The Honey Cowboy might sound like just a fun stage name. And it is, but Brendan Dickson comes to it honestly.
When we schedule an interview, he asks if we can move it back a few minutes so he can wipe the honey off his face first. With songs such as “Where Does Your Honey Come From?” and just “Honey,” it’s no surprise to discover that Dickson is an honest-to-goodness honey cowboy, or at least, a beekeeper, in real life. He works at Mighty Peace Honey, the family honey farm where he grew up.
He wrote his first song when he was 14, called “The Hobo Song.” “I think I was putting a glamorous spin on it, the freedom of doing what you like, I guess.” He laughs. “It wasn’t my best song.”
He kept writing and practising guitar and when he was about 19, started going to open mics. “I needed a stage persona so based on my job and then the independent cowboy, free-spirit kind of a thing, I put the two together and that’s where Honey Cowboy came from.”
Since 2022 he’s been playing in a band. “Now there’s four of us. We’re The Honey Cowboy now,” he laughs.
It wasn’t a planned thing, he says. His brother Ian plays the keyboard so Dickson brought him out for a show and then ended up inviting Keiffer Milford, bass, and Brandon Ennes, drums, to join as well. They all sing. “Things kicked off so well that we just kept it up,” says Dickson. “And we’ve been going strong ever since.”
It’s been a fun change from singing alone, he says.
“The sound has really filled out with the addition of all the instruments. It’s also become a lot more dynamic. It was pretty simple and straightforward before and now there are a lot more unique musical parts and a variety of influences that have been brought in.”
The alternative folk-rock group is currently recording an album, though Dickson says he can’t say too much about it yet.
All the band members write songs for the group.
“Most of the songwriting that I do, I write it when I’m working,” Dickson says. “To me, music is often a reflection of life and working is a big part of life. I’ll run things through my head and then when I get a chance I’ll do a quick recording on my phone. Sometimes I’ll keep my guitar close by, play it at lunch.”
“Sometimes if a guy doesn’t have his coffee in the morning, he can just play a little song and that gets the heart racing instead,” he smiles. “It definitely helps get through the day when there are long days.”
The band has been playing more shows and festivals in the region lately.
“We’re hoping to play more, hoping to get out more around the province,” says Dickson. “I feel like, as a band we’re just getting started and people will be able to look forward to a lot of great music coming out of Grimshaw.”
“Honey” by The Honey Cowboy:
