May 2 2025 - 7:30 PM
Gordie Tentrees blew us away a few years ago at the Sam Hinton Festival, with his deft guitar and harmonica work, his strong and very true songs, and his rich stories from his life on the road, between times of family and community sequestering way, way, way up in the Yukon. He’s been touring with fellow Canadian, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist (banjo, mandolin) Jaxon Haldane, honing their repertoire and picking up new stories on the way. They’ve just finished an album in Nashville, which should be out just about our concert date.
Gordie and Jaxon met in 2005 (Fred Eaglesmith Picnic, Ontario) and swapped records before hitting the road with disparate musical aspirations. Gordie performed over 3000 concerts around the world, often touring as Eaglesmith’s opening act, learning about the music business, and leveraging his previous experience in the boxing ring (3x Golden Glove champ). Gordie also toured with James Cotten, Mary Gauthier, Kelly Joe Phelps, Steve Poltz, and Ray Wylie Hubbard, to name a few. Jaxon was meanwhile tearing up stages from Churchill to Belfast (D.Rangers bandleader/banjo player), producing records for his indie label (Dollartone), and touring with Petunia, The Sadies, Jon Spencer, and Romi Mayes. His close relationship with lifelong musical hero and mentor Willie P. Bennett led to Jaxon recording Willie’s last record, Sharpen The Plow, just prior to Willie’s passing in 2008. Jaxon founded the Willie P. Bennett Legacy site to pay tribute to his deceased friend. Interestingly, Bennett and Eaglesmith spent 25 years performing and touring, setting an example of camaraderie and excellence that still guides the way for Tentrees and Haldane.
Fast forward to 2014 in Beaumont, Texas. Gordie and Jaxon made their stage debut and quickly realized their friendship off the stage made for something special on it. Armed with an arsenal of instruments (fiddle-saw, harmonica, resonator, cigar box guitars, foot percussion, acoustic guitar, banjo, and mandolin), they have performed over 1000 concerts in eleven countries, creating an unscripted, dynamic electric/acoustic show built on brotherly harmonies and masterful storytelling. In 2018, they released GRIT, their debut live album recorded over five nights in western Canada by Scott Franchuk (Corb Lund, Old Reliable, Mariel Buckley, Del Barber), propelling featured appearances at major festivals such as Celtic Connections in Glasgow, Scotland, the National Folk Festival in Canberra, Australia, and the Woody Guthrie Festival in Okemah, Oklahoma.
Recently, they have each released solo records. Gordie’s Mean Old World was inspired by his journey as both a foster child and foster parent. For the past three years, Gordie has also been the sole non-indigenous male member of a land-based healing team operating on a horse ranch, writing songs with families in treatment and reconciling trauma. The Yukon based program, Shawthan Nazhi, recently won the $500k Arctic Inspiration Prize. Jaxon dropped On The Other Side in 2023, a concept album celebrating the unpredictability of life and his coming to terms with a return to living in Canada after years of being based in Oklahoma. The music of Tentrees and Haldane draws from a century of North American music traditions and is rooted in truth, social justice, and the human condition. Their performances are heartfelt and honest, seldom shying away from challenging topics and tough subject matter.