Regina-based band The Dead South features P.A. raised banjoist Colton Crawford, far right. The band returned to Prince Albert to perform at Chesterfest on July 5, 2019

By Brady Bateman

Homecoming and Healing

Homecoming and healing: Musicians return to P.A. stage

Jul 9, 2019 | 5:00 PM

It was the story of both a comeback and a homecoming, as two Prince Albert raised musicians took to the stage at the first-annual Chesterfest just west of P.A. July 5 and 6.

Performing at Chesterfest was something of a full-circle moment for Prince Albert raised musician Colton Crawford, who is a member of the Regina-based band The Dead South.

Crawford told paNOW his musical career began at the age of five, with piano lessons from his mother. His musical interest transitioned to acoustic guitar and later to the electric guitar, playing in several metal bands in high school and university. He had only recently started to learn banjo before meeting his now fellow band member, Nate Hilts.

Formed in 2012, The Dead South is composed of Nate Hilts, Scott Pringle, Danny Kenyon and Colton Crawford. The band has a folk-bluegrass sound, which Crawford told paNOW can be traced back to the musical influences which helped form the band.

“I had just gotten this banjo and Nate was learning to sing and play guitar. We saw this video by the band Trampled by Turtles, and we thought it would just be kind of cool to make music like that,” Crawford said.

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“We never sat down with this mastermind plan of what we wanted to happen. We just started kind of jamming and the product is the natural result of the four of us jamming, making each other laugh and learning to play our instruments.”

Crawford noted although the band is now known world-wide, the celebrity status still doesn’t feel real. The Dead South’s biggest hit came in the form of the 2014 track, In Hell I’ll Be in Good Company – which was shared to popular forum website Reddit by a fan, leading to the video receiving more than 130 million views on YouTube.

“It’s been wild. There has been a lot of hard work and a lot of exhaustion, when we first started we said ‘yes’ to absolutely everything, there wasn’t a gig we turned down. It didn’t matter if we got paid, it didn’t matter where it was,” Crawford said.

“We’re just sort of riding this wave and trying not to make any mistakes and just seeing how far it will take us.”

During the band’s performance at Chesterfest on July 5, there were several fans heard shouting “Colton” from the audience as the band played, admiration which Crawford admits felt very good.

“It was really cool. I got to see a lot of old friends I haven’t seen in a while. It was nice to have an excuse to come back and see all these people I don’t get the chance to see anymore,” he said. “I thought the idea behind the festival was really cool. I loved the location and people seemed to really love it.”

The Dead South are scheduled to release a new album in October.

Along with the story of an artist on the world-stage returning to Prince Albert, Chesterfest also played host to the story of a P.A. musician’s comeback from great adversity.

Born and raised in Prince Albert, Jake Diehl has been both the subject of tragedy but also healing and hope. Diehl was seriously injured in 2018, after he fell while longboarding and was run over by the rear wheel of a Jeep he was holding onto. He sustained major head trauma and was placed in a medically induced coma.

Diehl told paNOW how music has helped him since his accident, and how it continues to play a major role in his life.

“Music is my life. I know that I haven’t gotten very far with it so far, but so far are the main words there. I’m a believer that if you try, if you really really try, you’ll get there,” Diehl said.

“Music has remained a constant in my life. Before my accident I used to play music all the time. It allowed me to talk when words didn’t work. I know now that I can show people exactly how I’m feeling when I’m playing music.”

P.A. raised artist jake Diehl believes music has helped him on his road to recovery, following a severe accident in 2018. (Jake Diehl/Instagram)

Diehl recalled a memory from what he refers to as his nap, the medically induced coma he was placed in following his accident. He told paNOW that it is one of very few memories from that time he can clearly recall, and of its musical influence.

Diehl found himself in a room listening to a sole guitarist playing a melody for an audience of one, himself. He recalled how the music which was played moved him.

“There was a guy playing guitar. He had long hair, wearing no shirt and no socks, and he was just really giving it on guitar. He switched from instrument to instrument, and I just kind of laid there with my eyes closed listening,” Diehl remembered.

“It was so wonderful, and I loved the music so much. Finally, the music stopped, so I sat up and looked ahead … he stood up, and it was me, it was myself playing guitar. I stood up and I thanked him, or I guess myself, and he said ‘No, thank you Jake, you got this’, and that was when I really woke up.”

Diehl attributes his successful recovery over the past year in large part to music and his involvement with it. He noted he hopes to continue his journey and would like to make a career with his guitar one day.

He also noted if and when Chesterfest returns to P.A., he hopes to be on the stage singing to a crowd once again.

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Brady.bateman@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TheDigitalBirdy