Chilkat Valley News - Serving Haines and Klukwan, Alaska since 1966

Canadian trio the Good Lovelies is bringing its three-part harmonies and witty on-stage banter to the Chilkat Center this Friday at 7:30 p.m.

The show is presented by the Haines Arts Council. Council president Tom Heywood characterized the Good Lovelies as part folk and part country, but said the trio’s real stand-out quality is their on-stage presence.

“They’re excellent musicians, but their humor is great on the stage. It’s fun to have people that can really grab an audience and hold them,” Heywood said.

Comprised of Caroline Brooks, Kerri Ough and Sue Passmore, the Good Lovelies formed in 2006 after performing their first show at Toronto’s Gladstone Hotel. International tours and several albums have garnered the group considerable popular and critical acclaim, including the “New Emerging Artist” award at the Canadian Folk Music Awards and the “Roots/Traditional Album of the Year Award” at the Juno awards.

The Good Lovelies are coming to Haines as part of a larger Alaskan tour, which also includes Skagway, Delta Junction, Valdez and Petersburg.

Brooks, who plays guitar, banjo and mandolin for the Good Lovelies, said the band has never been to Alaska, but is “smitten with the state” so far. The group played in Delta Junction Monday and traveled to Fairbanks later that night.

“Our shows have been really great. We did a tour two years ago in Australia and we were just treated like gold. And it’s been the same way here,” Brooks said.

Used to playing in remote, rural places like northern British Columbia, Brooks said the group thrives on small-town audiences and cultivating a “living room feel” during their shows. Part of that means making the audience comfortable through storytelling and inter-song banter.

“There’s something about the three of us together and how we work as a trio...we’re best friends. It would be very strange for us to get on the stage and not talk about the million bald eagles we saw that day. It’s basically like three buddies joking around on stage and playing songs,” Brooks said.

If parents want to enjoy a child-free Friday night of live music, Haines cheerleaders will be providing babysitting at the event to raise money for traveling and choreography.

“The arts council wanted to give it a try and they asked the cheerleaders if they would give it a go, so we’re hoping people will bring their kids and drop them off and enjoy the concert,” said cheerleading coach Teri Podsiki.

Podziki said activities will be planned for the kids. Parents can drop one child off for $10, and more than one for $15.

Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors, $5 for students and $40 for families.