cowboy junkies tour diary

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Cowboy Junkies  

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Booth Playhouse, Blumenthal Performing Arts Center

The Charleston Music Hall

Gunter Theater, Peace Center for the Performing Arts

Haw River Ballroom

The Guild Theatre

Rio Theatre

Bimbo's 365 Club

Grass Valley Center for the Arts

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Cowboy Junkies are a band hailing from Toronto, Ontario, Canada who formed in 1985. Since debuting, they have released 18 studio albums and become one of the most influential and respected alt-country bands of all time.

The genesis of Cowboy Junkies begins with the dissolution of another band, namely singer and guitarist Michael Timmins and bassist Alan Anton's band Hunger Project. That band came to an end in 1985, but Anton and Timmins still wanted to make music together, so the duo teamed up with Timmins' siblings Margo and Peter in the same year to form a new project that fused country songwriting with a bluesy edge. The band had an abundance of chemistry and so they booked their first concert before even deciding on a name, and as the day drew closer and closer the venue hounded them for something to put on a poster, so spur of the moment, the band decided on Cowboy Junkies. Any band with a name that ludicrous would have to be something special to pull it off, and thankfully, that's exactly what Cowboy Junkies were and still are to this very day.

Rather than going down the established route of signing to a record label, the band decided to form Latent, their own label, in order to release their debut album “Whites Of Earth Now!!” themselves in 1986. The album consisted of eight covers of songs by the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Lightnin' Hopkins and only featured one original song from the band entitled “Take Me”, but against all probability, it was still enough to secure the band a major label record deal with RCA, despite the fact that the whole record was recorded on a single microphone. This unusual recording style worked so well for the band that they recorded the entirety of their major label debut “The Trinity Sessions” on a single microphone as well. A risky move, all things considered, but one that paid off immensely when the album became an absolutely enormous hit.

The album was released in 1988, and by the following year it had been certified Platinum in both Canada and the United States. Not bad for an album whose recordings weren't even edited, let alone mixed. Suddenly, the band were one of the hottest acts in the world of indie rock, To this day, they remain one of the most acclaimed acts in alt-country, a band who've collaborated with everyone from Natalie Merchant to Ryan Adams and have a cult following all over the world. For remaining a band that other bands could learn from for over three decades, Cowboy Junkies come highly recommended.

Live reviews

Wow, where to start? i had been a fan of the band since The Trinity Sessions release but had never seen them in concert. I lived in Atlanta in the late '90's and at that time and I heard they were playing in St Louis, so my wife and I went to Saint Louis to see them. Incredible show and then after the show was over, the house lights came on and we saw a small crowd gathering near the stage area. I had no idea that it was Margo and Mike signing autographs and just chatting with the crowd. Needless to say, we went up front and met Margo and Mike and talked with them a bit. That was so kool and neither gave the impression that they were in a rush or hurry to be done for the night. They must have hung out for 20 minutes or so.

As it turns out, they were playing in Atlanta about 2 weeks later. Of course we went to see them again... more prepared; I had most of their CD's so I had them signed by Margo, Mike and Alan. Since then I have seen them at least 4 more times with the two most memorable shows being at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens (this was an outdoor, early evening show) and as luck would have it, the ABG were also having a Chihuly exhibit . Simply a great evening with all the fantastic Chihuly exhibit all around the grounds and the CJ's playing a lot of their well known songs and playing a few songs from their new album "One Soul Now". The next time we saw them was when we lived in Scottsdale, AZ. I heard that the Cowboy Junkies were having a concert in San Juan Capistrano, CA. Road trip!!! The events that made this show so memorable were... visiting the Mission at San Juan Capistrano and the history associated with all of that and the fact that they were playing at the infamous Coach House... a small but great venue for a show. We were quite literally seated at a table in the very front and center of the show... literally 3' from the front of the stage. Taking it all back to my opening line..WOW!

It means a lot that the band is never too busy to talk to their fans following a show. To this very day, if the Cowboy Junkies are playing within 600 miles of where I live, we are going to their show!

Thanks to Margo and her unique voice that I describe as the sound of an angel, Mike for writing most all of the lyrics and music for their songs, Peter for his drum playing (Pete, the little brother), and Alan Anton on bass. Thanks for all of the beautiful music guys and please keep it coming!!

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The Cowboy Junkies have an instantly relatable sound to them that comes across when they perform their music live. The band is very skilled at mixing different genres such as country, blues, and rock to create their own brand of sound.

Although the Cowboy Junkies are from Canada, they have a very Americana sound, which draws influence from other Canadian rocker, Neil Young. The lead guitarist and primary songwriter, Michael Timmins, plays rich, open chords on his guitar that create a deep sound. The slide guitar is delicately layered over the long drawn out chords creating a country twang to the music. The Cowboy Junkies are often very fond of the harmonica, which is frequently used and whenever it is played it makes you feel like you are getting serenaded in a saloon in the old west.

The Cowboy Junkies have a name that makes them seem tough and rugged, but their music is actually very pleasing and beautifully presented. Lead singer, Margo Timmins, has the voice of an angel, which is conveyed by her soft, soothing presentation. Her voice is clearly represented in such songs as “Misguided Angels”, which contains a musical platform that really lets Margo’s voice shine. The band jumps back and forth between genres when they perform live. At one moment a mandolin might be featured in a song to create a gentle folk song, and at another moment the organ can be heard roaring over a thumping bass line in such songs as “Miles From Our Home”. The Cowboy Junkies always play an exciting setlist, which encompasses a wide selection from their discography. They have also been known to throw in some cover songs into their setlists by such artists as Vic Chesnutt, Townes Van Zandt, The Velvet Underground, and Neil Young. For years the Cowboy Junkies have been proving themselves to be a delightful and captivating band to see live that can create anything from up tempo country rock songs or beautiful, atmospheric folk ballads.

