Cariboo history comes to life in Vancouver-based band TillerB次元官网网址檚 Folly's new EP Way out West. 

Released in December 2024, Way out West is the latest addition to the bandB次元官网网址檚 initiative, an effort to preserve the history and culture of British ColumbiaB次元官网网址檚 pioneer days through song and story.  

B次元官网网址淓ach song is unique in the story it tells,B次元官网网址� said Bruce Coughlan, the bandB次元官网网址檚 frontman and songwriter.  

The story of John Angus B次元官网网址楥aribooB次元官网网址� Cameron is sung by Coughlan in a bardic fashion, reminiscent of the Celtic traditions which followed the Irish and Scottish who came to western Canada in the 1800s.  

When asked why he chose CameronB次元官网网址檚 story, Coughlan told the Tribune it was due to the B次元官网网址渢ragicness of it.B次元官网网址� 

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a hauntingly beautiful song,B次元官网网址� he said while recounting the story of a farmerB次元官网网址檚 lust for gold which came at the expense of his loved onesB次元官网网址� lives.  

B次元官网网址淪he died in the cold of these Cariboo hillsB次元官网网址� are the words which resonate as the is sung by Coughlan, recalling the sweet Sophie whom John Cameron had B次元官网网址渢ook to courtin'" and later called his wife. Cameron struck gold in the Cariboo in 1862, and his shares would multiply beyond the $100,000 which he initially collected. But he lost his wife and two children on his journey to the foot of the rainbow where a town called Cameronton would develop, known today as Barkerville.  

ItB次元官网网址檚 been 10 years since released a song for the Stirring up Ghosts initiative, which began in 1997, but the song John Cameron itself is not new.  

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a mystery track,B次元官网网址� Coughlan said, explaining he recently found it on a disc from 2003 while sifting through his old notes. He remembers writing the song, but no one remembers recording it.  

When he listened to it for the first time in years, he said the story sent shivers down his spine. 

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John Cameron takes its place on the bandB次元官网网址檚 new EP along with the song Apple Box Belles, which tells the story of Lake Country women during the First World War, as well as two other songs commissioned by the BC Farm Museum. 

As he sings stories from the past, Coughlan hopes to connect British Columbians with some of their heritage in ways which you may find Nova ScotiaB次元官网网址檚 Cape Bretoners are. 

He grew up learning about the heroes and villains whose stories are preserved in Celtic music, and as he began to learn about his own heritage, found he wanted to mimic the practice. At just 13-years-old his career as a performing artist began, and as he got to touring he began learning all about B.C.'s history.  

B次元官网网址淗ow does a fella keep himself occupied for four to five days in Campbell River,B次元官网网址� he said. B.C.'s history sparked to life as he wandered through the small towns where he performed and learned about their history in museums and books he found in gas stations. 

B次元官网网址淚 got hooked up to all these little stories...I decided I would preserve them in song,B次元官网网址� he said. 

Coughlan continues to work on the Stirring up Ghosts initiative and invites historians to contribute their own knowledge to the mix.