Tyson Ray Borsboom plays with his band at the Owl Acoustic Lounge on Feb. 22.
In the strange purple light of the stage sits a man on a stool. He closes his eyes and strums away on his acoustic guitar to a full house at the Owl Acoustic Lounge. Tyson Ray Borsboom plays his first set alone, but he soon will be joined by his band to play songs from the newly released sophomore album Will.
“I would say that 70 per cent of this new album is love songs,” says Borsboom.
This is the second album for the local artist, but the first with a full band. He says his music has changed quite a bit since his previous effort, 2018’s Sinner.
“Listening to those songs is a bit painful sometimes – but people still like them so that’s all that really matters,” says Boorsboom with a chuckle.
His new band includes Kieran Swinney on bass, Kevin Giron on electric guitar and features Megan Brown on violin for several songs.
“Him [Borsboom], Kevin and I used to come to the open mics all the time, so we met each other that way. He asked me to play on his album and a few of his other endeavours,” says Brown, who also heads up another local band, Makiisma.
According to Borsboom, the album includes indie, alternative and a little bit of rock.
“Genres are a really tough battle to get around. There’s a lot of genre bending stuff these days,” he says.
One of the many tracks inspired by love and relationships is “Can’t Go Home,” which was inspired by a trip to South America. A friend was feeling conflicted about leaving his girlfriend behind without telling her “I love you” for the first time.
“Their love can withstand that separation, that distance, and always come back to it,” says the singer-songwriter, adding that it’s one of his favourite stories.
Borsboom began playing guitar when he was 12 and began attending the Harmony School of Rock on Lethbridge’s north side. The school went out of business when he was a teenager and that was the last time he played for several years.
He began playing again with a new band as a teenager in his dad’s garage for a few years until the group fell apart.
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“I think the only gig we ever had was a smash-up derby – the Coaldale Smash-up Derby. We played a flat deck and it was, the sound quality was just terrible,” says Borsboom with a laugh. He adds that band always managed to turn his original folk songs into rock songs when they practiced.
He and his band will be doing some touring in Alberta and B.C. this summer – his hope is to reach Vancouver Island and perform there for the first time.
Will can be streamed on Google Music and Borsboom’s website. His next show is in Calgary on Feb. 29.
