England’s Strawbs have a long and storied history going back more than 50 years. Dave Cousins is fond of telling the story of how his new band, The Strawberry Hill Boys, once did a six week residency in London with another upstart group. The other band was called The Rolling Stones. The Strawbs are as busy as ever and have no plans on sailing off into the sunset. In 2018, however, the band will mount their final full electric tour of Canada. The line-up will include original members Dave Cousins, Dave Lambert, Chas Cronk and Tony Fernandez, all of whom recorded on the classic Strawbs albums of the 1970s. Rounding out the lineup will be keyboardist Dave Bainbridge of the band, Iona. It has been quite a few years since the full electric Strawbs toured Canada.

Don’t miss this opportunity to see their last electric tour!

Strawbs album, Hero & Heroine, has been listed by Rolling Stone magazine as “one of the 50 greatest prog rock albums of all time”. It is the band’s biggest seller worldwide and was certified gold in North America.
In the USA Strawbs had seven consecutive albums in the Billboard Top 200.

Dave Cousins, founder member, has been described by All Music Guide as: “the most talented Dylaninfluenced songwriter to come out of England”.  He recently released his long awaited, and critically acclaimed, autobiography Exorcising Ghosts: Strawbs and Other Lives. It was listed by influential critic Richie Unterberger in his “Top 10 of 2014 rock books”

Strawbs are often mentioned in the same breath as progressive rock bands like Yes, King Crimson, and The Moody Blues.  It is well documented that Rick Wakeman left Strawbs for Yes.  Rick was followed by Blue Weaver – who left Strawbs to join the Bee Gees, John Hawken – from the original Renaissance, Don Airey – now with Deep Purple, Adam Wakeman, and Oliver Wakeman, who, like his father, left Strawbs to join Yes!

Strawbs emerged out of the British Folk Movement of the mid-1960s, starting life as the Strawberry Hill Boys playing bluegrass. They moved into the mainstream in 1967 by making the first Strawbsalbum, All Our Own Work, with Sandy Denny, a full year before she recorded her first album with Fairport Convention. The album attracted the attention of A&M Records in Hollywood who signed Strawbs as the first British band on the label.

Strawbs albums Hero & Heroine, Bursting At The Seams, Ghosts, and Grave New World define the music.  The current Strawbs line-up comprises Dave Cousins, lead guitarist Dave Lambert, bass player Chas Cronk, and drummer Tony Fernandez, who recorded and toured together in the 1970s.  They are joined by keyboard virtuoso Dave Bainbridge of Iona, a band whose mystical blend of rock, folk, Celtic and ambient music has endeared them to audiences across Europe and North America for the last 25 years.

“The Strawbs moved from folkier days to a lush, stately and mellotron-dominated sound, with similarities to Yes, King Crimson and the Moody Blues.  They wrote more compelling songs than the former two and possessed more lyrical/musical substance than the latter.” (Ken Barnes/Rolling Stone 1974)

“Carefully selecting their repertoire from less than obvious sources they invest the rarely performed material with considerable energy and thoughtful arrangements.” (Record Collector – 2003)

“Unlike many groups that are past their commercial prime and churn out inferior, dispirited versions of the hits from their glory days, the Acoustic Strawbs stand out as a band that performs their old material with passion and precision.  Furthermore, they have broken new ground by harnessing the power of their electric incarnation in an acoustic setting.” (Chicago Tribune – May 2003)

“Hearing the brilliant Strawbs [at the Edmonton Folk Festival] was like a tutorial in UK folk music from the past 40 years. (Edmonton Sun – August 2004)

“Like a Ray Davies steeped in Arthurian folklore and rustic reverie, David Cousins’ visionary talents are to the fore conjuring up a mythical canvas of Albion awakening.”  (Uncut – September 2008)

“Tell me what you see in me revealed it to be a virtual blueprint for the harmonies and arrangements of the entire Styx catalogue. Oh how she changed, similarly, sounded like a vocal model for latter day bands like Fleet Foxes.” (Schenectady Times Union – September 2010)

“The songwriting was phenomenal, and the way the trio embellished sublime melodies with supreme harmonies and incredible instrumentation made their performance unforgettable.  In fact, I repeatedly thought “music just isn’t this good anymore”. (Philadelphia Examiner – September 2011)

“Dave Cousins shows himself as a brilliant and original songwriter….” (Classic Rock – September 2012)