Jeffery Straker, Saskatchewan-born singer-songwriter-pianist, is taking his Christmas show outside of Regina this year and his very first stop will be Moose Jaw.
A Very Prairie Christmas will hit the Mae Wilson Theatre on Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m., the first time the show has been performed somewhere other than the usual venue at Casino Regina’s showroom.
“I had a lot of messages from people. . . saying surely you could do a holiday show closer to us, and I thought, maybe we should try,” said Straker. “And so Moose Jaw will officially be our first time taking this away from Regina, so I'm really excited.”
The interest prompted Straker to branch out on a five-stop tour around Saskatchewan, beginning with Regina and Moose Jaw before moving on to Saskatoon, Prince Albert, and North Battleford.
The holiday show will feature a mix of classic and contemporary holiday tunes, tied together with Straker’s original music and some storytelling of his own. He will be accompanied by a band to fill out the arrangement, and he’s even promising a guest appearance.
“I play the piano and sing and my sister joins me on harmonies and I think it's a really nice homespun evening, perfectly suited to the holidays,” said Straker. “She hasn't been able to [tour with me] for a long time. . . and that's going to be a real treat to get to do that again.”
A Very Prairie Christmas is really meant to embody the feeling of the season, said Straker, especially as he wanted the show to capture a warm, hometown-holiday feeling through the beloved music that holds a special place in most people’s hearts.
Straker drew on his own memories of Christmas when creating the show, and he really focused on the traditional music of the holiday.
“Sort of where this all comes from is when I think back to the Christmases I loved the most, growing up as a kid on a grain farm in rural Saskatchewan, music was always the heart of Christmas,” said Straker. “So I wanted to try to. . . bring a little bit of that to the stage, and just sort of let people forget everything for a couple of hours with us.”
A Very Prairie Christmas has always been extremely well received in Regina, with plenty of positive feedback gushing in.
“These types of traditional Christmas shows, it's like they don't exist anymore, and for that reason people really like it,” said Straker. “I kind of tiptoe through all of this music, because it's all such a part of the fabric of what Christmas is to so many people.”
Straker is very much looking forward to returning to the Mae Wilson Theatre — which he laughingly described as “the Carnegie Hall of the prairies” — especially as he hasn’t performed in Moose Jaw’s historic venue in a few years.
“These songs are such a part of the soundtrack to that time a year, and I think when you get in a theatre space as beautiful as the Mae Wilson, to bring this to life, it becomes a really special thing,” said Straker. “I'm really looking forward to it, I love that theatre to bits.”
Straker hopes that A Very Prairie Christmas will be everything people expect and more, as it combines the special sparkle of Christmas music with the magic of live music on one stage.
“Subconsciously, I think people buy a ticket [to a show] to go feel something,” said Straker. “And people know when they get to the theatre and there's live music and people singing and playing, each night that's different and it's kind of a wonderful surprise. So hopefully, we can bring that.”
Tickets for A Very Prairie Christmas are available to purchase through the Moose Jaw Cultural Centre website, or from the box office either in person or by calling 1 (306) 693-4700.