The appealingly ethereal qualities of alt-country rockers Cowboy Junkies’ sound, which made them so popular in the alte 1980s and ‘90s, are just as haunting and beautiful today. The Canadian quartet, led by female vocalist Margo Timmins, arequite the family affair, with siblings Michael and Peter Timmins on guitar and drums respectively, and long-term friend and member or Michael’s two previous bands Alan Argo playing bass. The intimacy that you might expect from a family band who have been writing music and touring for 30-odd years definitely translates to the Cowboy Junkies’ raw, analog-era material, as well as to their live shows. When I saw them last year at Yoshi’s San Francisco, as part of their ‘Nomad Series’ tour, the intimate atmosphere of the beautiful sit-down venue made this feel like a very special gig, and the quality of their songwriting and musicianship has definitely stood the test of time. With their lilting harmonies and gently visceral guitar riffs on songs like ‘Stranger Here’, ‘Sing In My Meadow’ and ‘Shining Moon’ went down a treat with the crowd, who I could tell were all fellow dedicated fans of the Junkies. For the encore they played their breakout debut success, the cover of the Velvet Underground’s ‘Sweet Jane’, which garnered a huge reaction, as well as a later release, ‘F*** I Hate The Cold’. All in all it was a really enjoyable night of beautiful music, and the rose-bedecked stage setup and Margo’s incredible, definition-eluding vocals really made this show a treat!

I have been listening to Cowboy Junkies since XRT first started playing them. One day I heard they were doing a CD release party for Trinity Sessions after hearing them in studio, and made it to a few song set they played at a local Chicago store.

My schedule and budget have never meshed with them since, until I spent some birthday money my mom sent me in September, and bought tickets to see them 11-21-15 at the Old Town School of Folk Music. I did get a download of a Newport Jazz Fest show of theirs through a membership with Wolfgang's Vault a few years back, and I have listened to that so much I know each and every lyric, and all the between song banter. "We recorded that album in 7 hours and have made a career out of it" and "it's great to be playing here for you at 11:30 am, and we're heading home after a year and a half on the road" are examples.

I only wish I'd bought tickets for both Friday and Saturday evening's performances. The weather was certainly better for Friday's.

It is clear they enjoy what they do, and their audience does as well.

I hope they make a habit of playing multiple nights on all subsequent visits to Chicago. This was also my first performance at OTSoFM. I will be looking for future performances at this venue of performers I like. For me personally, a pretty magical night.

Do yourself a favor and see them if you've never seen them but wanted to. If you have seen them, you already know all of this, but just take every opportunity to do so again and again.

Blues is my ultimate favourite genre of music, so I was very excited to see Cowboy Junkies live who incorporate blues with country music and folk rock. With nearly 20 studio albums, I didn’t know what I was going to hear at the concert, but I knew that whatever it was going to be, I wouldn’t be disappointed.

It turned out that they managed to play a set of almost all of my favourite tracks from over the years, and I knew the words to every single number they bashed out. Margot’s beautiful voice transcended through the audience and caught everyone off guard as her voice hasn’t changed a bit over the years, and it’s even more impressive live. Their music sounds better live than on the recordings, and that can’t be said about many artists these days, so I was extremely impressed.

When they played A Few Simple Words, the crowd erupted into a frenzy of appreciation and excitement – they absolutely nailed it! As well as playing a 90 minute set, the band came back on stage for a brilliant encore which lasted another 15 minutes, and really was the best ending to what was one of my favourite gig’s I’ve ever been to.

Pretty disappointed.

First, their numbers played are vastly so called ‘new songs’ which I never heard of. So stingy on well known songs, I think they only sang like 2-3 songs at the end (including encore). Let’s admit it, this is not Billy Joel or Lou Reed. It’s a mediocre band with strong fan base. We were there to go back time. I would not go to their concert, let alone listen to their music much now.

Secondly, the place, the City Winery, was so cramming, people can hardly turn their bodies. It was just beyond imagination. Ditch the place. Sit like a real person at least and breathe.

Cowboy Junkies were spectacular!!!

Their's is a particular, distinctive sound defined by Margot Timms' voice and the musicianship of the players...

At times they moved easily through the moody sound they're known for, at others they rocked the house with powerful playing on long musical interludes; Ms Timms walked to the rear of the stage, allowing the focus to center on the band and soloists...

A spectacular performance, don't miss them if they come your way...

Saw the show live in Tokyo. Best seats, 10 feet away from Margo. This was unbelievable. Pure emotion, almost brought tears to my eyes. All those beautifull songs, from my Canadian favorite band, with one of my best friend, surrounded of cool Sophiticated Japanese in facinating Tokyo.

What else to say?

Will remember for the rest of my life.

Thanks to my friend Masako for helping me buy the tickets.

