It all started when Michael Robertson brought his beat-up guitar to the senior’s home.
The Edmonton musician was volunteering weekly at the Silver Birch Lodge, playing board games with residents.
A stranger asked about his guitar case in the corner.
That stranger was Kim Blomme, another amateur musician and regular volunteer at the senior’s apartment complex.
They decided to jam, and soon after formed the Silver Birch Minstrels, which became the Sherwood Park senior home’s resident band.
The six-piece group has kept the music alive at the supportive living complex for more than eight years.
‘We just have a great time’
The pair were among more than 20 Edmontonians profiled in Edmonton AM‘s ‘super volunteer’ holiday radio series.
“I first started coming to Silver Birch in 2010,” Robertson said. “I came out, just answering an ad in the paper they had. And then I thought, well, they like to sing. So I thought, well, I’ll bring a guitar and see what happens. So it sort of all evolved from that, bringing one old guitar.
“Kim walked through the door in one day, and asked, ‘Whose guitar case is that? And that’s how the Minstrels started.
“We just have a great time.”
Kim Blomme loves taking musical requests from the crowd. (CBC)
Robertson sings and plays lead guitar. Blomme, on lead vocals, plays ukulele and banjo. The band has more than 350 songs in their repertoire.
Over the years, the lineup has expanded to include a mandolin player, a drummer on an electric kit and a man who lives in the lodge who often does guest performances on the spoons.
Blomme began volunteering at the lodge in 2008, first by caring for the home’s resident birds. She said she can’t believe her musical career has lasted this long.
“It’s gone by so quickly. I can’t even believe it’s been that long,” she said. “The first two performances, I was terrified. And then after that, I thought, ‘This is fun.’
“If we blow a song, we just make a joke out of it.”
The Minstrels name has rarely appeared on any bandstand. But every month, they perform for lodge residents at their regular ‘pub nights,’ putting on their shows for free.
Their most dedicated fans are in their eighties and nineties. Despite the maturity of their audience, there is always plenty of dancing and caterwauling from the crowd.
“A lot of the residents are from rural areas and farms, and that’s how they used to spend their Saturday nights. They would sing and play music. So for them, we try to find some songs that will bring them some memories.”
‘You can make a difference’
Blomme said their set lists are made up of classic country, folk and plenty of upbeat oldies.
And yes, they take requests.
“We like to keep an eye out and see who’s singing, and we’ve asked them to come up and give us suggestions if there are songs that they want us to do,” said Blomme.
Despite their humble station, the Minstrels have experienced many of the ups and downs of other bands, including a break-up of sorts.
They lost two members when musicians moved to the East Coast. The musical couple loved their time with the Minstrels so much, they started playing shows at a New Brunswick senior home, said Robertson.
They’ve thought about a cross-Canada tour but don’t have the funds to pull it off, he said.
“As soon as we get a new Learjet,” Robertson said with a laugh.
“Instead of giving us a drink once a month, you could put [that money] in a box for us and we could buy an airplane. I can’t imagine how old I would be before that ever happened.”
Robertson and Blomme said they will keep playing at the lodge as long as they can.
Blomme said the experience has given her a new outlook on how to make a difference in her community.
“When I was younger, I wanted to change the world if I volunteered somewhere,” said Blomme. “What I’ve come to learn is that you can make a difference just by doing something that’s needed. And it doesn’t have to big.
“The staff here and the people here always make me feel like they’re really happy that I came here to do this one little thing.”
Listen to Edmonton AM with host Mark Connolly, weekday mornings at CBC Radio One, 93.9 FM in Edmonton. Follow the morning crew on Twitter @EdmAMCBC.