Words: Miljan Milekić
“Music is a Ceremony.” A pretty bold statement to put on a T-shirt, and then hang it up for sale in a merch booth at a show in a university campus pub. And here’s the thing with bold statements – they only have value if proven true. Seeing Reuben Bullock perform twice in the past, in two different iterations, and having the chance to speak with him about his music, I knew one thing for sure – he doesn’t take words lightly, and is ready to back them up.
The moment the show started, it was clear it wouldn’t be an ordinary one. Three parts, three acts, most of them sharing the same flesh and bones, connected with the same heart. “Music is a Ceremony.” Reuben and the Dark started their set slowly, easing everyone in and establishing their presence throughout the venue, before tightening their grip with fan-favorites such as ‘Yes’ or ‘Heart in Two.’ Emotional and energetic, the set brought out everything we love about this band, including Reuben’s sleep-deprived stories, anecdotes, often followed with a comedic, yet sincere “Oh God, what I’ve Done?” and “Maybe I shouldn’t have said that.” Filled with nothing but positive vibes, the set was over in what felt like 5 minutes, despite my phone stubbornly trying to convince me it’s been an hour since I’ve last looked at it.
Shortly after, it was time for the second act of the night – Reuben Bullock, but now accompanied only by an acoustic guitar. Near the end of last year, he released his new solo record – simply called ‘REUBEN,’ and this part of the show was dedicated to it. In Reuben’s own words, this album was never meant to be released. These songs came as part of “decluttering” his brain, as they didn’t quite feel like band songs, and he needed to get them out of his system to start writing new ones. Luckily for all of us, once recorded, he was able to embrace their beauty and send them out into the world, as otherwise, we might have been deprived of songs like ‘Forever Was a Long Time Ago,’ ‘This Time,’ ‘Revival,’ ‘Peace With the Past,’ ‘Tie a String,’ or ‘Meet Me In August,’ all sounding as powerful played live as they do on the record.
While the sounds of the last few notes of his acoustic guitar were slowly fading away, right on queue, the rest of the band slowly got back to the stage, joined by Billy Wadsworth and Troy Delaney of The Bullhorn Singers – an incredible powwow group from the Blackfoot Confederacy’s Kainai Nation. Something that started as a happy coincidence, over the last couple of years, grew into a full-fledged collaboration and deep friendship, resulting in a brand new EP ‘All These Roads,’ and the tour they are currently on. The combination of indie, folk, and rock that Reuben and his band bring clashed with the traditional indigenous music in a way that on paper should never work, but oh, how well it does. And that’s the thing about folk music, it doesn’t care about boundaries, languages, or rules, as long as it comes from the heart.
The first few bars of ‘Turn The Lights Off’ slowly kicked off the final chapter of the show, bringing the emotion front and center. Song after song, the connection between the band and the crowd only grew stronger, while raising the energy with every guitar strum and every drum beat. New songs such as ‘Powerful,’ ‘All These Roads,’ ‘Fly Away,’ and ‘Midnight Sun’ were intertwined with a few re-imagined older songs, with the big finale coming in the form of ‘Hold Me Like a River.’ Before almost every song, we heard a story about it, a moment from the studio or tour, making each and every one ever more personal and deepening the bond on and off the stage, trying to erase the invisible barrier and make everyone a community. Reuben’s music, in itself it emotional, powerful and often cathartic, while The Bullhorn Singers took it to unexpected another level of spirituality. This EP, this tour, it’s not just a novelty or a stunt. It’s the real deal, something that Billy Wadsworth himself described as “Reconciliation through music” in one of the interviews. After all, “Music IS a Ceremony.”
