Q&A with singer-songwriter Jack Walton
Join singer-songwriter Jack Walton & Special Friends in a virtual fundraising concert in support of Wallace Stegner House Thursday, February 18 at 7:00 pm CST.
A performance with singer, songwriter and guitarist Jack Walton is a diverse and eclectic experience. His original songs and compositions cover a wide range of genres including folk, roots, blues and a contagious jazzy swing. From a beach on the Northumberland Strait to a seawall on Vancouver Island; a winter storm in a small prairie town or paddling a blue northern lake, Jack’s musical tales are a reflection of the vast and diverse Canadian landscape, both real and imagined.
Tell us a bit about you, and your interests in the arts? I’m a Prairie Maritimer. I was born in New Brunswick to an Acadian mom and an Irish dad. My early school years were spent in Northern Ontario in and around mining towns. After university at Waterloo, I took to meandering. Humming Lightfoot’s Alberta Bound, I initially set off to see the West. It seemed like a natural progression for a curious and independent soul post 60s. Over time I worked and lived in most regions of the country before settling on the Saskatchewan prairies for the last three decades.
I like the prairie. In a setting sun it reaches out to me, much like the ocean. There is a sense of distance one learns from the ocean and the prairie. My interest in the arts is mixed, music, film, writing, design, and theory are all very different in their form but they all seemed to be strung on a common thread of experience and place. I’m mostly a dabbler, moving with cautious curiosity from one to another and back again, each informing something to the other.
Tell us briefly the type of experience attendees will have when they attend your concert? Why should people tune in? I’m hoping they will feel as if they have just dropped into the house for a visit. A Sunday night stroll in Eastend. And much like a warm blanket on a winter night, I hope they get all wrapped up in some good tunes and stories as well as learn more about the wonderful treasure that we have in Wallace Stegner House and it’s residency program. It will be a fun and informative evening in support of sustaining Stegner House and it’s programming.
What was the inspiration for starting these virtual concert series and how will Stegner concert be unique? I started doing virtual events when I could no longer produce the live fundraising events. For years before the pandemic I had produced a series of small musical events in support of the HOPE Cancer Centre in Saskatoon. The organization has helped many creative friends when they were dealing with cancer and it was a way to support that spirit. Transitioning to virtual concerts seemed doable so I meandered down that road.
What is your interest in Wallace Stegner House and why is it important? I’ve always had a strong interest in heritage, advocating for the retention of place and story. The house and the young Wallace Stegner story are a nice weave of tangible and intangible heritage. Without the house, retaining the story is more challenging.
Why you think Stegner House is important to members of the Saskatchewan Writers Guild? Together, the house and the residency program provide a unique opportunity to advance their craft. Each artist is different but the commonality is that it seems to be a freeing space, where creative musing can become focused and, in the house and the community there is a degree of tranquility that supports inner reflections as an artist.
What does the land mean to you? What is the most important issue facing the environment? The land is the root of who we are as people Our emotional response to it shapes our view of the world around us. Most of all, WOW, it’s natural beauty from season to season is a spirit to behold. I try, in my music and writing to reflect that emotional response. There are many issues that need to be addressed. For the physical environment to be healthy and function within its natural and sustainable life cycles, it requires respect. Education related to the long term benefits of a clean and sustainable environment can build that respect and inspire a better informed public to create change.
Where is your personal Geography of Hope? Is there a special place on the land in this province where you love to be? Why is it special for you? How does it make you feel? There are so many places across this beautiful country and around the world that are special. I’m fond of many and each evokes a different set of emotions. Take Parlee Beach as an example: etched in my childhood memory is the feeling of standing in the soft sand of Parlee Beach. There's a salty smell in the air, stirred up by an incoming tide, that slaps the rippled sand in a jazzy beat while I'm lost, starring across the water towards PEI, a small sail off in the distance.
What is your idea of perfect happiness? Seeing smiles on the face of children, the result of them feeling secure in the future of their planet... Of course, the escapist in me is perfectly happy with a single malt scotch, a guitar and a drummer with brushes. LOL.
