Ian Tyson walks stifflegged to the center of the stage. This is a cowboy’s gait; this is the walk of a man who has sustained his share of falls from horses large and small and who knows that the rancher’s life is not the glamorous myth of the old-fashioned western movies.
This is also a preamble to a performance of songs, new ones and old ones, by an artist who tells stories with the unvarnished luster of truth.
Tyson first became known in the 1960’s as part of a Canadian folk and country duo, Ian and Sylvia. After many successful years of performing together, they split up, and he continued writing and singing on his own, while working his ranch in Canada.
In the early 90’s, Tyson began coming to Sonoita in the winter months to escape Alberta’s cold, spending his time riding and writing songs. Now, more than 20 years later, Ian Tyson is returning for his first concert at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, on October 10.
Tyson turned 80 last year. He is also celebrating the complete recovery of his voice, badly damaged six years ago. Tyson was forced to learn, with courage and craftsmanship, how to sing again. The successful operation last year plus continued voice therapy has his touring schedule revved up again.
His energy remains undimmed after almost six decades of making recordings of the songs he now writes in the 100-year-old stone building a mile down the gravel road from his ranch house. Six decades of singing stories that tell the real truth about horses and men, love sustained and relationships broken, heroes and heroines and the land and the weather and the prairie sky. Tyson stares at the future with clear eyes and weather-worn face. Bring it on, he seems to say. Meanwhile, the songs keep coming and the stories they tell are true. See calendar page for ticket info.