A Canadian stringband is paying homage to the resilience of Lytton with a new song more timely than ever for the province amid the record-breaking fire season.

Toronto-based Lonesome Ace Stringband鈥檚 new song, 鈥淧raying for Rain,鈥� was released earlier this month, and although written two years ago, the message still resonates today.

Max Malone plays the upright bass and wrote the piece with the help of his bandmates and his wife. His home is about 15 kilometres from Lytton, and the song was written in response to the fear caused by the wildfire.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really eerie, it almost feels dark during the day and obviously it affects your breathing and your health in general,鈥� Malone told Black Press Media in a phone interview.

鈥淭he sun takes on this red hue, that鈥檚 ominous, that was definitely the eerie feeling that came with it.鈥�

The fatal Lytton wildfire began on June 30, 2021, and destroyed most of the small town and is still in recovery.

Malone is from Toronto, his wife is Californian, and no stranger to wildfire season. He said that he wrote the verses with her all in one go, but the chorus, which he calls 鈥減reachy,鈥� took him some time.

鈥淚鈥檇 say the chorus is a general feeling expressing the idea that we鈥檙e all in this boat and it looks to get worse, and I was complaining,鈥� Malone said.

鈥滿aybe there鈥檚 people who will find that irritating or offensive but it is sort of a form of complaint because your life gets upended and it gets disrupted even if it鈥檚 not directly affected by the fire, even if you鈥檙e not having to evacuate.鈥�

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Malone and his bandmates, John Showman and Chris Coole, have been playing together in the Lonesome Ace Stringband for 15 years, beginning in Dakota Tavern in Toronto.

Before that, they played brunch gigs together for roughly five years. He said the chemistry they have together comes out when they play.

鈥淚 love the songwriting and the harmony and our interplay of instruments and it was sort of accidental that we hit upon this bass trio, it just seemed to really rhythmically cut through the din of cutlery and plates,鈥� Malone said.

鈥淲e just get a pretty strong groove between the three of us and we don鈥檛 infringe on each other鈥檚 tonal range.鈥�

Some inspirations for Malone鈥檚 songwriting are Darrin Hacquard, Pharis and Jason Romero, and Amelia Curran. He said that he doesn鈥檛 think that Lonesome Ace sounds like those artists musically, he thinks that they鈥檙e talented songwriters.

鈥淚 take inspiration from people who just whose songwriting really reflects the reality that they鈥檙e living,鈥� Malone said.

Malone wants Praying for Rain鈥� to reflect how ever present climate change is, especially in Canada. He hopes that people who listen to the song pick up on that.

Lonesome Ace鈥檚 upcoming album, 鈥淭ry to Make It Fly,鈥� comes out on October 13. Malone said that it鈥檚 a record about optimism.

鈥淭he idea of perseverance is the message of the album, and staying hopeful.鈥�

鈥淧raying for Rain鈥� is available to stream on Spotify or Apple Music or to download on the Lonesome Ace Stringband website. The website also has more information on tour dates and tickets.