For booking inquires email: kentmcalister at gmail dot com
This Alberta native who lived on BC's west coast for almost a decade merges the gritty tradition of his prairie roots with the vibrancy and energy of his ocean-side surroundings. McAlister's baritone voice and guitar picking pay homage to those pioneers of Country and Western who influenced him while maintaining their own timeless quality. Add to that McAlister’s proficiency in everything from jazz to post-modern rock, and the result is a sophisticated, engaging, and instantly identifiable style.
Kent McAlister & The Iron Choir tour relentlessly, and have quickly established themselves as a favourite across the Canadian roots music circuit. Featuring a who’s who of established Vancouver players, the band can blow the doors off a club one night and then captivate a soft-seated theatre audience the next. In just under four years they have played 200+ shows, toured with Corb Lund and The Hurtin’ Albertans, and shared the stage with the likes of The Tennessee Three (Johnny Cash’s band), Fred Eaglesmith,and Magnolia Electric Co. The miles traveled and days spent on the road have bled into their sophomore album, ‘The Way It Rolls,’ lending it a maturity and flair born of experience.
What They're saying about the sophomore album, The Way It Rolls:
"...a step in the right direction for anyone looking for a little rustic country amidst their current library...McAlister uses his jazz influences to put a different spin on play-it-again country music. Along with pedal steel and trumpet, McAlister’s smooth vocals give a solid foundation to The Way It Rolls’ more elaborate elements: time changes, breaks, and a mariachi feel that wanders in and out of the melodies." - The Manitoban, 2008
" McAlister and his band The Iron Choir have locked into a spicy play-it-again alchemy on their new album." - FFWD Magazine, 2007
"I would say these guys are writing some of the best Texas swing/country North of Austin, with a little Canuck mixed in for decent measure." - NineBullets.Net, 2007
"The Way It Rolls is fresh, vibrant and sophisticated postmodern country music." - TheRecord.Com, 2007
"The Way it Rolls left me wanting more, not because it lacked anything, rather because it is such a diverse treat. This second release from Kent McAlister & the Iron Choir is packed to the brim with superb, emotion-filled songwriting, excellent arrangements, and outstanding musicianship." - OldBlueBus.Com, 2007
"...Kent McAlister brings a fantastic twist on roots music...(he)showcases a diverse palette and a mature style." - HeroHill.com, 2007
"Sometimes, I wonder why bands from other countries play better Americana than Americans....These Vancouverites know their way around a good song title, a great cover and a heart-wrenching ballad." - staergetaleht.com, 2007
"Live they are blistering hot. They have been together a mere four years but they play like family... instinctive and intuitively." - Scene and Heard, durhamregion.com, 2007
"While there's a definite hard-edge Roots feel to much of McAlister's music, he delivers the material with enough grit and twang to attract country listeners' attention." - Country Music News, 2007
"The Way It Rolls sympathetically captures a love of pre-Urban Cowboy country music, but updates the sound for a modern audience...(it is) an immanently listenable country album..."- The Red Deer Advocate, 2007
"If this isn’t “The year Kent McAlister gets knownâ€, it’s only because further ahead in time, he breaks even bigger with an album even better than The Way It Rolls. And that’s gonna be tough. McAlister’s voice has developed an earthy luster that lends itself to all the heartache and melancholy his neatly-written twangers can muster. Sometimes pining, sometimes narrating, sometimes confiding, McAlister speaks the true language of country music with a band to match." -Rick Overwater, BeatRoute Magazine, 2007
"Kent McAlister can definitely croon, and the Iron Choir are masters of some catchy soundscapes..." - The Edmonton Journal, 2007
What They Said about the debut album Memory Replacer:
"A clever wordsmith with a well-wrought, light sense of humour." - The Vancouver Province, 2004
"McAlister's stuff is fresh and inventive, especially the new record, and the band rocked every night on tour with us." - Corb Lund, 2005
"Kent McAlister has enough of a grasp of traditional roots and country music to not be enslaved by it - he can bend the rules to suit his own purposes...so this is yet another Canadian to look out for" - Americana UK, 2006
"...a great mix of old school Country music with an old fashioned urban sensibility to it as well. It's like that perfect pair of boots that you can go hiking in, and still polish up for a night on the town." - Red Cat Records, 2005
"...music that goes down like the easy-smoked flavour of expensive bourbon." - FFWD Magazine, 2005
"...a boot-stompin', tobacco spittin', heart-hurtin' affair...there's no room for filler here; every song stands up to further listening." - VUE Weekly, 2005
For booking inquires email: kentmcalister at gmail dot com
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