It will be a first for Altona, a Roaring '20s dance party, Wednesday night (March 29th) at the Rhineland Pioneer Centre. Hosted and performed by the River City Syncopators, the all ages event is all about that unique musical sound with an eleven piece ensemble, with vocals, on the stage. 

One of those players is pianist, among many other instruments, is Jonathan Alexiuk.

"The River City Syncopators is an eleven piece ensemble that performs exclusively 1920s hot dance band music," explained  Alexiuk. "We get asked a lot, 'Are these all professional musicians?' and my answer is yes, although not all of them do music full time, but the the band has been very committed and dedicated to working up this music and this 20s sound. We have people who are professional musicians who do this for a living, and some who are just coming back to music after an extended absence, and some who were kind of doing it for the first time."

So what exactly is the '20s sound the gorup will be playing?

"This style of music is quite unique and there's nothing quite like it" he said. "It's a little bit like Dixieland. It's a little bit like Big Band, and it's got a lot of elements of ragtime in it, but it's not really like any of those. It's kind of all of them combined, so it's a really fascinating sort of pastiche of these different styles and its own unique sound." 

Doors open at 6:30pm Wednesday night, with the show starting at 7pm. Adults are $25 each, youth $10, and 5 and under are free. Tickets are available at the door, or online here.

Listen to CFAM Radio 950 Morning Show Co-Host Chris Sumner's conversation with Jonathan Alexiuk, below.