Calgary duo Keith and Lana Floen had always admired the musical style of mom-and-daughter act Eva and Suzanne Levesque.
When they weren’t performing, they would take time off to watch the pair on stage.
About a decade ago, Lana and Suzanne struck a friendship. She and her husband flew out to Winnipeg in 2008 when Suzanne was nominated for her bass playing at the Canadian Country Music Awards (CCMA).
During a party there by Royalty Records, all four were invited to jam. “We had never sang together,” Lana remembered.
But what came out of the gig was something very special. “We could feel it. There was a really neat sound especially with the harmonies.”
Soon, the quartet formed to become The Travelling Mabels — named in honour of a blue tick coonhound that Eva had fallen in love with while visiting a friend in the United States.
They put out a self-titled debut CD, toured and opened for the likes of Prairie Oyster, Ian Tyson and Charlie Major and then released another album called Song in a Dream that featured a tune written for them by Tyson.
In 2012, the folk/country ensemble was voted the ACMA Group of the Year and they started to gain a reputation outside of Alberta, mainly in Manitoba and Ontario.
This Saturday, the Mabels will play their first and only B.C. date for the year, in Coquitlam, before branching out into another new territory for them: Saskatchewan.
Lana said the Mabels are looking forward to closing the Music on the Grill series at the Evergreen Cultural Centre and promise a show with “lots of laughter and stories.
“Eva is funny and quite a storyteller and she has a real deep voice like Janis Joplin. The girls complement that with a bit of banter in between.”
Being the only male Mabel in the band is okay with Keith, Lana said of her hubby.
A musician since the age of 18, he is the band leader and keyboard player (he was nominated for a CCMA Keyboard Player of the Year award in 2012). He also produced and co-engineered both the Mabels’ CDs.
“He loves the group,” Lana said. “It’s the ying and yang. It’s that female energy and he is just a gentle — but strong — energy so he balances it all out.”
Still, the veteran musicians will also have a newcomer at their Coquitlam concert.
Edmonton’s Rebecca Lappa will open and, like the Mabels, will be playing professionally for the first time in B.C.
Reached in San Francisco last week, Lappa said she is excited about the gig as she saw the Mabels live in Red Deer two years ago.
A recent high school graduate, Lappa will perform original songs from her fourth and latest CD, Ode to Tennyson.
Lappa, who plans to start her composition degree at MacEwan University in Edmonton next month, said she began writing music and lyrics at the age of nine.
“My music and storytelling just came together and I was like, ‘Oh, I like this. That’s what I want to do for a living.’”
As for her career, Lappa believes she’s versatile enough in blues, jazz and pop genres to compose songs for other musicians.
• Tickets for Music on the Grill on Aug. 8 are $55 for the dinner and concert, or $35 for the show only. It is sponsored by Aaargon Dental Centre and the Evergreen Cultural Centre. Call the box office at 604-927-6555 or visit evergreenculturalcentre.ca.
jwarren@tricitynews.com
@jwarrenTC