Louis from Quebec, Canada

Great show, nice venue. City Winery has great acoustics, it's a very intimate setting. The CJ put on a fantastic show, they are fine musicians and song writers, and their cover of 2 Vic Chestnutt songs was a highlight. Margot's interaction with the audience was enjoyable, her Canadian point of view of our upcoming election was light hearted and funny. I will definitely go see them again.

really a lovely show - only time i've seen junkies live and it was perfect. Margo was very present and fun - she sang beautifully and conversed with the audience. really dug their longer jams - almost The Doors like at times.

huge shoutout to Great American Music Hall for providing such a great, lounge like atmosphere.

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Diana Wortham Theatre

Variety Playhouse

Ryman Auditorium

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Want to see Cowboy Junkies in concert? Find information on all of Cowboy Junkies’s upcoming concerts, tour dates and ticket information for 2024-2025.

Cowboy Junkies is not due to play near your location currently - but they are scheduled to play 15 concerts across 2 countries in 2024-2025. View all concerts.

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Cowboy Junkies Announce New Album Such Ferocious Beauty & Tour Dates

Watch the video for the devastatingly beautiful first single This Is What I Lost.

T HE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Sometimes revolutions begin quietly. In 1988, Cowboy Junkies proved that there was an audience waiting for something quiet, beautiful and reflective. Their album The Trinity Session was like a whisper that cut through the noise — and it was compelling. It stood out in the midst of the flash and bombast that came to define the late ’80s. The now-classic recording combined folk, blues and rock in a way that had never been heard before and went on to sell more than a million copies.

Cowboy Junkies will continue their quiet revolution with the release of Such Ferocious Beauty on June 2, 2023 via their own Latent Recordings . This is the band’s first release of new material in five years and follows their heralded 2022 collection of covers, Songs Of The Recollection . Such Ferocious Beauty is vintage Cowboy Junkies and another dimension from the lo-fi Canadian band comprised of siblings Margo , Michael and Peter Timmins and lifelong friend Alan Anton . The new body of work is a rumination on aging, losing parents, facing mortality, and creating space for one’s life in the midst of the ruin that comes from merely living.

Today, the band share What I Lost , the first emphasis track that reflects on the last several months of the Timmins’ father’s life. The song is a reflection on conversations that Michael had with his father during his battle with dementia, “memories of his flying days as a bush pilot in northern Quebec and his love of jazz and his experiences of seeing the great big bands of the ’50s would often work their way into our conversations. I would often think about all of those memories and experiences that were slowly being eaten away by the dementia and would eventually completely disappear with his death. Lines like ‘This is what I lost’ and ‘I can sit here and wait’ from What I Lost and Shadows 2  are not so much about him, but about me.”

The song is captured in a video for which Peter Timmins created an artistic interpretation of the effects of dementia on the person and those around them. “The man in the video is our father,” says Michael Timmins , “sitting in his living room listening to Duke Ellington … I’m not sure what he is thinking. The color ‘super 8’ footage is from the late ’50s, taken in Montreal and Magog, Quebec by our grandfather (our Mom’s dad). The people in it are my dad, mom and aunt (mom’s sister) … there are some quick glances of our oldest brother and an uncle (my mom’s brother). There are also a few quick flashes of family pics of all the kids (us and our siblings).”

For Such Ferocious Beauty , Michael stresses that he and Margo spent more time working through the songs, letting her interpretations really settle before taking them into the studio. And once in the studio, he worked with Alan and Peter to create even more dynamic tracks than usual. “This is a different kind of recording; there’s a denseness to it. In many ways the music, the choice of certain structures, the tones used become as important in communicating the albums themes as do the lyrics.” “The songs are expressions of Mike’s soul,” says Margo Timmins , “but once written, once he gives them to me, to the band, and eventually the audience, there is no right or wrong interpretation.”

Formed in Toronto in 1985, the band have sparkled over the course of 26 albums. “I’ve known Alan longer than I’ve known Pete,” says Michael. “We were friends before Pete was born.” Unlike most long-lasting groups, Cowboy Junkies have never had a breakup or taken a sanity-saving hiatus. There’s an appreciation of each other that keeps them working. “It’s that intimacy and understanding of what each one of us brings to the table,” says Michael.

For nearly 40 years, Cowboy Junkies have remained true to their unique artistic vision and to the introspective, quiet intensity that is their signature, creating a critically acclaimed body of original work that has endeared them to an audience unwavering in its loyalty. Albums like The Caution Horses (1990), Black Eyed Man (1992), Pale Sun, Crescent Moon (1993), Lay It Down (1996) and more recently, Open (2001), One Soul Now (2004), Early 21st Century Blues (2005) and At the End of Paths Taken (2007) chronicle a creative journey reflecting the independent road the band has elected to travel.

Speaking of travel, the band have already booked a slate of Ontario concerts this fall. All tickets for the following shows go on sale on Friday, March 31:

2023 ONTARIO FALL TOUR: AN EVENING WITH COWBOY JUNKIES

Sept. 27 – St. Catharines, ON @ FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre TICKETS Sept. 29 – Windsor, ON @ Chrysler Theatre TICKETS Sept. 30 – Sarnia, ON @ Imperial Theatre TICKETS Oct. 1 – Guelph, ON @ River Run Centre TICKETS Oct. 3 – Toronto, ON @ The Danforth Music Hall TICKETS Oct. 4 – Kingston, ON @ Kingston Grand Theatre TICKETS Oct. 5 – Peterborough, ON @ Showplace Performance Centre TICKETS

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Cowboy Junkies lyricist talks tour, new songs & alt-country/folk band's legacy

Ahead of his band's local tour date, cowboy junkies' michael timmins tells us what to expect.

