A taste of east coast music with a modern twist is coming to 100 Mile House next month.
On Thursday, April 13 Cod Gone Wild is set to perform live at the 100 Mile Community Hall. Lead singer and band founder Andrew Mercer said this marks their first-ever performance in 100 Mile House.
“It’s always nice to do a new venue, and I think our favourite shows to do are in smaller communities,” Mercer said. “The overall vibe of smaller, rural communities seems to be better, and we always get bigger turnouts than larger communities.”
Mercer started Cod Gone Wild back in 2009 after he moved to Vernon from Newfoundland. He said music has always been a big part of his life and that he played in bars across St. John’s while attending university. This passion is what led him to establish his own band to create a niche for Celtic-inspired music.
Over the years band members have come and gone as Mercer has built a group of experienced musicians from diverse musical backgrounds including jazz, classical, folk and rock. The band today consists of fiddle player Shamma Sabir, bassist Dan Fogarty, electric guitarist Sean Bray and drummer David Mihal.
“It’s great to bring all these people together to create the sound we have now,” Mercer said. “They bring their own music into the mix and that brings the uniqueness. It does create something a little more modern and edgy, and I think that appeals to a wider audience.”
Getting the chance to tour again is exciting, Mercer said, noting this tour is the first time since the pandemic the entire band has played together publicly. They’ve all missed the thrill of playing together on stage.
“When people come to the show they’ll see five people on stage who genuinely like each other and really enjoy what they’re doing,” Mercer said. “That really comes across when we play. We have so much fun up there, and sometimes I forget I’m on stage performing.”
Mercer said he chose to put on a show in 100 Mile House after getting hired to play in Prince George on April 15. Rather than just head north for one show, he made it into a tour with stopovers in Fort St. John on April 14 and Williams Lake on April 16.
The doors to their 100 Mile show on April 13 open at 6:30 p.m. with music beginning at 7:30 p.m. He said they’ve already sold 60 tickets online for $25 each through codgonewild.com. He encourages the entire community to take the chance to come out, relax and have a good time listening to some quality Celtic music.
“Celtic music is infectious, that’s what I always tell people. Even the ballads have this lilt to them that’s uplifting,” Mercer said. “It’s feel-good, upbeat music that gets a lot of smiles from the audiences.”
patrick.davies@100milefreepress.net
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