Steven Page garnered a lot of attention last November when a video produced by the Governor General's Awards started making the rounds on social media. The Canadiana-packed clip, for a song titled "Canada Loves You Back", showed Page serenading Vancouver actor Ryan Reynolds, who was being honoured with the Governor General's Performing Arts Award. It's been viewed over three million times via Reynolds' YouTube channel.

Page and Reynolds first met in 1999, when Page's old band, Barenaked Ladies, were guests on Reynolds' sitcom Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place. As Page explains from his home in Syracuse, New York, Reynolds was a BNL fan, and their paths crossed multiple times over the years until, a few years ago, Reynolds showed up at a Steven Page Trio show in New York City. Since then, they've been good buddies.

"The Governor Generals Awards knew that we were friends," Page says, "and they came to me and said, 'Would you be interested in writing this song for Ryan?' I mean, it was a little bit terrifying, because his whole brand is funny, clever, and heartfelt, and so you kinda have to write something that touches all those bases. But he does it so well, how do you compete with that? Luckily, he liked it."

Page will be heading out to Vancouver next month, but it won't be to hang out at his celebrity pal's mansion, trying on Deadpool costumes and guzzling Aviation gin. He's got a gig with the Vancouver Symphony, where he'll be performing a selection of Barenaked Ladies hits and songs from his solo career.

Page first got the call to play with the VSO before the pandemic started, and the concert was supposed to happen last year. With COVID running rampant, though, the best they could do was record a six-song miniconcert in front of an audience of 50--with everyone wearing masks and completely distanced onstage--that was posted on YouTube. Now Page is looking forward to returning to the Orpheum for a full show in front of a full crowd.

"I've done a few orchestra shows," he says, "but to do it with the VSO is pretty awesome. Just even the few songs we got to do last time shows what a quality organization they are."

Page reveals that the setlist will include the two Barenaked Ladies songs performed last year, "Call and Answer" and "Brian Wilson", as well as "The Old Apartment" and "Jane". He feels that certain BNL songs work particularly well with the full symphonic treatment.

"Oh for sure. One of the problems sometimes with pop or rock shows with an orchestra is the orchestra just kinda becomes eye candy, because when a rock band plays a song, basically they've already arranged it, right? Between the bass and the drums and the guitar and the keywords, they cover all the bases of the song. So what you end up normally doing is assigning those same parts to instruments in the orchestra and they play along with you, but you can't often hear what the orchestra's doing.

"But I travel with a trio, so it's myself, Kevin Fox--whose kind of our musical director--on cello, and Craig Northey from the Odds on guitar. So it's much more stripped back, and we allow the orchestra to really be the band in these situations. The songs get that much more dynamic and exciting, so something like 'Call and Answer' or 'Brian Wilson' really has a lot of power in the orchestra."

Many Vancouverites will be familiar with Craig Northey, who's been making great music for decades, including with the Odds, Northey Valenzuela (with Jesse Valenzuela from Gin Blossoms), Stripper's Union (with Rob Baker from the Tragically Hip), and as a solo artist. Page first met him in the early '90s, when the Barenaked Ladies were touring behind the Gordon album.

"We ended up going and hanging out with those guys at the Roxy when they [the Odds] had become the house band there," recalls Page. "They would tour with us a fair bit in the '90s, especially in the U.S.--they would open for us a lot--and we became great friends with them. And then when I left BNL in 2009, Craig and I started writing together, so we've been writing songs together ever since and playing live together as a duo, and then now as the Steven Page Trio."

Page points out that "Nothing Beautiful", a song from the 1996 Odds album Nest, might be his favourite Northey song ever, but there isn't much chance that it will make the setlist in March. (That might have to wait for a special night titled Craig Northey with the VSO. Hands up everyone who wants to see that!)

Page and Northey have also performed--along with Moe Berg from The Pursuit of Happiness and Chris Murphy from Sloan--as the Trans-Canada Highwaymen, a Canadian supergroup that performs select songs of their four bands and shares stories from the road. Before Page hangs up the phone there's a two-part question for him. Is there any chance of getting back with Barenaked Ladies, and, more importantly, any chance of getting back with the Trans-Canada Highwaymen?

"Question number one, probably not," Page replies. "I'm a never-say-never kinda person, but I don't think they're too keen on having me around. And, actually, I quite enjoyed doing what I've been doing since I left the band. I didn't think it was possible at the time, but now I realize it is.

"As far the second question goes--yes, absolutely! The Trans-Canada Highwaymen, we talk all the time. The Trans-Canada Highwaymen's  joke/chat thread has gotten me through this pandemic. We've actually been making new music together, very quietly--so hopefully there will be an album in the next year. We've only done a small amount of touring, and it's always been in eastern Canada, so we'd love to get on the road from coast to coast."

Steven Page performs with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra on March 12 and 13 at the Orpheum Theatre.