Vancouver bluegrass sextet Viper Central is returning to the Brackendale Art Gallery (BAG) fresh off a European tour on Saturday (June 13).
Band members are no strangers to the warm and intimate venue, having headlined the Brackendale Bluegrass Festival last year and contributing vocalist, upright bassist and clawhammer banjoist Steve Charles to this year's festival workshop series with peers Redgrass last month.
Viper Central's impressive mix of bluegrass, folk and country is attracting attention at home and abroad for its smoky smooth instrumentals and potent vocal harmonies.
This snake's venom feels more like serum to the ears.
The band will be drawing from its most recent album entitled The Devil is Sure Hard to Please, which was original released in 2008 and features fierce instrumental picking on songs like Devil in the Hourglass and ironically merry harmonies on Shotgun Wedding.
Despite a successful two-week tour through Switzerland, France, The Netherlands and Italy, which included two festivals and busking in between, Viper Central is looking forward to entertaining the familiar crowd at the BAG, said Charles.
"We're really excited to be playing Brackendale again," he said, adding that the foreign tour of duty worked to tighten the band's stage presence even further.
"We're definitely better performers now as a group because we were in lots of different situations. We got very positive feedback in Europe and we were invited back next year to do two bigger festivals, so that was great because we were taking a bit of a stab in the dark."
Part of what makes Viper Central special is the members' ability to balance original songwriting and aural twists to a traditional genre. The balancing act's origin is found in the members approach to music. For example, while mandolin player Mark Vaughan is described as a true student of bluegrass material, members like Charles and dobro player Tim Tweedale add backgrounds in jazz.
The mix of tradition and experimentation makes a powerful fusion. And since all members contribute to songwriting, the music takes on a form of its own.
Brackendale Bluegrass Festival co-ordinator Cam Salay said he is very pleased to have the band back. Their stage presence is mood enhancing and makes audience members want to dance.
"The vocal harmonies are really strong and they have a really fun energy onstage," said Salay.
"They really seem to enjoy what they're doing and every person is fantastic on their instruments. It's a really good bunch of players that have met each other."
Tickets cost $20 and are available at the BAG and The Bookshelf. The show starts at 8 p.m.
