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It’s a quadruple bill of rock and roll-focused fun this Saturday night at Slackwater Brewing as local and Kelowna import musicians join forces for Hail Santa III, a hard-driving, no-poseur fundraiser benefiting Penticton's own Monday Night Dinners.
As the name suggests, it's the third annual go-round for the multi-act Hail Santa concept. It's also the second in a row where all the proceeds are handed over to Kristine Shepherd and friends to feed and assist the homeless through her Monday Night Dinners program.
Headlining and organizing the affair is Penticton-based band The Heatscore. The self-admitted "cowboys from inner space" have been a fixture in the city's live rock music scene for a few years now, and for good reason. They blend country, punk, and metal influences into an infectious amalgamation that's as melodious as it is loud.
"Hmm. I guess we play country-punk, maybe country-metal," laughed bassist Jordan Fraser just prior to a midweek jam session in his severely overcrowded garage. "If you like Hank Williams…and Motorhead…and Bad Religion, you might like us."
He's right, though we hear a little Nirvana in there too. And a whole bunch of likable weirdness courtesy of guitarist Jason McWhinney and his homemade lap steel guitar. He runs it through fuzz and wah boxes, and the end effect is highly impactful.
Ultimately, The Heatscore plays as if it's standing on the edge of a cliff. So close to disaster, yet somehow never going over the edge. It's an admirable quality.
The band has been an integral part of Hail Santa since the event's debut in 2017 at The Elite (RIP). In 2018, Hail Santa moved to the Mile Zero Wine Bar and became a Monday Night Dinners benefit.
"This year," said Fraser, "it's Slackwater. We just wanted to change the venue. Mile Zero is great for local bands, but we've been playing there a lot lately."
"And Slackwater was real excited to have something different. I think a lot of the music around here is singer-songwriter oriented and they haven't really had that many chances to have rock shows."
According to Fraser, the Monday Night Dinners angle was a natural.
"I've known Kristine for quite a few years now, but when we found out she was doing these dinners, we thought, yeah, that's a great cause. People have a right to a warm meal and food in their belly and clothes on their back."
Fraser said there's nary a soft spot in Saturday night's lineup.
"We have Shayne Cowie. He's a local guy who plays classic rock covers and has his own original stuff too. And we have Yarrows, a three-piece local band who also played last year's show. They're kind of alt-country. Old country dream pop."
"Then there's High Horse, from Kelowna. They're sort of a prog-instrumental-metal band. A really heavy band. Head-banging heavy. Really great musicians too. Amazing friends of ours. We play a lot of shows with them."
There's no formal admission charge to Saturday's quad bill. But you should definitely bring a donation - and the more the merrier.
Apart from cold, hard cash, Monday Night Dinners is looking for stuff like socks, gloves, hats, scarves, pads/tampons, pasta sauce, pasta (no long noodles) canned tomatoes, canned beans (black/red/kidney/chickpeas), chili powder, toothpaste, tarps and rain ponchos.
The night kicks off at 8 p.m. and is expected to end near midnight. For more info on Hail Santa III and The Heatscore, head here. For more info on High Horse, head here. For more info on Yarrows, head here. And for a Shayne Cowie promo video, head here.