After a long hiatus, Rae Spoon is returning to their roots. They’re just finishing up a brand-new album, Hyper Country, their first country record in nearly two decades.
We reached Spoon at home in Montreal after they’d spent the day playing and recording banjo tracks for the album.
“It’s all recorded with non-binary folks, trans folks or other underrepresented folks making country music,” they say. “So it’s a different kind of country music. It’s exciting, it’s fun. It just feels good to try to decentralize country music a little bit.”
Spoon, who grew up in Calgary, says country music was just a part of life in their family. But when they came out as trans in 2001, and then later as non-binary, country music didn’t feel like a safe space. Over the past few years, however, the landscape has shifted a little with more LGBTQ people rising to prominence in the genre.
“I didn’t think I would ever go back to it. There were too many bad memories,” they say. “But it feels really good being back.”
They note that the album is a new spin on country. As mentioned, Spoon is recording with a diverse crew of artists, including drummer/composer alaska B , experimental musician Ky Brooks, and guitarist/composer Christine Bougie.
So, a return to country and soon, also a return to Calgary! Spoon is heading west for a solo show at Sled Island, June 21. They’re looking forward to playing their latest single, a cover of Garth Brooks’ “I’ve Got Friends in Low Places” to Albertans.
“I know a lot more people in Alberta know the song,” they say. “It can really calm a room down, it can really focus people.”
Hyper Country comes out next February. Spoon had initially planned to head to the United States to tour with it. The new plan is to stick to Canada.
“We’re going to try slow touring, so go to the Halifax region for a week or two, for example, go to smaller communities, do workshops and concerts. We’re just going to go hang out and play music.”
It’s all about bringing people together, says Spoon.
“I think for me connection is pretty much everything in the arts. I think connection, for many of us, is the reason we started doing it.”
Details on Spoon’s appearances at Sled Island can be found here.
