The Cowboy Junkies will play their first New Zealand shows in 20 years next May. Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

AUCKLAND    BRUCE MASON CENTRE  Friday May 1
WELLINGTON    OPERA HOUSE  Saturday May 2
CHRISTCHURCH    ISAAC THEATRE  Sunday May 3

It’s funny how things work out – right? I was just playing The Caution Horses a couple of nights ago – one of their best. And I was thinking how great it would be if the Cowboy Junkies would play a NZ show again. I was at their last gig here, the ill-fated Sweetwaters reunion. It wasn’t so bad, despite what the media reports of the time tried to say. There was a big stink about bands getting paid, the promoter was crooked, or misguided – and a dreamer. But the line-up was great. I saw some incredible acts. And there – on the main stage – a coffee table with a set of flowers on it, seeming incongruous at an open-air multi-stage festival – The Cowboy Junkies set themselves to slow-burn and quietly dazzled. It was one of the greatest sets I’ve ever seen.

That’s because they had their mighty album, The Trinity Session to pluck from. And The Caution Horses too.

The Junkies formed in Toronto in 1985 – largely a family affair: siblings Michael Timmins on guitar, Margo Timmins on vocals, Peter Timmins on drums, and Michael’s lifelong friend Alan Anton on bass, theirs was a quiet-revolution, a beautiful noise. And they’ve kept making music. They have written some great songs and of course they’re known for a mesmerising cover of Lou Reed’s Sweet Jane. There are brilliant interpretations too of Neil Young’s Powderfinger and Bruce Springsteen’s State Trooper in their back-pocket.

What a treat it will be to see them again. You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron