About Prairie Joe

Prairie Joe is a country gospel band consisting of four brothers and their brother-in-law. All five of them are country boys at heart, having been raised on the farm in the prairies.

The formation of Prairie Joe as a band was a bit of a process, and it wasn’t something they originally set out to do. It started when Russell, the oldest brother, was on the board for the Fellowship of Christian Cowboys, and they needed to find somebody to do music for the cowboy church at the Wheat City Stampede in Brandon. Russell immediately thought of his brothers and asked if they would do it. The first time, only a couple of the brothers did the music, but as they got asked to sing at other cowboy church services, eventually all four brothers got involved.

Over time, the brothers played at more events across southern Manitoba, and occasionally asked Curtis to join them, when he was available. It wasn’t until January of 2015 that they considered themselves to be an official band. They had been invited to play at the Rockridge Gospel Music Festival in July of that year, and they needed a band name. Despite her best efforts, their mother couldn’t sell them on “The Momma’s Boys”, so they tossed around a few different options. They wanted something that represented their roots, and that’s where the word prairie came in.  Then they wanted something that represented them personally. They tried Prairie with each of their names, but nothing sounded right until they got to Joe, the youngest member of the band. Somehow, the name just fit, and so it was settled. And besides, joked one of the brothers, Joe was probably the only one humble enough to handle having his name in there.

Prairie Joe released their first album, entitled “The Good Life”, in August of 2016. It was nominated in the category of Album of the year, for the 2018 Covenant awards, and additionally, the band was nominated for new artist of the year. They have become well known across Western Canada having played at events, concerts and jamborees across all of the Prairie provinces and British Columbia.

They still play multiple cowboy church services every summer, but as they have grown in popularity, they have also played at hundreds of events and concerts including fundraisers, seniors’ dinners, music in the park, graduations, coffee houses, jamborees, festivals, and even the halftime show at the Virden Oil Capitals hockey games. They have also opened for other artists, as well as the popular comedian, Phil Callaway.

As they move forward, they all agree on one thing: their mission is not to seek fame or popularity, but to glorify the one true God, and to minister to the hearts of people wherever they go.

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And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. – Colossians 3:17