Alberta roots musicians talk new music, touring and the upcoming grand opening of their own live music venue
“We love going up there, when you get to Whitehorse, it’s so friendly. We love the ruggedness and it’s so beautiful there. We’re excited to go to a national park in the summer.”
We’ll get this out of the way right away: Over The Moon, the Juno Award-nominated acoustic roots duo consisting of Suzanne Levesque and Craig Bignell, is not from the Yukon.
That said, this Alberta musical act does have a strong tie to the North, having visited the territory to perform on many occasions, collaborated with some of the Yukon’s own talented artists and calling many northerners friends and family. They’ll be back in the Yukon this June as part of the Kluane Mountain Bluegrass Festival (KMBF), but until then, they’ve got lots on the go.
“About a year and a half ago, we bought a theatre in a little town called Hardisty, Alberta,” begins Bignell. “I think it opened as a movie theatre in the ’50s or something. We saw it was for sale and went in, and as soon as we walked in we went, ‘We have to buy this place.’ It was so retro and looked amazing, but it also sounded amazing in there.”
On top of their writing, recording and touring schedules, Bignell and Levesque have been working on restoring the theatre since they bought it, and are looking forward to its grand opening in May.
Called the Bird Dog Theatre, it will host a wide variety of acts, including northern artists who make their way through Alberta. All the construction to restore the theatre, Bignell and Levesque did. Now, in the finishing stages, they’re looking to shift their focus to recording their new album which they’ll be doing in the theatre.
Originally hailing from south of Calgary, Bignell and Levesque relocated north during the pandemic, closer to Lloydminster, where they now find themselves influenced to write music about their new surroundings.
“We’re not trying to go for any genre or any kind of commercial success,” Bignell says. “We just produce the songs so they capture the feeling and the mood that we’re trying to establish, because we don’t care if it’s going to be radio-friendly or a hit.”
Working in and around Hardisty, though often driving upwards of three hours a day (the theatre being around an hour and 25 minutes from where the musicians live) to bring supplies and equipment to the theatre, Levesque says the town has some major perks.
“The location of the theatre is good for routing, I’d say,” she says. “Small towns are great. There’s lots of support from the community and surrounding areas, and we’re close enough to Edmonton and Lloydminster, but not close enough to make it a problem for overlap.”
Though it opens with a weekend event May 23, 24 and 25, at which Over The Moon and friends of theirs will perform, Bignell and Levesque have already seen high demand for the space, with artists they know asking if they can perform in the space when they tour through Alberta.
“We know them all and we know if they’ll fit our theatre,” says Bignell, with Levesque adding, “It’s also going to be sort of seeing what works and what doesn’t. We’ve had some people interested in recording there, which is good, and we thought maybe we could do live promotion videos for bands.”
The theatre has come a long way since the couple bought it. Because of a leaking roof, Bignell says the floors in the front lobby were rotten, and in the washrooms, the toilets were sinking into the floor.
The restoration was a long and arduous process, but the two had a vision from the start they were intent on bringing to life, and their dedication to it has saved a historic building and given it a new life. It even has two old carbon arc projectors that still work, and are possibly the last two of their kind in Western Canada.
“There’s actually someone in town who used to run them and still lives there,” says Levesque, hinting that the theatre might once again show movies.
The grand opening was originally meant to be a one-day event, but when it sold out in a week, they added another. The second night sold out within two weeks, and a Sunday matinee show was added.
Shortly afterward, Over The Moon will be hitting the road, with lots of Canadian touring and two overseas trips planned for next year. And of course, they’re looking forward to coming back to the Yukon this summer.
“Every time we’ve been there it’s been in the winter,” says Levesque. “But we love the ruggedness and it’s so beautiful there. We’re excited to go to a national park in the summer.”
Bignell says he appreciates how real the Yukon is, adding that the further he can get away from big cities the happier he is.
“We love going up there,” he says. “When you get to Whitehorse, it’s so friendly. Everybody is so welcoming, and they always talk to us. You make connections almost instantly.” Over The Moon will play in the Yukon for KMBF from June 6-8. To keep up with Over the Moon’s music, tours and plans for the Bird Dog Theatre, visit overthemoonband.com. To see the rest of the KMBF lineup, info, tickets and more, check yukonbluegrass.com.
