The Weather Station at Turf Club (April 11, 2025)

The Canadian folk invasion was in full swing on a Friday in St. Paul as Toronto-based bands hit the Turf Club, with The Weather Station headlining.

Sister Ray was the opener. It was vocalist and songwriter Ella Coyes, and they had their debut album, Communion, released in 2022 and the album Believer just dropped here in April. Coming on stage as a solo guitarist, we were “warned” that the first few songs would be quiet, but that there would be “peaks and valleys”. Describing the album as an attempt at writing love songs that “didn’t quite work out”, we started at the higher, hopeful songs. Sister Ray’s style is very classic folk approach with the vocal central and the underlying guitar work strictly in support. It’s a plain style that asks the listener in and I appreciated that the audience accepted that call.

A switch to electric guitar (from acoustic) was entering “the valley of desire”. Sister Ray has a nice story telling nature that connected the songs in a positive way. A neat story on how the title of the album didn’t agree with their take on that we should all be able to change our minds led to a confession that the title track is “about a boy”. It speaks of our times that lyrics could unironically include the term conspiracy theorist, but that’s a discussion for another day. The reaction from the crowd got Sister Ray to discuss feeling like they were running a marathon and getting the drink of water mid-race (“then throw it away so cool”). The next song was reminiscent of “big sky country” (Coyes is from Edmonton), and it had a rich sound and some of the strongest vocal of the evening. Another round of story telling had a brilliantly funny story about a Portuguese guy and the song was solid. As they finished up, they covered a song of heart ache with AC/DC, Up to My Neck and You.

The Weather Station is an indie folk band fronted by founder Tamara Lindeman. They released their seventh album, Humanhood, in January of this year. Coming in as a quintet, (keys, sax/flute, drums, bass guitar, and vocals/guitar), they played in near darkness for a musical intro and the first vocal song. The keyboards provided a solid floor for the music to thrive, and Lindeman’s vocals rose just above it. This isn’t just indie folk, but has a full rock band sound. Those additional instrumental layers provide a great scaffold for ranging from folk to straight alt rock sounds. The multi-instrument capabilities of the backing band promoted those different directions, while allowing Lindeman to keep with her direct vocal style.

An early song was aimed at “an unnamed South African billionaire”, with Robber following. The saxophone solo here really brought the number together. Lindeman has an earthy but resonant singing style that works with all of the instrumentation around it. I’m not sure that performing in near darkness most of the time really does a lot to help the experience, but the band made up for it with their emotive playing. We got some back up vocals from the drummer, before the next song gave us an ethereal extended keyboard intro. I enjoyed how Lindeman gave the backing band real opportunities to shine as central pieces to the songs and not just as backing band status.

The Weather Station moved into a slower section, with the keyboards being as plaintive as the vocals. An interruption due to an audience member having some difficulties (it was rather warm in the Turf Club) led to Lindeman remarking that we are all together as a community even when we feel alone. There was a slight bump getting back into the music, but the band quickly got things back on track. The next song started with a piano and vocals before giving way to the rest of the band, and it was a gorgeous number. This section was really driven by the keyboard transitions through three different songs, creating a very different vibe from the earlier sets. The last transition got us a drum intro that allowed the pent up audience to cheer the band into the next song. Both band and audience were in the zone as we headed towards the end of the set. The introduction of the band led to the final song, Parking Lot, had a lot of smiles from the band members. The first encore song was by request (prior to the show) got us Lindeman staring solo at the keys for a song, To Talk About, that hadn’t been played anywhere else on this tour. A final song, a self-described guide and a favorite for Lindeman, Sewing, closed things out for the evening.

I spoke with bass player Ben Whiteley after the show. Asked about the three-part set list, he said it was intended as a a journey that starts with the disconnection that we find ourselves both at micro- and macro-level and moving through and getting to the other side, and that getting through is the journey. The second part is the feeling of loss and finally, in the third set to the place of connection and beauty. The song Sewing is the real thesis of the concert and the record. And that journey is the way it is, independent of the feelings and recognizing what it is and what to do about it.