Since I’ve been in Jasper, I’ve been warned about one thing: good bands don’t come to Jasper.

Having always lived in towns with rich music scenes, I admit I was concerned when I moved here, having caught many shows the past year living an hour from Calgary.

After a year that was topped with Neil Young, Pearl Jam, Oasis, and smaller bands like Sam Roberts and great indie bands, I was a little disappointed when the biggest name on the docket since I’ve been in town was the former singer of Big Sugar, who inevitably cancelled his Jasper stop.

Despite the apparent lack of music, I still find I’ve been covering a lot of live shows for the Fitzhugh, probably more than anything else. (Although if people keep losing their cats, I might have a close second). The past week has been the musical peak for the paper, and combined with art shows, the Arts & Culture section could fill every page if we wanted, leaving me wondering if this is just an exception to the rule, if live music is growing in popularity in town, or if it’s always been like this and some people just don’t know where to go to find it.

As the saying goes, don’t judge a book by its cover, Jasper’s music scene is everywhere. This week started out with two local bands, The Grave Mistakes and Sam Hate and the Jackals, both playing at the Jasper Legion for Friday the 13th. Not always known for their live bands, the Legion was a great venue for the small crowd of people, and it is not the first time I’ve been impressed with the music in the building that doubles as a school.
Furthermore, the following night I was popping back and forth between the Jasper Wolves hockey game and Children of Autumn, an original musical play with music performed by Jasper’s Greg Deagle and Grace Kohn, which, held at the Activity Centre, entertained what looked like well over 100 people.

On Monday there were almost more shows than editorial staff. A performance by the Juno-winning The McDades in Hinton (who skipped Jasper but also played in Valemount on Tuesday) seemed to be newsworthy – it’s not every day you get to see a Juno winner play – but the combination of weather, staff and other events, the Fitzhugh wasn’t able to make it.

The same night, held at the Brushfire Gallery, was an intimate performance by Gordie Tentrees. Admittedly, I had never heard of Tentrees, nor had I been in the Brushfire Gallery, but from reading his press release, I knew didn’t want to miss it.

In the fire hall-turned art gallery, Tentrees played to a small crowd of no more than 30 people in seats only a couple feet away him – an experience you certainly won’t find at the Rexall Place.

Tentrees’ twangy country sound and blues guitar might not be for everybody, but I think it’s safe to say the people at the Brushfire Gallery that night weren’t hoping for a lip-syncing pop star.

Not to be outdone, the very same night the Mudmen played down the block at the Atha-B. A change of pace from the Brushfire Gallery, the Mudmen’s heavy metal rock sound combined with wailing bagpipes left half the crowd dancing in front of the stage, with the rest watching, partly just out of curiosity, as two football-sized men in kilts played bagpipes to the heavy drumming and guitars of original music, Metallica and AC/DC covers and their CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada winning theme song – a feat in it’s own right.

These are only a few of the places that offer up some occasional live acts. Sometimes the best shows aren’t the ones that you hear about on the radio. Sometimes a little research into what this town’s music, art venues and business’ have to offer can lead to the discovery of great musical talent and to shows you won’t want to miss.