At 4:30 pm on August 14th, the gates open for the 34th annual Summerfolk Music & Crafts Festival.
One of your first stops should be the Food Village. There you will find delicious treats from any one of the 18 food vendors - sandwiches, salads, pizza and hamburgers along with international fare - Indian curries, Caribbean jerk chicken and Chinese dishes.
Take a table at the Cafe of the Senses and enjoy the music of Scatter the Cats at 5:00 pm. The 'Cats' are a collective of well-known Owen Sound area musicians who perform great tunes with a 'wee' bit of an Irish twist. Then you can polish off you meal with some dessert - homemade butter tarts, cookies, ice cream, yogurt or cake.
The sound of bagpipes signal the Opening Ceremonies at the Amphitheatre stage. Bob Dixon has been 'piping in' Summerfolk for as long as I can remember. Dressed in his Scottish tartan, Bob's music echoes throughout Kelso Beach Park and calls all to take their seats for the evening concerts.
The first words you will hear are those from Dave Carr, the 'Voice of Summerfolk'. Dave is a veteran Owen Sound broadcaster and music aficionado. Following greetings delivered by the dignitaries, the music begins!
Friday night's Amphitheatre concert line-up is full of talent! In order of appearance, the schedule looks like this:
Hard Ryde Bluegrass Band - one of Canada's top bluegrass groups gets things started
Erica Wheeler - a singer/songwriter who paints musical portraits and landscapes
Shane Cook - award winning fiddler along with Brian Pickell, Jake Charron and Tiffany Fewster
David Woodhead's Confabulation - an innovative musical interplay of folk, poetry and jazz
Brian McNeill - Scotland's musical treasure
Hoots & Hellmouth - high-energy acoustic quartet 
Valdy - Canada's folk troubadour
Trout Fishing in America - Summerfolk favourites Erza Idlet and Keith Grimwood are back
The Amphitheatre at Kelso is magical. The sound system is finely tuned and every seat is a good one. There is nothing quite like listening to music outdoors. Attending an evening concert in the Amphitheatre at Summerfolk is an unforgettable experience.
By Friday night the artisans have their one-of-a-kind works on display. A stroll through the Artisan Village will reveal a fabulous array of handmade items. These creative artists are selected by jury for the quality of their work and are encouraged to demonstrate and discuss their craft during the weekend.
There's more to do on a summer's night at Summerfolk. The licensed Down By the Bay tent has refreshments and some great music to go with it.
Jacob Moon starts things off at 7:00 pm. Next up, bluegrass fans can catch more of Hard Ryde. Then blues band Daddy Long Legs performs 2 sets with the award-winning Suzi Vinnick playing in between.
Celtic music fans will love Poor Angus who take to the Down By the Bay stage around 11:00 pm. Highland pipes and Irish whistles are accompanied by fiddle, guitar, mandolin, bodhran and bass guitar. Swamperella closes off the evening with their infectious Cajun music sound.
Summerfolk also presents the Friday night Young & Hungry concert showcasing the talents of up-and-coming performers. Host Kristan Anderson will welcome young musicians Jonathan Jerome, Flashlight Radio featuring Ben Whiteley and Suzy Wilde, and the ultra-talented Coco Love Alcorn. The Brazilian music group The Aline Morales Band will polish the concert off in fine style.
On the Young & Hungry bill are also four acts from the Grey-Bruce region. Claire McLeish, Jon Farmer, Sarah Hillis and Liam Sanagan were selected earlier in the year for this appearance at Summerfolk.
Wow! Friday night at Summerfolk is action-packed. With three concerts, Summerfolk fans will have plenty of great music to enjoy.
When we introduced a dance tent at Summerfolk two years ago, I hoped to sometime include a Big Band sound as a part of the programming. This year it is happening!
Recalling the days when dancing to a Big Band was popular in this area, "Dance at the Pavilion" has The Lighthouse Swing Band on Sunday afternoon, August 16th, from 2:00 to 3:30 pm.
Directed by Don Johnson, The Lighthouse Swing Band is a 20 piece group featuring vocalist Shelley Parker and numerous solo instrumentalists.
The band was formed in 1984 by a group of players from Kincardine. Paisley's Shelley Parker joined them in 1985. The present lineup draws musicians from Goderich, Port Elgin, Lucknow, Mildmay, Kincardine and Sauble Beach. One trumpet player even comes up from Burlington for rehearsals every week.
