When I ask you to name a quintessential Canadian musical act, who comes to mind?
The Tragically Hip? Rush? Stompin’ Tom Connors?
These are all valid first responses, of course, but may I present for your consideration: 54-40.
54-40 are so deeply Canadian that the name of their band is a reference to a 19th century US/Canadian land border dispute.
They’re so British Columbian, they have a star in the BC Hall of Fame.
54-40 is so specifically Lower Mainland, that they played their first gig in Coquitlam. Two of the members went to the same high school in Tsawwassen, for crying out loud!
And one of those members, Neil Osborne, is playing a show in Langley on November 26 at the Bez Arts Hub.
Osborne is the very man who penned and sang the lyrics for 54-40 hits like ‘Ocean Pearl’, ‘One Day in Your Life’, and ‘I Go Blind’, which was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame this year.
Fun fact about ‘I Go Blind’ – it was famously covered by Hootie & the Blowfish, and that version was featured in the TV series Friends. Royalty payments from that cover and its mid-90’s ubiquity allowed 54-40 to build their own recording studio in Vancouver.
And the albums just kept coming.
Seventeen albums, to be exact. Seventeen studio albums. And Neil Osborne played a major role in the production of all seventeen.
He’s also been a busy guy besides, producing albums for acts the likes of Small Glories and Jets Overhead, as well as his daughter Kandle. The father-daughter recording duo have also teamed up and recorded some tunes under the name A Family Curse.
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The salient point, here, is that Neil Osborne is a consummate professional musician who knows how to make unforgettable and timeless music.
You can get tickets to his November 26 show here, and for the sake of safety, you’ll need your proof of vaccination with you to attend.