MARSHALL TWP. – Nobody quite knew how to categorize the Cowboy Junkies when the Toronto band moseyed onto the music scene in 1987.

Descriptors like "lo-fi" and "Americana" hadn't been put into use yet as a catchall for a band blending folk, country and blues melodies, with Cowboy Junkies adding an extra unique touch of hushed vocal dynamics and sparse, emotional instrumentation.

Canadian bands aren't prone to boast, but don't Cowboy Junkies deserve credit for blazing a trail?

"I think if you look at a lot of the trends recently, like the lo-fi thing the Americana thing, we were certainly ahead of that wave," the band's lyricist-guitarist Michael Timmins said. "So, I think we must be influential somewhere along the line, though I have no idea where or to who. I mean, The National just released an album and the one single ("Eucalyptus") namechecks our band, so I guess we're influential somewhere."

Maybe more kudos will come on June 2, when Cowboy Junkies release "Such Ferocious Beauty," the band's first studio album in five years.

"It's funny with albums; you work on them for a long time as a band and a writer, and then you finish them and put them in motion and release them and it's a long process, so by the time you release them they're ancient history to you in some ways," Timmins said in an April 13 phone interview. "But then you have to get familiar with them again to play in live shows."

Cowboy Junkies didn't premiere any of the new songs on the quartet's six-date early April swing through Ohio, Michigan and Illinois.

But fans will get a first taste of the new material when the Cowboy Junkies play a fresh leg of eight U.S. shows including May 4 at Tarrytown Music Hall in Tarrytown, N.Y.; May 5 at City Winery Philadelphia ; May 6 at the Pollak Theatre in West Long Branch, N.J.; and May 9 at Jergel's Rhythm Grille in Marshall Township, Pa.

"Such Ferocious Beauty" sounds like vintage, alt-country, chill Cowboy Junkies, with the most revved up track, "Hard to Build, Easy to Break," suggesting a latent jam-band/Grateful Dead-ish quality.

"Yeah, that has a really nice cool groove to it, and it keeps coming up as a song that we can make a staple of the set; something that we can expand and work on and it'll grow live as we work off that really cool baseline," Timmins said.

Joined in the band by his sister Margo Timmins (vocalist), brother Peter Timmins (drummer) and Alan Anton (bassist), Michael Timmins began writing the new album in the summer of 2020.

Was there a COVID influence to the lyrics?

"We were still under COVID protocol, so I guess in a way, though I wouldn't say there's a direct relationship to it," he said. "There's an element of impermanence to the songs. I suppose COVID brought a sense of impermanence to us all and how our daily routine goes. Though, a bigger aspect is we were dealing with my dad's battle with dementia so that certainly fed into it. And the social construct that was being laid to waste in 2020, so a combination of both those things."

The album's leadoff track, “What I Lost,” reflects on the last several months of the Timmins’ father’s life, and conversations Michael had with his dad in that span, “memories of his flying days as a bush pilot in northern Quebec and his love of jazz and his experiences of seeing the great big bands of the '50s."

An accompanying music video, out now, poignantly shows their father in his final months, interspersed with Super 8 footage from late '50s Montreal, and family films including the kids. The song's most conspicuous line, “This is what I lost,” sung with aching intensity by Margo, becomes more gripping with the realization it's not from the point of view of their father, but from the Timmins siblings themselves, who no longer get to hear their father's tales.

When the Timmins' watch that video, "It's hard, but it's good, rather than dancing around the subject," Michael said. "I think especially with our audience, which is an older audience, a lot of people are going through or have gone through it with their parents or even their partners. So, we feel it's relevant for us to talk about it and share it. As with all things, it's good to talk about it."

Timmins lyrically explored similar territory in 1997 with "Come Calling," a song drawn from the real-life story of an Alzheimer's patient married to the Korean War veteran who ferried supplies to the remote Ontario island where Cowboy Junkies wrote the songs for the acclaimed "Lay It Down" album.

A number of "Lay It Down" tracks, notably "A Common Disaster," remain in Cowboys Junkies' live repertoire.

"It's still one of our favorite records. It was a great period for us, the writing and recording of that album," Timmins said, noting the songs written on that isolated island near Toronto got completed in a five-week span in Athens, Ga., under the production of John Keane, best known for his work with local acts R.E.M., Indigo Girls and Widespread Panic. "He really wanted to focus on just the four core members for that record ― for previous records we had a lot of extra musicians ― so we pared it back down and it came out really well, and 'A Common Disaster' was a pretty big hit. So, it was successful on many levels."

Cowboy Junkies hope for success again with the June release. One standout track, "Hell Is Real," starts gently with chirping insects and lightly strummed acoustic guitar, leading to Margot's almost whispered, cautionary singing, beginning with the line "Hell is here, hell is hot/Jesus is coming, ready or not."

Timmins said, "That song is one of those that can be taken as irony or literal as sung by a character. I'm not really sure what it is yet, but I think the main lines in that song that are real are the refrains, 'I'm scared, and I'm angry,' 'I'm scared, and I'm lonely.' That's actually what the song is about. People are lost in their own little words, whatever those are and whether you can call them hells. That's the hell I'm talking about; finding oneself in a place in the world where you just don't know where you are, and you're scared, you're lost and you just can't figure it out."