"One of the big changes for the band was getting Don Johnson as our director" says Shelley. "Don retired to Sauble Beach and since 2002, he's made all the difference for us."
"We learn something from him each time out. He does not miss an off-note in the band. We are very fortunate to have him."
"It was Don Johnson who initiated the jazz program at Humber College and was on the faculty for many years. He led many Big Bands in Toronto and was musical director for The Juliette Show on CBC television."
When I asked Shelley about their repertoire she said "We go back to the 40's right up to the present day. Songs like Mack the Knife and New York, New York are always favourites. We even do a version of YMCA. A waltz, bosa nova, tango, jive - you have to be prepared to do them all."
Swing music began in the 1920s, distinguished by a more supple feel than earlier jazz and a walking bass line. After 1935, big bands rose to prominence and had a major role in defining swing as a distinctive style.
The danceable music of bandleaders such as Benny Goodman and Count Basie was the dominant form of popular music from 1935 to 1945.
When I was a young musician starting my own career, we often played at many of the dance halls and pavilions scattered throughout this area. I was always fascinated with the history of the buildings. Constructed for dancing and with great acoustics, they held memories from a great era of music.
"Let's Dance: A Celebration of Ontario's Dance Halls and Summer Dance Pavilions", a book written by Peter Young, recalls this history of Big Band dances in this part of the province. The following are some of beach halls that you might know.
The Balmy Beach Dance Pavilion where Lloyd Kibbler's Orchestra played had the recognition of the best dance floor in Ontario during the late 40's and 50's. The building was demolished in June 1962 and the land sub-divided for home building lots.
Oliphant's McKenzie's Pavilion was built in 1921. During the '30s and '40s, McKenzie's Pavilion attracted dancers from up and down Lake Huron and the Georgian Bay shores of the Bruce and from the city of Owen Sound. Mac McKenzie recalls working at the dance hall with his brother Don. Dressed in white shorts and blue blazers, they took tickets as couples entered the dance floor and made certain that all left after the second dance.
The original pavilion at Sauble Beach, called the Octagon after its unique shape, was built in 1933. Wally Scott (who had his own band) and Jack Robertson purchased the hall in 1946. Later they added a terrazzo floor to the east so couples could dance under the stars on warm summer evenings. In 1950, they flattened the old structure and built a new pavilion on the same site, leaving the open-air portion as it was. The new building with its enlarged interior and outdoor floor could hold up to 2,500 dancers. The Pavilion also hosted Wednesday night country dances with Don Robertson's Ranch Boys. During the Big Band era, one of the popular orchestras to play the pavilion on a regular basis was led by Warren Ovens from Kitchener.
The Annex at Southampton's Breakers Lodge was a popular dance pavilion before it was converted into guest rooms. Russell Knowles built the dance pavilion during the 1920s bringing in well-known orchestras such as Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians, Ferde Mowry's group and many others.
Port Elgin's Cedar Crescent Casino was one of the crown jewels along the Lake Huron shoreline. Built in 1924, the hall ran dances six nights a week attracting hundreds of eager residents and summer vacationers. From 1950 to 1964 Lloyd Kibbler's Big Band from Owen Sound was the Casino's house band. The Casino burnt to the ground in 1970.
Long before the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station was even a glow in Ontario Hydro's eyes, the small community of Inverhuron created its own unique energy at the Inverhuron Dance Pavilion built in 1930.
The Kincardine Pavilion is the only hall of its kind still operating along Lake Huron. Inside the hall was a large circular light that looked like a moon when it was illuminated during a song with the word "moon" in the title and also, for the last dance of the night. Music of every type from Big Band to country to rock'n'roll has been performed here. Orchestras included Don Messer, Lionel Thorton, Mart Kenney, the John Brenan Band and Johnny Downs.
Summerfolk's "Dance at the Pavilion" hopes to re-create some of the magic of this bygone era. The Lighthouse Swing Band with trumpet, sax and trombone sections brings swing music to life and is perfect for dancing.
Of course there will be lots of opportunity to enjoy other styles of dance at Summerfolk as well. On Saturday night we feature an Evening Country Dance followed by a Cajun dance.
During the day on Saturday and Sunday there are several contra dance sessions, a Quebecois Kitchen Party with Benoit Bourque and a Brazilian dance workshop with The Aline Morales Band.
Come kick up your heels or glide across the dance floor to the best in music at Summerfolk.
The term 'world music' is often used to describe a musical genre presented at folk festivals such as Summerfolk. Exploring the history of tradtional forms of music from different countries can be fascinating.
