Downchild Blues Band excited to return to the Sault

In seven days, one of Canada’s most legendary Blues bands will be stopping in the Sault as part of a nationwide tour.

Downchild Blues Band, now known as Downchild, is prominently known for inspiring The Blues Brothers, the 1980 hit musical comedy film starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd.

Led by original member and guitarist Donnie Walsh, Downchild is close to wrapping up their 50th anniversary tour, which has taken them to both Canadian coasts and everywhere in between.

The Sault will be the second last show on the band’s tour – one that has stretched nearly three years as pandemic restrictions delayed several portions of their cross-Canada venture.

The group’s lead singer Chuck Jackson has been with the group since 1990, and he says he has many fond memories of performing at various festivals and bars in town over the years.

“We haven’t been up to the Sault in a while, but we’re really looking forward to getting back up there,” he says. “It’ll be nice to see some familiar faces.”

The other members of the band include saxophonist Pat Carey, bass player Gary Kendall, drummer Jim Casson, and keyboardist Tyler Yarema.

Throughout the course of their 53-year history, Downchild has witnessed over 80 members come and go, but Donnie Walsh has been there right from the start.

For Jackson, his gratitude for the band’s original member is palpable.

“We owe it all to Donnie Walsh,” he says. “We’ve been lucky to be with him for the amount of time we have now. I’ve been the lead singer for the last 33 years, so I feel pretty honoured.”

Jackson explains having that many members of Downchild pass through over the years has meant they’ve established and maintained deep connections with many artists across the country.

Part of that relationship building has also been with many aspiring and young Blues artists, including one who will be joining Downchild for the Sault show.

“We’ve had a lot of young musicians join us over the years and open up for us,” he says. “On this tour up north, Jenie Thai, who’s a great young piano player, will be opening up for us and playing with us on stage. She’ll be doing a song that Jane Vasey, our original piano member who unfortunately passed away, made famous. It’s called “Tryin' To Keep Her 88's Straight.”

Having sold out many of their recent shows throughout Canada, Jackson says it’s been fun having the opportunity to continue spreading their Blues music to several generations of listeners and fans.

“The tour has gone a lot quicker than I thought it would,” he says. “We’ve really enjoyed it, and the fans especially seem to enjoy it after COVID. We basically have three generations of fans; our original fans, their children, and their children’s children, so it’s been a lot of fun seeing them all out there.”

Downchild will be performing songs from a collection of their CDs, albums, and 8-tracks from over the years, including “Flip, Flop and Fly,” “Shotgun Blues,” and “I Got Everything I Need.”

“We’ll have a great variety of old and new,” Jackson says.

Downchild recently released its 50th Anniversary Live at the Toronto Jazz Festival DVD, which features appearances by Dan Aykroyd, Paul Shaffer, David Wilcox, Kenny Neal, Gene Taylor, and Erja Lyytinen.

The band just finished up the west coast portion of their tour on Sunday, and they’re currently heading towards Meaford, ON for a Friday night show this week.

Their next stop will then be in the Sault the following Friday on Nov. 11 where they’ll perform at the Sault Community Theatre Centre at 7:30 p.m.

The tour wraps up in Sudbury the following evening.

Tickets are available online, by calling 705-945-7299, or at the Station Mall box office.