Up on Cripple Creek

For over a decade the troupe “Up On Cripple Creek” has done an exceptional job of taking the music of The Band to audiences in Alberta.
About this Event

Just over a decade ago a seven-member edition of Front Porch Roots Revue ran the show Up On Cripple Creek: The Songbook of “The Band” up the flagpole to what were enthusiastic responses from fans of The Band, as well as theatre, cabaret and festival producers. Since that time the ensemble has come together every few years to play dates around Alberta and B.C..

Armed with songs from all the classic Band albums, this troupe dishes out authentic, soulful renditions of classics like The Weight, Stage Fright, Across the Great Divide, Shape I’m In, It Makes No Difference, Ophelia, When I Paint My Masterpiece, and The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down while also dipping into material from solo Levon Helm albums and The Band’s reunion album Jericho.

Up On Cripple Creek boasts two great lead singers in Calgary’s J.R. Shore and Doug Andrew from Vancouver’s Circus In Flames. Bassist/vocalist Ron Rault, drummer Thom Moon, keyboard ace Garth Kennedy, guitarist Gord Matthews and harmonica player Crawdad Cantera are the other key players in this project.

Up On Cripple Creek has tweaked the show with every tour and in 2024, John York of The Byrds, was a special guest of Up On Cripple Creek. Another edition of the show found the group tackling the songbook of The Last Waltz with some help from vocalists Colleen Brown, Kirby Sewell and Ian Oscar. Show producer Peter North says, “this fall 2026 tour will be another memorable edition of the Up On Cripple Creek show and it is sure to give fans some new takes on timeless material.” Every edition of this show has enjoyed sold-out houses and great reviews. Out of the gate the Calgary Herald called the project “one of the best 15 shows of the year”.

Up On Cripple Creek has rocked many a venue including the Vancouver Island Music Fest, Salmon Arm Roots and Blues, Big Valley Jamboree, Festival Place in Sherwood Park, Arden Theatre in St. Albert, the Empress in Fort Macleod, Calgary’s Ironwood Stage, Nelson’s Capitol Theatre, Kicking Horse Cultural Centre in Golden and Butchart Gardens Concert Bowl in Victoria.

Band members

JR Shore - vocals

Doug Andrews - vocals, guitar

Gord Matthews - guitar, mandolin, & vocals

Garth Kennedy - keys, vocals
Ron Rault - bass & vocals
Thom Moon - drums, percussion
Dave "Crawdad" Cantera - harmonica, vocals