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Saskatchewan-based singer/songwriter Jeffery Straker has been expanding his fan base across the ocean, with his recent tour of the United Kingdom.
One of these new fans is none other than His Majesty King Charles III.
650 CKOM’s Alex Brown spoke to Straker on Talk Shots on Saturday, November 16, 2024.
Tell me about the most recent UK tour. Have you performed overseas before?
STRAKER: This was 13 shows over two and a half weeks in England, specifically. And it was an absolute joy to get to do it. The previous time I was in England was 2022, so returning a couple of years later, I was really curious to see how it would go. But we had people who came back this time who’d been to shows in 2022, and we had new people coming up to see the shows.
Out of the 13 shows, I think five of them sold out, including the show in London. It was a complete surprise to me, but really lovely to see. We kept our heads down, we kept our bellies full of great English cuisine and sang our hearts out.
Do the themes of prairie landscapes and small towns that linger in your music resonate with United Kingdom fans?
STRAKER: That is the answer that I wanted to find out, too, Alex. I have a lot of prairie songs, and it was really fascinating for me to see people in England finding themselves in these songs, about places rooted in the prairies. Because at the heart of these tunes, I have about the prairies, they’re about connections to where you’re from, what makes you feel grounded, and pride of place. Those themes I found really resonated in England. A lot of small towns in Saskatchewan are kind of declining, and there are places in the UK experiencing that as well. So they found themselves in some of my small-town songs. It was really interesting.
Take us back to the coronation of King Charles III. Did you write a song marking this historic occasion?
STRAKER: I got a really surprising, and kind of awesome invitation from the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan, his Honour Russ Mirasty, and his office. They first asked if I would come and sing some songs at the coronation celebration at Government House in Regina. And I said that sounds great. And then they ask, would you consider writing a song?
It was a big challenge because it’s actually really tricky to write a song commemorating the start of something. I had to really find a way in. But I did write the tune, and I performed it on Coronation Day at Government House, and it was well received.
How did the song find its way to His Majesty?
STRAKER: I ended up recording the tune as one of the ten tracks on my last record, “Great Big Sky”. With the help of the Lieutenant Governor’s office and the Lieutenant Governor himself, a CD was delivered to Buckingham Palace, which in itself was crazy to me. Then I got a follow-up that it was in the Royal Household. I got a second message that it had been hand-delivered to the King. The suspense was killing me! While I was on tour in the UK, the office of the Lieutenant Governor reached out by email saying they just got word from the King to the Lieutenant Governor that he was really touched by the song being on the record. He also sent good wishes for my tour of England, and it was signed “Charles R”.
It was really something, to know that he was aware of the song and that he was touched by it. He has a million things to do, so the fact that he took the time to even mention this was pretty cool.
Did you ever think, in your career, that you would be reaching that level of recognition?
STRAKER: No! The way I approach my music-making is, that I keep my head down, and I make music because I love it. I throw it into the world, and whatever happens, happens. It’s neat when a song resonates with someone. I take such joy in getting messages from anybody saying, ‘Oh, I heard this song and it really touched me for this reason’, or ‘Your song made me think of this thing’. But then to get one from the King, saying that he was touched by the song… it is really nice, it’s something I’ll be thinking about for many years to come.
—This transcript has been edited for clarity.