Another new song, "Mike Tyson (Here It Comes)," begins with Margo mustering torch-song intensity, singing "Every man has a plan till he's punched in the mouth."

Timmons pulled that line from a Tyson quote, back in the boxing champion's prime, when asked his thoughts on opponents who said they had a plan to defeat him.

"That was a very philosophical quote I thought," Timmons said. "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the nose. That's a great lesson in life. You can plan and design all you want; and say 'Next year I'll do this,' or 'When I'm this old I'll do that,' but when you get punched in the face ― literal or metaphorical ― things change often fast."

Between legs of the tour, Timmins set aside late-April time for fly fishing near Johnsonburg, Elk County and the Clarion River in northwest Pennsylvania.

"That state is a playground for any outdoorsman, but especially for fly fishing it's so amazingly beautiful," Timmins said. "It's fantastic how many state parks you have and that you kept them public."

More: Hozier, Mraz to headline 2-day Hartwood Acres festival

As true Canadians, the Timmins brothers also still play hockey together. Is Michael the power forward and bass-playing brother Peter the stay-at-home defenseman?

"No stay-at-home, though Pete will play defense. He's more the Paul Coffey type," Timmins said with a laugh.

Having three siblings in the band heightens the telepathy that musical groups develop naturally when together for as long as Cowboy Junkies.

"It's hard to tell the difference between playing together as a band for 35 years and then that telepathy which would happen naturally between brothers and sisters. There is something to be said about that. I think anybody who's been raised with the same backgrounds, values and many of the same memories you share a lot of the unspoken," Timmins said. "On stage, that's important to understand the mood of the other person who's playing; what they're feeling that day, what they're expecting from their instrument and then you can complement it or juxtapose it. I do think that's a big part of us live. And playing together 35 years helps, too."

More: Jim Messina talks hits, Loggins and tour headed here

They'll keep playing and making music history.

Cowboy Junkies are, after all, one of the few bands that can say they earned praise from the notoriously testy alt-rock icon Lou Reed. The Cowboy Junkies' most famous single, off the band's 1988 breakthrough album "The Trinity Session," covered Reed's classic, "Sweet Jane."

"When we first released that record, we did get feedback from him and we used the quote, which sounds corny, but he said something like 'The best, most authentic version of 'Sweet Jane' I ever heard," Timmins said. "When you hear it from Lou Reed it's pretty cool, because he didn't give away praise lightly. Then we met him a couple times and he was really gracious to us and talked about music and the biz. It was great."

Scott Tady is entertainment editor at The Times and easy to reach at [email protected] .

Tour Diary – February 26 to March 1, 2014

Ithaca (NY), Bethlehem (PA), South Orange (NJ) and Blackwood (NJ) Feb 26 – March 1, 2014

We had hoped that by simply slipping beneath the border we would find a hint of Spring. No such luck. There has been no respite from the cold over these past four days. It actually seems that much rawer down here and the fact that the heating in the bus can't seem to keep up with the cold outside, doesn't help. There is no escaping it. My neck and shoulders are in constant constriction, stressed, and as the body works overtime to keeps itself warm, all that I want to do is crawl back into my bunk and sleep. The crappy food and the four or five hours of sleep per night doesn't help matters. The joys of touring in February…ideally we would be making a run along the Gulf Coast at this time of year, but no such luck, its too far away and we've been watching True Detective on the bus and are a little bit scared to venture down there. To make things worse, most of these gigs seem to be in the middle of acres of windswept fields and industrial parks, held captive by the ice and snow. The audiences seem to be feeling it as well. The attendance has been a little sparse at a few of these shows. Everyone seems to be sheltering-in-place, waiting for a robin or two to appear, praying for a crocus to break through the frozen ground, before daring to stick their own necks out of their hidey-holes. I can't blame them. I sort of feel like I should be doing the same.

In Ithaca we played a strange community theater set in the middle of a State/City park, on the outskirts of the city, on the banks of one of the Finger Lakes. In the Spring or Summer this would have been an ideal location to spend a day. This time of year it is a little Gulag-ish, the wind coming off the lake made it unbearable to even go for a walk. It was a very nice sounding little room, the type that we would normally sell-out without too much trouble, but not tonight. But the audience was keen and we had a good show.

In Bethlehem we played The Musik Cafe, a nice, if a bit sterile, venue. It still needs a few years of seasoning. The venue is part of the revitalization of the old Bethlehem Steel Mill site. The old mill remains and looms as a backdrop to the stage through the floor to ceiling glass windows that make up the back wall. The mill is an amazing site. It could be argued that these monstrous ovens, shoots and blast furnaces were the heart that pumped the life blood through the American Century. The steel that came out of these mills is what helped to build America throughout the late 19 th and early 20 th century. Now they look like the remnants of a long forgotten empire, almost post-apocalyptic…all it needs is for Charleton Heston to coming riding along on his horse….the gig tonight was ok, but a bit formal. The room and stage feel a little distant from each other and the presence of a very large TV crew shooting the performance didn't help with the intimacy. It was a hard one.

Day 3 was in South Orange: a small, tidy little New Jersey town, near enough to NYC to give it bedroom community status. A sold out show, a good audience and a good performance.

