love croons, to show-stopping "extreme" yodeling. 

 

Nominated for a 2010 Canadian Folk Music Award, an afternoon with Holler and his orchestra will have you longing for a simpler time. Tickets to see them Up Close and Personal at Horizon Stage on Sunday, October 27 at 2 p.m. are $35 for adults and $30 for students and seniors. Tickets may be purchased at the City Hall Ticket Centre (315 Jespersen Ave), by phone at 780-962-8995, or online at Ticketpro.