Scott Nolan, Helen White headline Home Routes concert in Coaldale

Sunny South News Photo Submitted. HOME ROUTES: Acclaimed songwriter and Winnipeg artist, Scott Nolan and special guest and collaborator, Helen White, will be stopping in Coaldale Sept. 22 for a concert as part of the Home Routes/Chemin Chez Nous fall tour. Nolan and White will tour Alberta and Saskatchewan between September 15–29 with concerts in several Alberta locations including Calgary, Okotoks, Medicine Hat, and Coaldale.

By Kristine Jean
Sunny South News

September kicks off Season 19 of Home Routes/Chemin Chez Nous tours across the country, with two tours visiting communities across Alberta this fall. 

Coaldale residents will have an opportunity to experience live music up close and personal and connect with artists in an intimate setting, when Scott Nolan and Helen White make a stop in Coaldale Sept. 22, as part of the fall tour.  

“I love the adventure of every Home Routes tour I’ve been on – you get a sense of your country in a way that I’m not convinced you could any other way,” said Nolan, noting he’s performed about six or eight tours for Home Routes over the past 15 years.    

Nolan and White will tour Alberta and Saskatchewan from September 15–29, with concerts in Calgary, Okotoks, Arrowwood, Frontier, Eastend, Medicine Hat, Coaldale, Nordegg, Edmonton, Evansburg, and Hinton.

Nolan is an acclaimed songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, poet and producer from Winnipeg, who is stepping in for the full tour after illness sidelined two other artists who were previously scheduled to perform in Coaldale. He will be joined by special guest and collaborator Helen White.

“I have a long relationship with the family that started Home Routes, they also started the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Their value system and the types of things they do have always very much aligned with mine, so when they ask me to do something on short notice, it’s always an immediate yes for me,” he said. 

Nolan, also a storyteller and performer whose songs have been recorded by artists including Hayes Carll, Mary Gauthier, Watermelon Slim and Corin Raymond, turned his attention toward collaboration and production after more than a decade of extensive touring. He has produced albums for artists including William Prince, Stephen Fearing, Lynne Hanson and Watermelon Slim.

“My songs are not entirely autobiographical, but they’re very much based on my life and experiences, so they often come paired with stories or antidotes, or bits of humour,” said Nolan adding that a lot of his shows over the years have been influenced by trips across Canada, while visiting and staying in small communities. 

“It’s a pretty unique experience, quite honestly. Even my songwriting gets affected in that I get to visit these places and hear a little bit about the history and meet some of the people,” he said. “That’s the kind of stuff I live for as a songwriter.”       

Nolan’s songs often express charm and wit, sometimes sadness, and can be up-lifting or life-affirming he noted adding that his music is a mix of folk and country with small elements of blues.  

“Especially in small communities, I think there’s something relatable about them all,” said Nolan, pointing out what he is looking forward to in his first concert in Coaldale.  

“You stay with your hosts so you get to experience (the town) for a brief bit of time,” said Nolan, noting his concerts over the years include churches, concert halls and prisons. “They all come with pretty fascinating stories. My hope with   Coaldale, (is that) they might already see themselves in some of my songs.”