The Drylanders – February 1978 at Lethbridge Lodge Hotel; L to R Lloyd Kunkel, Travis ‘Bunky’ Kunkel, Trevor Kunkel, Ian Tiffin, Larry Kunkel. Photo courtesy Kunkel Family.
The Drylanders lit up dance halls and gathering places from Calgary to Chestermere with their music. Formed in February 1965 by Larry and Lloyd Kunkel, the group quickly became a local favourite, playing a mix of country, rock, and rhythm & blues that got people dancing across Alberta.
From their early beginnings at the Crossroads Motor Hotel in Calgary, the Drylanders were defined by a spirit of camaraderie and passion for live performance. “Our first job was a six-night-a-week engagement,” remembers Lloyd Kunkel. “We hired a Hawaiian drummer named Kalahni Brown and did a live radio show every Friday night on CHQR.” Eventually, they replaced Brown with Larry Schwartz, who not only drummed but became an integral part of their sound for many years.As the years rolled by, the band’s lineup evolved, but the core remained the same—the Kunkel brothers, united by their love of music. Younger brother Roger joined the band in 1967, bringing fresh energy to their performances. Together, the band made a name for themselves, playing iconic Calgary venues like the Palliser Hotel and the Majestic.
One of the most notable changes came in the mid-1970s when Lloyd’s sons, Trevor and Travis, began showing an interest in music. “What pleased me most,” Lloyd recalls, “was hearing the kids on their own: Trevor in the far room on his saxophone and Travis out in the garage on drums, joining Ian [Tiffin] for dozens and dozens of jams.”
In 1977, when drummer Larry Schwartz got stuck on Vancouver Island during a ferry strike, Lloyd woke his 12-year-old son Travis with a simple suggestion: this was his chance to play. “After some tears and convincing, he came and played with us that night,” Lloyd recalls, marking the beginning of the next generation’s involvement in the band. Soon, Travis and his friend Ian were performing regularly with the Drylanders, adding new life and energy to their performances.
But it wasn’t just the music that made the Drylanders memorable—it was the venues they played. One spot in particular stands out in Lloyd’s memory: the old Chestermere Hall. “The atmosphere was electrifying,” Lloyd says. “The suspended wooden floor would give up and down at least two inches when the dance was in progress. It was like a sauna on hot summer nights, but the energy in that room was unforgettable.”
The Hall, which had once hosted country legends like Mart Kenny, Ray Griff, and Don Cowie, was a beloved community hub where the band played regularly. The old structure might not have been modern or fancy, but it had a charm that couldn’t be replaced. “When the new hall was built, it was bigger and had better amenities,” Lloyd admits, “but it can never replace the good old days at the old Chestermere Hall.”
In 2012 ‘the Drylanders’ in their new format as ‘the Great Canadian Barn Dance’ returned to do a supper concert at the Chestermere Recreation Centre, raising funds for the Chestermere Historical Foundation to restore the 1952 Chestermere Cabin Owners original Ford firetruck.
Beyond the local dance halls, the Kunkel family was rooted in a much larger musical tradition. Trevor Kunkel, Lloyd’s son, once helped solve a historical mystery about fundraising for the new Chestermere Regional Recreation Centre. When no one could figure out what a ‘Sillito Jamboree’ meant in the fundraising history, quick-thinking Audrey McDonald reached out to Trevor. Trevor’s grandmother, Della Rebecca Sillito, hailed from Orton, Alberta, and married Joseph Kunkel. The Sillito family, known for their musical talents, formed the ‘Sillito Jamboree,’ a group that performed together to raise funds for various Southern Alberta communities, including Chestermere.
“There were entertainers from age three to seventy-five,” Trevor shared, describing the diverse performances. One uncle had married a lady from Tonga, and their family brought Polynesian dancing to the show. “The whole family had a blast doing it.”
Although the Sillito Jamboree is no longer active, music remains central to the Kunkel family. Lloyd and Trevor continue their musical journey through the Great Canadian Barn Dance (GCBD), a family business located between Pincher Creek and Cardston, Alberta. In 2012, the GCBD returned to the Chestermere Recreation Centre for a dinner and dance, raising much-needed funds to restore the 1952 CCOA original Ford fire truck for the Chestermere Historical Foundation. Even as the jamborees and dance halls have faded into memory, the legacy of the Kunkel family lives on in their music and the memories of the communities they touched.
Reflecting on the band’s journey, Lloyd Kunkel fondly remembers those years as some of the best of his life. “We had some great times,” he says, looking back at the countless dances, the friendships formed, and the legacy that lives on in the memories of all who danced to the Drylanders’ tunes.
