Moose Jaw country roots singer-guitarist Stephen Palmer performs at St. John's United Church at 52 Caribou Rd. Oct. 17. Tickets are available in advance at the church office or at the door for the coffeehouse concert. Doors open at 7 p.m. and show time is 7:30 p.m. For more information call 204-677-4495.
Palmer is originally from Edmonton, where he grew up. He tours usually on what he calls a "troubadour circuit" in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta, British Columbia and the Northwestern United States.
He is scheduled to perform three concerts at Westminster United Church in The Pas for the next three days - Oct. 18, 19 and 20 - following his Thompson stop Oct. 17. He will also be in Minnedosa for a guitar workshop Oct. 22 and in Roblin for an evening coffeehouse concert at Roblin United Church Oct. 24.
Sya Gregovski, a former member of the Advent Lutheran Church, which joined last Jan. 27 with St. John's United Church to become the Lutheran-United Church of Thompson, said the Palmer coffeehouse concert is a fundraiser for church programs. "There will be pie, harvest punch, a sing-along and great prizes," Gregovski said Oct. 8.
Palmer, who is in his 48th year of entertaining, performs a wide mix of ragtime, blues, gospel, folk and country. He notes on his website biography he was "heavily influenced" by Doc Watson, Gordon Lightfoot, Merle Travis and Ian Tyson, although he had a brief flirtation with his overdriven Fender Stratocaster and psychedelic rock from the UK during the mid-1960s British Invasion from November 1963 to December 1966. Today, he's more of an acoustic 12-string and six-string guitar guy.
Next year, Palmer plans to tour in support of his new CD, Prairie Airs. His voice has been described both as being like "a cool shady tree on a hot summer's day" or like "a warm blanket on a cold winter's night." Take your pick. He's been on occasion compared to Illinois-born country-folk singer-songwriter John Prine.
Palmer paid his dues in the music industry as a guitarist-for-hire in country bands working the rural Alberta bar scene. He started using his voice only in the 1980s after additional formal musical study.