Today, Day 4, we were in Blackwood, New Jersey, a town that nobody seems to have heard of, located somewhere near Philadelphia. We were stuck all day on a completely deserted community college campus, not a soul in sight. Not a dog or a cat, I didn't see a squirrel or a bird, it was a vacuum waiting to be filled by the Zombie Apocalypse. The venue itself was a dingy little room with nothing really to recommend it….. and it was a very slight crowd. We tried our best. The audience, small as it was, worked hard trying to keep us on track. It was one of those days that is best laughed about and forgotten, best to keep up a strong front, keep the doubt and foreboding at bay. Tonight we head further south to the Washington area. Maybe we'll find a bit sun, a little bit of warmth, a break of some sort.

Falls Church, VA – March 2, 2014

When I woke up this morning we were just pulling in to Falls Church. The front lounge was toasty, a kind of warmth that only the sun can create. Sixty degrees and sunny, life begins to not look so grim. Jared, Pete and I found a bar that was serving a late Sunday breakfast and watched the Capitals take on the Flyers while we ate our bacon and eggs….not so grim at all. While we were in the bar watching hockey, someone stole and then swapped out the day, the temperature dropped fifteen degrees, the blue skies turned into a snarl of dark clouds and the wind began to do its thing. And then the rain started. Cold, hard rain. We have a day off tomorrow in New York and there is a winter storm watch up and down the east coast, which could throw a large wrench in our day off plans. Sometimes its not easy to catch a break. Despite the rain continuing unabated for the rest of the afternoon, we made it through soundcheck and through the Oscar night red carpet ceremony. Tonight's gig was just what we needed. An excited crowd that didn't give a shit what the weatherman said, they were there to enjoy themselves. We had a very good show, loud and clangy, as I said, just what we needed. Who needs the sun…..

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An Evening With Cowboy Junkies

Gunter theatre.

• Date April 19 , 2024
• Event Starts 7:30 PM
• Ticket Prices $65
• Public Availability On Sale Now

Event Details

Sometimes revolutions begin quietly.

In 1988, Cowboy Junkies proved that there was an audience waiting for something quiet, beautiful and reflective. The Trinity Session was like a whisper that cut through the noise – and it was compelling. It stood out in the midst of the flash and bombast that came to define the late 80's. The now classic recording combined folk, blues and rock in a way that had never been heard before and went on to sell more than a million copies. 

Formed in Toronto in 1985 with siblings Michael Timmins on guitar, Margo Timmins on vocals, Peter Timmins on drums, and Michael’s lifelong friend Alan Anton on bass, the band has sparkled over the course of 26 albums. “I’ve known Alan longer than I’ve known Pete,” says Michael. “We were friends before Pete was born.”

Unlike most long-lasting groups, Cowboy Junkies have never had a break up or taken a sanity-saving hiatus. There’s an appreciation of each other that keeps them constantly working. “It’s that intimacy and understanding of what each one of us brings to the table,” says Michael. Cowboy Junkies’ will be performing a career-spanning show, including their new album, Such Ferocious Beauty , which was released worldwide on June 2, 2023 to universal critical acclaim.

Watch Cowboy Junkies perform Sweet Jane (Live on Tour) and Blue Moon (Live on Tour)

Cowboy Junkies are a Canadian alternative country/blues/folk rock band. The group was formed in Toronto in 1985 by Margo Timmins (vocalist), Michael Timmins (songwriter, guitarist), Peter Timmins (drummer) and Alan Anton (bassist).

The Junkies first performed publicly at the Beverley Tavern and other clubs in Toronto’s Queen Street West, including The Rivoli. Their 1986 debut album, produced by Canadian producer Peter Moore, was the blues-inspired Whites Off Earth Now!!, recorded using an ambisonic microphone in the family garage.

The group’s fame spread with their second album, The Trinity Session,recorded in 1987 at Toronto’s Church of the Holy Trinity. Their sound, again using the ambisonic microphone, and their mix of blues, country, folk, rock andjazz earned them both critical attention and a cult following. The Los Angeles Times named the recording as one of the ten best albums of 1988.

The band was nominated for Group of the Year at the Juno Awards in 1990 and 1991. In the early 1990s Margo Timmins was named “one of the fifty most beautiful people in the world” by People Magazine. The group has continued to tour North America, Europe, Japan and Australia with extensive North American and European tours following album releases in 2002 and 2004. In 2008, they released Trinity Revisited in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the original recording of The Trinity Session.

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The Trinity Sessions

The caution horses, black eyed man, pale sun, crescent moon, 200 more miles, lay it down, miles from our home, rarities, b-sides and slow, sad waltzes, waltz across america, the radio one sessions, in the time before llamas, one soul now, early 21st century blues, at the end of paths taken, trinity revisited, renmin park – nomad series, volume 1, demons, volume 2 bonus ep, demons – the nomad series, volume 2, sing in my meadow bonus ep, sing in my meadow, the wilderness bonus ep, the wilderness, the nomad series, notes falling slow.

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Cowboy Junkies – “Cutting Board Blues” (Live at KDHX)

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As you have probably already assumed, we have had to postpone our upcoming New Zealand/Australian Tour. We are already working with our promoter and the venues to reschedule, so please hold on to your tickets and we will be announcing the new dates very soon. Your tickets will be honoured at the rescheduled shows.  Our plan is […]

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Cowboy Junkies’ Margo Timmins: ‘My style has always been organic. I just keep it simple’

The canadian band’s lead singer on the art of cover versions and why arguments with her musical siblings must be settled before touring starts.

Cowboy Junkies: 'I can’t envision my future without playing with the boys, so I don’t care how we settle any argument we might have – all I know is that we have to settle it before we go out on tour.'

