CUT KNIFE — At the young age of 21, Cut Knife musician Jake Vaadeland is reaching new heights with his unique sound and retro style.
In the past year, Vaadeland has toured across Canada, the U.S. and the United Kingdom with his band, The Sturgeon River Boys. With awards season upon us, he has been nominated for the Sask. Music Awards Album of the Year and has received his first Juno nomination for Traditional Roots Album of the Year. He is also a semifinalist in SiriusXM’s Top of the Country competition.
With the group’s rising popularity in North America and the U.K., the band has been travelling more frequently. They started the year with more local shows, playing throughout Saskatchewan and Alberta before heading south of the border to perform in Ohio, Maryland, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Texas, Tennessee and Oklahoma.
“We have been staying pretty busy with tours, lasting roughly two weeks at a time. There’s hardly a month where we don’t have a couple of shows, but I am very fortunate to be able to make my living this way,” said the 21-year-old in an interview with SaskToday.
By March, the group was back in Cut Knife, using Vaadeland’s home to record new music—this time with the Saskatchewan Arts Council—before making the trek across the pond to the U.K. As they continued their travels, they earned nominations for New Touring Artist of the Year with the Canadian Live Music Association and six nominations with the Saskatchewan Country Music Association. They also saw their album Retro Man… More and More reach No. 3 on the iTunes Country Album chart. While in the U.K., they received three more nominations from the Canadian Country Music Awards and a nomination for Roots Artist of the Year from the Western Canadian Music Awards.
At the Saskatchewan Country Music Awards in June, Vaadeland won Male Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Video of the Year and Interactive Artist of the Year. He and the band then headed to Calgary to play at the Stampede before touring throughout Western Canada for the summer.
After touring for most of the year, bassist Stephen Williams decided to step away from the musician lifestyle to focus on his family—wife Veronica and daughter Melody.
“Stephen is a wonderful entertainer and is great at playing bass. The way he performed on the stage will never be replaced in the same way.”
With the loss of such a charismatic member, the band reached out to Jake Smithies of Burnbank, Sheffield, U.K. Smithies became a professional double bassist at the age of 13, creating a unique signature slap that has taken him around the world with his band, Dead Man’s Uke.
“It’s great to have a like-minded musician who is committed to the road and has us and the music industry as a priority. It’s a reassuring feeling to know we have a group of guys who are ‘in it to win it,’ so to say,” said the artist. Vaadeland laughed, adding the only thing he doesn’t like is that they share the same name.
Smithies was originally only going to play with Vaadeland and the Sturgeon River Boys while touring the U.K. in September, but Vaadeland said they now call on the new bassist for larger tours.
“Jake has been able to find his own way of entertaining the audience, which is what we need. I am a big advocate in making sure live shows are entertaining—it’s not just music. If you want to just listen to music, then buy the album. If you are going to pay money to just sit, you don’t want to watch us standing there like sticks,” said Vaadeland.
After returning home from the U.K. tour, the Canadian Independent Music Association announced Vaadeland had earned Road Gold certification for his Retro Man tour, given to artists who have sold 25,000 or more tickets in a 12-month period in Canada. Vaadeland, the youngest-ever recipient of the distinction, joins other major Canadian artists, including Dean Brody, Brett Kissel, the Sheepdogs and The Glorious Sons.
Although it seems being on the road would allow Vaadeland to venture into writing more songs, he said there is not a whole lot of extra time.
“When I was still trapped in school, I was able to get all my frustrations penned out, the songs recorded and on albums, which a lot of people are still listening to now. We have been fairly busy with our shows, which is great for those new audiences who are listening to the music for the first time. But the songwriting is still there, it’s just slowed down.”
While all the nominations and wins he has received over the year have been great, Vaadeland admitted he is not one for awards.
“I am very happy and honoured about it, but I tend to get overwhelmed when it comes to awards and competitions. I just wanted to make my living as a musician, I never cared about the awards or recognition. I am a bit embarrassed to say it, but I usually get a message saying ‘congratulations on being nominated’ months later and I didn’t know about it as I don’t keep up with those sorts of things,” laughed Vaadeland.
“We were nominated for four awards a few years back, but we were unable to attend as we had already booked a performance. The only reason I knew we had won anything was because the audience was watching the awards show on their phones and cheering when we won.”
While he is grateful for being nominated, he often refers to the awards he wins as his rite of passage as a touring musician.
“I give all of my awards to my mother. She has a shelf in her house. Most of the awards don’t fit the 1940s style of my house—they are all too modern. For the longest time, I kept them all in a drawer and never looked at them, but I feel my mother deserves them more than I do, and I know she shows them off to people more than I would,” said Vaadeland, adding that if he were to win a Juno Award, he would probably find a place in his home to display the hardware.
Vaadeland is excited to be a part of the Top of the Country competition, where the semifinalists will have the opportunity to record their music and shoot a music video, which will be voted on by fans. The winner will receive $25,000, and the top three finalists will perform at the CCMA’s Country Music Week in Kelowna, B.C., and receive a lifetime mentorship.
“We usually toil when it comes time to record a new song, including how to pay for it, so to have this opportunity, I really appreciate it. To be alongside these other artists, it’s great to have my name along with them. I see us as all equal and we should all have our chance to make our livings as musicians. It is quite an honour.”
Vaadeland plans to record his newest song, Everybody Loves My Little Darling, which has gone over quite well when the group has performed at some of their recent shows.
“I always had a big vision of touring the world making a living performing my music when I first started. At the end of the day, I’m just so grateful to be able to live out of Cut Knife, being a functional member of the community, having my family and the services we have in town.”
He admitted he never gave much of a thought as to where his music would take him, trying to keep an open mind of the endless possibilities on where he may end up one day.
“Someday we could get a Juno, maybe a Grammy, make it to the Grand Ole Opry, but I try not to think about it because if I don’t, then I won’t be upset if we never make it there. Even if I don’t make it, I will still be happy to live in Cut Knife and pay my bills,” said Vaadeland.
The newest album will be released sometime in April. To stay up to date on all of Jake Vaadeland and the Sturgeon River Boys news and tour dates, check out .
