The year was 1995 and there I was browsing the tiny record store in the Fraser Mall when I spotted Road Radio on the shelf. At the time, I didn’t know a lot of the Skydiggers’ music, but I recognized the name and a few of their songs (from Much Music no doubt). So, being eager to soak up as much music as I could, I took a chance and picked it up. Of course, back then there was no way to preview the album online or know what I was spending my money on, so there was a chance I was wasting my $20 (as I did on a lot of other albums!). Of course that was not the case.

Twenty years later Road Radio still holds a spot in my playlist. I won’t lie… that makes me feel old. But I still remember cruising the streets of my hometown listening to that album via my trusty Panasonic CD player over my (not so trusty) FM transmitter. It’s one of those albums that still causes a flood of memories and emotions from all those years ago when I play it, like some kind of time machine.

Over the past few years I’ve had the chance to see Skydiggers perform a couple of times in some unique venues, including the music room at a local high school. But when I saw they were playing in this old barn known as The Hayloft… I intended to buy tickets but completely forgot about it, scheduled a photo shoot for same night, realized at the last minute what I had done, and thought I was going to miss it… but luckily I was able to reschedule to the photo shoot and pick up a ticket. Phew!

If you know my landscape photography at all, you may have noticed that I have a love affair with the old barns that dot the landscape around these parts. So seeing one of my favourite bands playing in one of my favourite types of edifice was just awesome.

Of course I don’t go many places without my camera, so I snapped a few photos of the show from the sidelines.