The Roots for Boots Barn Dance is drawing closer and country musician Jake Mathews is ready to take the stage.
Mathews will be headlining at the event on June 25, which is fundraising to build a playground for Holy Spirit Elementary School. The event will run all day at the Cochrane Old Arena with the dance to follow in the evening.
Todd Simmer, the event organizer, met Mathews around a year ago at a private event. When he began to plan the barn dance, he approached Mathews to be the main act.
“When I learned the proceeds are going towards a playground, it’s an easy decision to get involved with that. Coming from a small town, I was lucky to grow up with a huge playground in front of our house so I know how important it is for kids to have a place to go and hang out and play,” Mathews explained.
The Ontario-native has been living in Calgary for the last 19 years and kick started his career with the release of his self-titled album in 2002. Since then the country musician has released three more albums, a multitude of singles, and even a few music videos.
“I think my music is kind of a mix, especially spending that amount of time releasing that many singles. It’s definitely more of a contemporary country with a traditional feel to it,” Mathews said.
“My writing kind of comes from everywhere, it’s kind of different every time. A lot of it comes from either something I hear or read, or just a title can inspire it. Or sometimes it’s just sitting down with a guitar and strumming some chords and stringing some chord progression together that will spark a mood or an idea,” Mathews explained.
Mathews is excited to deliver a great performance at the barn dance. He intends to play a mix of some of his older music and some newer songs, as well as covers of other musician’s songs.
“It’s going to be a mix of everything. We’re going up with an acoustic trio so that’s going to be a lot of fun – I have a fiddle player and a guitar player coming up with me,” Mathews explained.
