CARSTAIRS-DIDSBURY - A band with strong roots in the area is taking to the big stage at the Calgary Stampede this week.
The Polyjesters, which are led by brothers Jason and Sheldon Valleau, are playing the Grandstand Show after the chuckwagon races each night of the Stampede.
The Valleau brothers attended Didsbury High School, where their father taught band, and later both lived in Carstairs. They formed the Polyjesters while touring Europe 20 years ago.
Joining the Valleau brothers in the band are Scott Duncan on fiddle, Jon May on drums, and Cedric Blary on clarinet. Jason plays upright bass, while Sheldon plays baritone ukulele and sings.
Jason told the Gazette the band is thrilled to be playing the iconic Stampede.
"We're so excited to be playing at the Stampede," said Jason. "We've needed a little boost. It got us back on track. We really had to get our act together. We needed to get a modern website. When we toured Europe, the States and Japan in a van there was no Facebook or Instagram. We're finding it such a useful tool."
Jason said the Polyjesters have taken a bit of a back seat recently as the members took on other projects and raised families.
"Now we feel like when we first started out," he said. "My brother and I started the band 20 years ago last Friday (July 5) while sitting on a park bench in the Netherlands. We've had an amazing run. We feel like we've been blessed. We've seen half of this globe and met so many people. This is just such a nice mid-career booster."
Jason said they got the call to play the Stampede from the producer of the Grandstand Show, Dave Pierce, who happened to have played in a band with Jason years ago.
"He wanted a bit of a gypsy, old-swing kind of influence on the show this year -- so he chose us," he said. "It's a bit of a mix of contemporary rhythms with an old-swing feel."
The Polyjesters will be playing in front of around 25,000 people each night over the 10 nights of the Stampede.
"We start with an opening set and then we have about 14 numbers in the show," he said. "We're in about 12 of those numbers. We're there as the Polyjesters backing up other artists including the Young Canadians, which are 150 of them singing and dancing on stage. We have our own pieces as well."
The show features both brothers performing solos, including Jason dressing up as the "chili king."
"I get everyone in the audience riled up and all excited," said Jason. "Then we close the show with a few more songs. It's probably the biggest gig we've had in our career and it's right in our own backyard in Calgary."
If that's not enough, the Polyjesters are also performing each day of the Stampede during happy hour at the King Eddy from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
