Lonesome Ace Stringband Unveil Their Single, “Sweeter Sound”
Toronto-based, acoustic power trio Lonesome Ace Stringband is made up of John Showman on fiddle, Chris Coole on banjo, and Max Malone on bass. The trio is set to unveil their brand new album, Try To Make It Fly on October 13, 2023, marking not only their reinvigorated, live-on-stage sound but also a venture into more Americana-leaning songwriting.
“We have a unique take on all of the traditional material we do and wanted to keep pushing our sound to new places,” says John Showman, fiddle player—not unlike the paths taken by legendary predecessors like John Hartford or The Band.
And while it’s Lonesome Ace Stringband’s finely tuned musicianship and command of the old-time and bluegrass music catalog that’s garnered new listeners and premier festival slots, the trio finds comfort in reaching out to a new, song-hungry audience.
“It felt like a place where we could be ourselves as writers and craft music that would fit the genre regardless of what we found ourselves writing about lyrically.”
Add that to the trio’s already dynamic concoction of fiddle, banjo, and bass, and the results reveal a bright future for the ever-evolving Lonesome Ace Stringband.
Today, the band shares their single, “Sweeter Sound,” which premiered yesterday on Folk Radio UK.
The song opens with Showman’s somber fiddle pull before Coole joins in on banjo, igniting the rollicking journey to “make a sweeter sound.”
According to Malone,
“The opening line of the chorus, ‘Try to make it better than the way we found,’ is something of a mantra for the band. Perseverance and belief in what you love to do and trying despite evidence of success is the essence of its message.”
Watch the video for “Sweeter Sound” below and learn more about the band via our Five Questions With segment.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
I’m John Showman, a fiddle player from Toronto. I started playing in 1996 as a professional to avoid getting a “real job” and I’ve been doing only fiddle playing since then. As I’m still alive, I’d say I’ve made a living at it for nearly 30 years. Right now I do 90% of my playing with a great trio called the Lonesome Ace Stringband with Chris Coole on banjo and Max Malone on double bass. I love country music, bluegrass, and old-time traditional music, especially Appalachian and Celtic tunes, and I really enjoy working in groups on writing, arranging, and performing all kinds of different-sounding tunes and songs.
Tell us a bit about your most recent release.
Chris, Max, and I have made more than a dozen records together, including five under the name Lonesome Ace Stringband, and while we have written a bunch of songs and tunes, both separately and together, we had not previously written and recorded an entire record of our own stuff. Until now!! “Try To Make It Fly” is a record that reflects the different sounds and themes that drew each of us into this musical journey. We write songs about love, traveling, purpose, tragedy, BBQ, politics, psilocybin mushrooms, and generally just striving to improve things for ourselves and the people and places around us.
Where do you tend to pull inspiration from when writing?
I’ve done so much traveling and playing, and met so many inspiring people and beautiful places, that I tend to make those the subjects of the songs I write. Chris and Max tend to do the same. To name a few: “Midnight Band” is inspired by a great late-night concert that I stumbled upon in the Florida Keys; “Simply Going Sideways” reflects Chris’ experience of being a traveler trying to find the right recipe for musical relevance and success; and “Come With Me Tonight” is about a long distance love interest of Max’s that blooms over time.
Do you have any upcoming shows you’d like to tell us about?
We are pretty excited for our upcoming fall tour in November that will take us across the prairies as well as for our Toronto record launch at the Tranzac Club. We have all of our shows easy to find on our website or on Songkick and Bandsintown.
What’s your goal for 2023?
Our goal is to have our fans, new and old, as well as our peers, hear our record and think, “Man, I really like the songs those guys are writing and I want to see them play live as soon as I can!”
Catch Lonesome Ace Stringband On Tour:
Aug. 26 – Sorrento, BC – Nimble Fingers Bluegrass & Old Time Workshop and Festival
Sept. 2 – Pilesgrove, NJ – Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival
Sept. 15-16 – Flagstaff, AZ – Pickin’ In The Pines Bluegrass & Acoustic Music Festival
Sept. 19 – Nashville, TN – AMERICANAFEST
Oct. 18 – Cambridge, MA – Club Passim
Oct. 19 – Exeter, NH – The Wood Barn
Oct. 20 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Caffe Lena
Oct. 21 – Brownfield, ME – Stone Mountain Arts Center
Oct. 22 – Greenfield, MA – Hawks & Reed
Oct. 23 – New York, NY – City Vineyard at Pier 26
Oct. 25 – Vienna, VA – Jammin’ Java
Oct. 26 – Oberlin, OH – Music at Riverdog
Oct. 28 – Manitowoc, WI – Sabbatical Brewing Co.
Oct. 29 – Holland, MI – Park Theatre
Oct. 30 – Ann Arbour, MI – The Ark
Nov. 1 – Toronto, ON – The Tranzac Club
Nov. 22 – Edmonton, AB – Northern Bluegrass Circle Music Society
Nov. 23 – Saskatoon, SK – The Bassment
Nov. 24 – Red Deer, AB – The Velvet Olive
Nov. 25 – Calgary, AB – Foothills Bluegrass Circle Music Society
Nov. 27 – Missoula, MT – Longstaff House
Nov. 29 – Sisters, OR – The Belfry
Dec. 1 – Portland, OR – McMenamins White Eagle Saloon & Hotel
Dec. 2 – Seattle, WA – Ballard Homestead
Dec. 3 – Victoria, BC – Victoria Event Centre
Dec. 4 – Vancouver, BC – The Anza Club
Dec. 5 – Oliver, BC – The Oliver Theatre
Connect with Lonesome Ace Stringband:
Website
Facebook
Instagram