It is as much a rarity as an anomaly that any credible band or musicians of any career length are known more for their cover versions than original songs, but not many bands are Canada’s Cowboy Junkies. When their debut album, Whites Off Earth Now!!, was released in 1986, it comprised mostly covers of blues songs, albeit with one significant difference: the songs were so distinctly different from the originals that some were virtually unrecognisable. Two years later, they released The Trinity Session, which featured six (out of 12) covers. From then to now – very good albums of original material notwithstanding – Cowboy Junkies have made a fine art out of interpreting other people’s songs. From The Trinity Session and 2011′s Demons (which consists entirely of Vic Chestnutt songs) to their most recent album, Songs of the Recollection (which contains nine cover versions), the band have been dedicated to rendering only the songs they feel they can do full justice to.

“Before becoming a musician,” says Cowboy Junkies’ lead singer, Margo Timmins, who is full of conversational vigour, “you can only hope you’re such a fan of music that you live and breathe your music collection. Cowboy Junkies came to songs first as fans, and when we decide to cover songs usually it’s a hard decision because if the song has had such an influence on us then it’s difficult to find anything we can bring to it. The feeling is that Bob Dylan, for example, did it his way so why bother trying to do it our way? When we approach a song and feel we can’t find our way into it, that we can’t find anything that would make it ours, we tend to change the word ‘cover’ to ‘reinterpretation’. Ultimately, that’s really what we’re trying to do. Also, because I’m singing the song, I try to approach it, to interpret it, from a female perspective, and that has to have some impact.” Numerous covers, adds Timmins, never come out of the band’s studio “because a lot of them sound like the original versions, and at the end of it we go, well, is that it? For us, reinterpreting a song has to be more than that. We don’t necessarily verbalise it, it’s more of a feeling.”

‘Interpretative work’

Does it bother her or the other band members (which include her brothers, Michael and Peter) that there is more of an emphasis on the band’s interpretative work than their original material? Only slightly, she says. “I get tired talking about the covers aspect of our output when we have new material out, but to be a band and to have any work associated with you, no matter when it came out, and that people want to talk about, is a miracle. I can’t complain about that because I know too many bands would kill to have that kind of connection.”

There is one negative aspect, she observes, and it relates to the reverence attached to The Trinity Session in general and, in particular, one of that album’s cover versions, Velvet Underground’s Sweet Jane. “The album was released about 35 years ago, it’s very distinctive, and so when people think of Cowboy Junkies they think ‘quiet’. Yes, we are still relatively quiet compared to other bands, of course, but we are by no means the same band that made Trinity Session. There is still that element of what we do – acoustic sets and open space songs – but it isn’t all that we are anymore.”

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Some things remain, however, and one of those is Margo Timmins’s voice, which is the most distinctive feature of Cowboy Junkies music, across originals as much as cover versions. Prior to the band forming in 1985, she had never performed publicly; for a time, she says, the band’s early years were quite intimidating for her.

Cowboy Junkies: Numerous covers never come out of the band’s studio 'because a lot of them sound like the original versions, and at the end of it we go, well, is that it? For us, reinterpreting a song has to be more than that.' Photograph: Heather Pollock

“My style has always been organic; I just keep it simple, which means the person you see on stage is me and has been all the way through. It was scary at the start; I didn’t speak much between songs and didn’t tell stories. I kept my eyes closed when I was singing and pretended I wasn’t there. As I’ve grown as a singer and a stage performer, however, I have become more and more comfortable, which has come from being older. I don’t have those youthful pressures of feeling I have to look a certain way, be a certain way, or live up to other people’s expectations, and I feel I’ve been lucky in that regard because my brothers have never forced or insisted, or even asked, that I do things differently. The stage is now somewhere I feel comfortable and contented. I still have nerves getting onto the stage but once I’m there, with my brothers beside me and an audience in front of me, I’m in a good place.”

Timmins allows that, naturally, she had different expectations of herself as a performer but that it took the best part of 10 years for her to discover that “comfortable and contented” place on stage. It began to shift from uneasiness to acceptance in 1990 when Cowboy Junkies shared a tour bus with acclaimed songwriter Townes Van Zandt, perhaps the epitome of a measured, Zen-like performer.

Terror of stage

“Touring with Townes and learning from him was wonderful. He believed that I was a singer, but at that time I didn’t, and getting encouragement from him gave me a lot of confidence. The next tour after that was with John Prine. Townes was always this idol to me, almost like a god, so I felt I couldn’t talk to him very easily, but John was an easy-going guy, and we quickly became very good friends. When we spoke about my stage anxieties, he just advised me to get out there and have some fun. The fun angle was something I had never thought of and I’m not sure why, perhaps because I had always thought of the stage as a terrifying place. That’s when it started to change for me. It was just me with no self-expectations, just doing my thing. I’m not a big personality person, I just go with what I need to do, and so doing that better reflected my character.”

If Timmins’s voice is intact from the formation of the band then so is the band itself. It is, I suggest, most unusual for a band to hold on to its full complement of original members, especially so when three of the members are siblings.

“Oh, it’s unique,” she allows, “and I think the answer, however corny it might sound, is the music. When we get together and play now there is no difference from when we did that in our 20s. There is still joy. The fear, the high expectation, has gone and now all that’s left is the connection, the feeling after a gig when you jubilantly ask yourself, what happened there? I can safely say we all have that feeling and that we all protect it.”

