Canadian indie band The Once captivates patrons

The air conditioning in First Christian Church wasn’t working on Friday night, but Bloomington residents didn’t seem to mind the oppressive heat.

They were too captivated by The Once, a self-described “folksy, rootsy, indie” band hailing from Newfoundland.

The endearing trio, consisting of singers and instrumentalists Geraldine Hollett, Phil Churchill, Andrew Dale and a whole family of quirky string instruments, performed twice at this weekend’s Lotus World Music and Arts Festival.

They captured the audience with intricate mandolin playing, flawlessly clear voices, rich harmonies and touches of humor — first addressing the audience with “Whether you’re already fans or you’ve just walked into the wrong church, we’re delighted to see you here.”

Hollett is the lead singer and stood front and center between her other band mates, who switched off between guitar, mandolin, bouzouki, fiddle and a drum, and always harmonized.

Together, the three don’t just make music. They tell stories.

The Once’s roots are in St. John’s, Newfoundland, the oldest city in North America. Their music has a raw and folksy edge that lends itself to the stories of fishermen, farmers and sailors that they depict through their lyrics.

Dale went to school for music, Hollett said, but the other two never envisioned a career like the one they have now.

“I never took a lesson,” Hollett said, though she grew up in a small town with a big, musical family. “Our grandmother lived with us, so brothers and sisters all came to the house to see her.”

They always brought their guitars and singing voices.

Hollet said she used to want to be a country singer, and she still draws inspiration from Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn.

The three played several of their original songs, but interspersed those with light banter and covers like Queen’s “You’re My Best Friend,” Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and a couple of Leonard Cohen songs.

Hollett, Churchill and Dale all met at a summer job around six years ago, but Hollett and Churchill have known each other since college, where they were both theater majors.

“I don’t know why I bothered to do theater,” Hollet said. “Why would anyone do theater?”

“If you were a fatalist, you’d say that the whole reason that you did theater is so we could all have that crappy summer job, but find each other and start playing music,” Churchill said.

Hollett laughed. “Which is what happened.”

After playing several shows locally, the band was playing at a festival in Nova Scotia when an anonymous donor talked the artistic director of the festival into giving the band a check for $5,000 to record.

Their self-titled debut album was released in 2009, and since then they have won several East Coast Music and Canadian Folk Music awards for their work.

They just sang on folk rock band Passenger’s latest album after having met him by chance in Edinburgh.

The church was quiet when all three musicians put down their instruments to sing a capella. As was the pattern, Churchill launched into a story about the next song, and the audience leaned in.

The only way the people of St. John’s used to be able to light their homes and see where they were going was by kerosene lamp, he said.

“But, since we got electricity last Thursday,” Churchill said, as the audience broke out into laughter as he mocked his rural hometown, “we still fondly think back to last Wednesday and Tuesday and the hardships we endured.”

They led the audience through the song, titled “By the Glow of the Kerosene Light,” and asked attendees to join in during the refrain.

“The only thing that’s going to result from you not singing when a band asks you to is awkwardness,” Churchill said, urging the shyer spectators to join in.

“With a pinch of dismay,” Dale added, evoking another chuckle from the crowd.

When Hollett sang out the first few high notes, the room immediately silenced and the humor of moments ago dissipated.

The audience sang softly with her during the chorus, and the trio created a colorful blend of harmonies that rang through the church.

In the first row of pews a father hugged his daughter closer to his side and reached to put his arm around his wife. People closed their eyes and swayed.

The Once closed their set to a standing ovation and promised to return the next night.

“We’ve traveled all over the place,” Dale said, “And we’ve always managed to have this connection to people, whether we’re speaking the same language or not. There’s that connection that can happen with music that’s really cool.”

Follow reporter Anicka Slachta on Twitter @ajslachta.