Rick Sward offers up some of his favourite songs

This story is part of a web series called Music that Matters with CBCYukon's Airplayhost Dave White.Dave sits down withYukonerstotalk about five pieces of music that inspirethem.

Whitehorse musician Rick Sward has been finding ways to keep busy during the pandemic.

Even though most regular gigs have been shut down, Rick has been hosting a series of neighbourhood concerts and other events, anything to keep music alive.

But he did take a break to share some of his favourite songs.

"There are so many different songs, and so many different stages in your life where a song knocks you out," he said. "It's hard to get down to five, but I think I got down to five that mean something to me."

His first song, Country Home by Neil Young, reminded him of his stint working in Lake Louise, Alta., in the early 1990s, and he travelled to Calgary to see Young on his Ragged Glory tour.

"I was a mild fan of Neil Young, and he played 11 songs in three hours at that concert, and it was amazing," he said.

"It was Crazy Horse getting back together after a long time. Neil hadn't rocked that hard in quite a while. It just kind of exemplified his sound in the early '90s."

Sward selected a tune by one of his guitar heroes for his second choice.

"I think this is a really good song that just shows off Tony Rice. Me And My Guitar, how else do you put it."

Ry Cooder's Jesus On The Mainline was Sward's third selection.

"I remember going to the Canmore Folk Festival and this guy by the name of Ry Cooder showed up," he said.

"My dad was huge Ry Cooder fan, so I grabbed the Canmore Folk Festival ad out of the paper, jumped the fence and ran up to him and said, 'Hey, Mr. Cooder, would you sign this?'

"[He's]one of the only artists I've ever jumped a fence for."

The song also inspired another fond memory for Sward, when he and a group of musicians played thetune during the potluck portion of the Dawson City Music Festival with the late Aylie Sparkes.

"Pick number four is one of my favourite bands in the whole wide world, and one of the reasons I like bluegrass Old And In The Way," said Sward, noting the band features The Grateful Dead's JerryGarcia on banjo.

Sward's final choice was a song by Vancouver band Roots Roundup, a band that made regular forays into Yukon.

"I've probably seen them play 30 shows in my life ... they used to come to Lake Louise and they put on the most crazy, mind-bending shows I've ever seen. And we all became fans and friends."