So no sibling rivalry, no family arguments, no stroppy walkouts? How unexciting – but wait, what’s this? When the band members start to get bad-tempered with each other, adds Timmins (“and we do, we all have our moments when we don’t want to see the same faces anymore”) whatever is in danger of breaking them is repaired because the consequences of not playing again are unthinkable. “I can’t envision my future without playing with the boys, so I don’t care how we settle any argument we might have – all I know is that we have to settle it before we go out on tour.”

It’s like a marriage, she theorises, after almost 40 years. “At the start, it’s quite complicated, and then children come along and it gets even more complicated, but when you come out the other end you know how to fight, you know how to make up, you know how to walk away from disruption, and you know how to protect your bond. Marriage becomes a spirit entity that you have to nurture, and the band is the same thing. It is something we do not want to be destroyed, and so you have to fight for that. Let’s put it this way − we breathe together a lot more easily now than we did when we were younger.”

Cowboy Junkies play Mandela Hall, Belfast, on Wednesday, November 16th, and National Concert Hall, Dublin, on Thursday, November 17th. Songs of the Recollection is out now through Latent Recordings and is also available on the usual streaming platforms

Tony Clayton-Lea

Tony Clayton-Lea is a contributor to The Irish Times specialising in popular culture

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Cowboy Junkies

• April 17, 2024 Setlist

Cowboy Junkies Setlist at Booth Playhouse, Charlotte, NC, USA

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• Apr 14 2024 Variety Playhouse Atlanta, GA, USA Add time Add time
• Apr 15 2024 Diana Wortham Theatre Asheville, NC, USA Add time Add time
• Apr 17 2024 Booth Playhouse This Setlist Charlotte, NC, USA Add time Add time
• Apr 18 2024 Charleston Music Hall Charleston, SC, USA  –  Find tickets Add time Tickets Add time

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Americana Highways

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REVIEW: Cowboy Junkies “Such Ferocious Beauty”

Cowboy Junkies – Such Ferocious Beauty

There are about a million different ways to say it, but the meaning’s the same – nothing lasts forever. The Timmins siblings (Michael, Margo and Peter) are reckoning with this reality in the way that many families do – losing a parent to dementia. That loss, and “impermanence” (as Michael says) as a whole, is the focus of the latest album from Cowboy Junkies. The Timminses, along with longtime bassist and family friend Alan Anton, address what’s leaving, what’s already gone, and the good that’s still here on Such Ferocious Beauty .

The record starts off with the sense of displacement familiar to dementia victims. A foggy-brained morning and a simmering guitar line characterize “This Is What I Lost,” a story told largely from the perspective of Timmins’ father – “I looked at the room/And didn’t know where I was/Or if I ever was.” Margo’s typically hushed tones become more urgent, and Michael’s guitar more frantically jagged, as their father sifts through seemingly random memories while trying to pull himself into the present – “You ask me how I am/What am I supposed to say?” “Shadows 2” (inspired by the DH Lawrence poem “Shadows”) is a gentler rumination on that loss, told from the perspectives of both father and child, sharing those quiet moments as one life slowly draws to a close – “I can sit here and stare/As you shuffle the pieces once again/And search for the words/That flutter like birds across your eyes.”

Mortality is but one of the types of impermanence found on Such Ferocious Beauty . “Hard to Build, Easy to Break” is sonically the most typical Cowboy Junkies-esque song on the record – driven by Anton’s chugging bass line and Michael’s slowly evolving guitar textures – while Margo (still, and always, one of popular music’s most indelible voices) sings of our historical nature to destroy what was so difficult to construct, all while coveting something “better” – “Love the things you do not know/Eat the things you do.” Likewise, “Flood,” which begins with a screech of electric guitar, features characters who fill their lives with emptiness – “He had a large house, big dreams/And he filled them one by one” – while fighting against life’s ebbs and flows at the expense of ultimately finding simple contentment – “let the current carry me/Through such ferocious beauty.”

For Cowboy Junkies, that beauty has always resided most deeply in their ability to deliver a sad, subtle gut punch – their classic record The Trinity Session was full of ‘em. Here, we get that at the very end. “Blue Skies,” which begins with nature sounds before becoming a mournful acoustic guitar ballad that warns against always looking – “You can burn all your daylight/Searching for a new sky/But then, just there, you’ll be” – while wasting the life right in front of you. That present is fleeting – again, nothing lasts forever. But, after more than three decades, the Timmins family making their music – their way – is about as close as forever gets.

Song I Can’t Wait to Hear Live: “MIke Tyson (Here It Comes)” – Didn’t expect a 90s boxing reference, did you? The Junkies turn Tyson’s brusque lesson on crisis management on its ear – “Some look within, some look without/The search begins as do the doubts” – and set it against a low-key theatrical Western score.

Such Ferocious Beauty was produced by Michael Timmins and mastered by Peter J Moore. Songs written by Michael Timmins (co-writes with Alan Anton). Cowboy Junkies are Michael Timmins (guitars), Margo Timmins (vocals), Peter Timmins (drums) and Alan Anton (bass). Additional musicians include James McKie (fiddle) and Kyle Sullivan (drums).

Go here to order Such Ferocious Beauty (out June 2): https://cowboyjunkies.tmstor.es/

Check out tour dates here: https://cowboyjunkies.com/tour/

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Great review, Andrew!

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