Fado singer Tony Gouveia was born in Lisbon and came to Canada at the age of 13. His musical career took hold with the formation of the band Tabu. Tony established a reputation in North America’s Portuguese community for his vocal work with this group.
Based in Cambridge, Ontario, Tabu played everything from Latin to Portuguese, Italian to Top 40. Over a 20 year run, beginning in 1986, the band toured extensively. In 2007 they won the prestigious Merit Award for Music presented by the Alliance of Portuguese Clubs & Associations of Ontario.
Tony's wife was the one responsible for his re-connection with traditional Portuguese fado music. She listened to fado at home and loved it. Eventually Gouveia was once again hooked on it too – not only as a listener, but this time as a performer.
He had never forgotten the fados that his father used to sing at family gatherings. By adding elements from his Tabu stage experience with the tradition of fado, his performance style is rivetting. You may not understand the Portuguese lyrics but you will be moved when you hear the songs of Tony Gouveia. The music embodies the essence of the Portuguese soul.
Fado music is arguably the oldest urban folk music in the world. Some say it came as a dance from Africa in the 19th century and was adopted by the poor on the streets of Lisbon. Others think it started at sea as the sad, melodic songs coaxed from the ocean waves by homesick sailors and fishermen.
Whatever its origins, the themes have remained constant: destiny, betrayal in love, death and despair. The essential element of fado music is saudade, a Portuguese word that translates roughly as longing, or nostalgia for unrealized dreams.
By the early twentieth century, fado had become a fixture in the everyday life of Lisbon’s working class. It was played for pleasure but also to relieve the pain of life. Skilled singers known as fadistas performed at the end of the day and long into the night in the Alfama and Mouraria sections of Lisbon.
Like other forms of folk music such as American blues, Argentine tango or Greek rebitika, fado cannot be explained; it must be felt and experienced. One must have the soul to transmit that feeling. A fadista who does not possess saudade is thought of as inauthentic.
Fado can be performed by men or women. A fadista stands in front of the musicians and communicates through gesture and facial expressions. The hands move, the body is stationary. When done correctly, it is a majestic performance.
The towering figure of Portuguese fado was Amalia Rodrigues. From the 1940’s until her death in 1999, she was the diva of fado worshipped at home and celebrated abroad as the most famous representative of Portuguese culture. When she died the country’s prime minister called for three days of national mourning. Such is the hold of fado over the people of Portugal.
Tony Gouveia comes to Summerfolk backed by a trio of fine musicians. This is a unique opportunity to hear traditional Portuguese folk blues performed with intensity and passion.
Ragleela was first founded in India in 1990 by sitar maestro Uwe Neumann. Upon his arrival to Montreal in 2000, he was joined by guitarist Jean-Marc Hébert and tabla player Shankar Das. Ragleela was reborn.
Now a quintet, Ragleela blends the richness of Indian ragas with occidental melodies. The result is a sound very interesting to the western ear. Neumann’s sitar is the centrepiece of their music but it isn’t about revisiting hallowed ragas. Rather, the group revels in the space between jazz, folk and Indian classical music.
In their original compositions, the sitar sets the tune over guitar patterns, violin lines and grooves of both Indian tablas and percussion. Their explorations on melodic hooks are not at all out of place in a western pop context. It is peaceable music with subtle nuances that invigorate the listener.
Ragleela concerts across Canada have left audiences enchanted and inspired by the power of their unique musical fusion.
Uwe Neumann discovered the sitar in a most unusual fashion. He was in Benares, considered to be the holiest of all pilgrimage sites in India. Home to many famous temples, virtually every block in the city features a shrine.
As he walked down a crowded lane, a stranger approached him and offered free lessons in sitar. Neumann, who had played classical guitar in church choirs and was an accomplished folk and jazz guitarist in hometown Nuremberg, followed the man into a shop. He tuned in to the sounds of the sitar and was hooked.
Neumann then studied Indian music for 10 years in the Bengal region. He beame comfortable enough with the lore and theory to shape it in a personal fashion. "We play in a traditional style" says Neumann of their music. "A bit more dynamic maybe, but still traditional ragas."
Improvising is a feature of ragas. "It's always improvisations on a theme," he explains. "To define raga is quite difficult but one has a scale, and each note of that scale has its particular character. The relationship between the notes is defined by how you move from one to the other."
