Two years ago, 54•40 headlined the Golden Spike Days, an annual festival at Port Moody’s Rocky Point Park.
Last year, gates had to be closed after the grounds filled up fast for Trouper.
For this year’s bash, organizers have two major Canadian acts to entertain the crowds: Bif Naked on June 30 and, for Canada Day, a reunion of Barney Bentall with his Legendary Hearts.
“It’s going to be a very special concert,” said Bentall from his Cariboo farm near 100 Mile House, of his bandmates Mike Crozier, Jack Guppy, Colin Nairne and Dave Reimer. “We’ve known each other for 30 years and that’s always a wonderful thing to be a part of. We always get along so well. There’s a lot of shared history and, after a practice or two, it never feels like we’ve left.”
A Juno-award winner, Bentall said he and the Hearts will play such classic hits as Come Back to Me and Something to Live For for their Port Moody gig; however, they’ll also touch on one or two tunes from Bentall’s latest solo album, The Drifter & The Preacher — his first LP in five years.
And, yes, he’ll lead the audience in the national anthem. “I like it when everybody sings along but I’ll pick the right moment for it. Maybe just before a big song.”
Still, unlike his new album title, there’ll be no preaching.
“I could walk onto the stage and talk about American politics, Donald Trump and the pipeline but I think that might really antagonize a lot of people so I tend not to be a mouth for that,” Bentall said. “It’s a challenging time in the world, for sure, and I’m careful as a musician.”
He added, “I’m extremely patriotic about Canada. We have a wonderful country and the more the landscape of the world changes, it becomes ever-more clear that we are a really wonderful country. We are not without our problems but I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”
As for Bif Naked, who plays the PCT Performance Stage at Rocky Point Park on June 30 at 9:15 p.m., she looks forward to returning to her “old stompin’ grounds.”
Two months ago, she and her guitarist husband sold their respective pads in Vancouver and New Westminster and moved east to Toronto, where her manager is located and work is plentiful.
Coming back to Metro Vancouver for part of the summer — before she launches a fall tour to promote her new album, Hot Box Girls — “is pretty exciting,” she gushed. “Summers are about festivals and fun and, hopefully, the weather will be perfect.”
“I love shows like the Golden Spike Days because they’re free and they’re for families. Everyone can come.”
Like Bentall, she promises to sing her most popular singles such as Spaceman, Tango Shoes and Lucky — the latter of which “I always cry,” the former cancer patient said. “It embarrasses my husband… but I dedicate it for the nurses. It’s emotional and it’s part of the show just like my fans are. We’ve grown up together (I started in this business when I was 18) and now they’re in their 40s and have kids and, hopefully, will bring them to the show, too.”
• The Golden Spike Days Festival runs at Rocky Point Park (2800 block of Murray Street, Port Moody) on June 29 (6 to 11 p.m.), June 30 (11 a.m. to 11 p.m.), July 1 (11 a.m. to 11 p.m.) and July 2 (11 a.m. to 6 p.m.). Visit goldenspike.ca for the full entertainment and activities’ schedule.