Neumann was also attracted by the unique development of melody in Hindustani classical music. "Most of the popular music we're exposed to has a strong beat and harmonic structure. I realized I needed to work more with melody."
Ragleela's guitarist Jean-Marc Hébert studied classical guitar at the University of Toronto and takes a major role in shaping the arrangements for the band. Tabla player Bertil Schulrabe studied the instrument in India and has appeared on numerous world music CDs.
Violinist Marie-Soleil Bélanger performed for many years with Richard Desjardins and played on a Lhasa CD. Eric Breton plays percussion in many musical styles - those of Africa, Maghreb, Brazil, Haiti and Cuba, and of course, Ragleela's Indian-based music.
There is a stirring beauty and an underlying message of love and happiness to Ragleela's music.
Ragleela and Tony Gouveia, along with Brazil's Aline Morales, Australia's Chloe Hall, the African group Soul Influence and Scotland's Brian McNeill bring a world of music to Summerfolk this August 14, 15 and 16.
The name Valdy merits mention in the same breath as celebrated Canadian performers Gordon Lightfoot, Buffy St. Marie and Murray McLauchlan.
With some 40 years’ experience as a touring artist, Valdy has sold half a million copies of his 14 albums and has won two Juno Awards. He has been hailed a national treasure and this country's most distinguished troubadour.
His songs have been recorded by Quincy Jones and John Kay of Steppenwolf. But unlike Kay, Valdy was 'born to be mild', writing (as he said himself) songs about freedom and joy.
When he performs, there are plenty of hits to choose from. “People want to hear the older songs.” he says. “When they hear them it makes for a comfort zone where they’re more willing to accept the newer material.” 
His concert repertoire usually features some of the best songs other people have written too - like Sonny's Dream by friend Ron Hynes. "They stand the test of time," he said of the covers he performs.
As to his interest for environmental and social causes, he has added a decided political slant with such titles as Living Next to a Candy Store (re the Canada-US Free Trade agreement), Ten Little White Men - The Ballad of Meech Lake and Hey Mr. Michael Wilson (re the Goods and Services Tax).
He has, however, generally been a voice of concern and caution rather than anger. The passion of his message is moderated by his sweet, relaxed tenor voice.
Valdy was born Valdemar Horsdal in Ottawa. Early on he was influenced by the likes of TV's private eye Peter Gunn and the show's accompanying music by Henry Mancini and his Orchestra. "I learned melody from him," Valdy said of Mancini. Later it was Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis. When he took piano lessons, he played a lot of boogie woogie from the 1920s. "The British Invasion had a big musical influence on me too" he said.
Through it all he credits his father, famed portrait photographer Paul Horsdal (mentor to Yosef Karsh) for his encouragement as a youngster. Now Valdy is the one influencing the youngsters.
In 1966 he made his home in British Columbia, where he farmed for several years near Sooke. Adopting a country-folk style, he performed in Victoria coffee houses and in 1972 came to national attention with his hit Rock and Roll Song - the famous song documenting the rejection experienced on stage following a rock act at the Aldergrove Rock Festival circa 1968.
Other popular singles followed: his own songs A Good Song and Simple Life, and David Bradstreet's Renaissance (Let's Dance That Old Dance). Valdy has also recorded several songs by Bob Ruzicka, including Yes I Can.
By 1976 Valdy had recorded five albums and was second to, you know who... Gordon Lightfoot, in record sales for a Canadian folk singer. In August of that year, he represented Canada at the International Song Festival in Sopot, Poland. "That was a highlight of my career up to that point." says Valdy of Sopot. "I was a musical emissary from Canada playing for people behind the Iron Curtain."
Since that time, Valdy has remained a fixture on the Canadian folk circuit. He also performs for children and on occasion, with symphony orchestras, maintaining a yearly schedule of some 200 performance dates.
He was a panelist on CBC-TV's Front Page Challenge and had a lead role on an episode of The Beachcombers. He continues to perform concerts in the US (he is a favourite at the annual Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas), Europe and Australia.
Valdy is famous for jigging and dancing on stage, and establishing rapport with young and adult audiences alike. With a generous spirit and an open heart he is a tireless proponent of folk music. Love songs, protest songs, sad songs, funny songs - any and all ways of touching an audience with music, laughter and positive energy are part of his magic.
His musical talent is augmented by an incredible human spirit. He remembers people. He cares about people. Valdy is a man with a thousand friends, from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island and from Texas to New Zealand.
During his career, Valdy has made many friends in this 'neck of the woods' too, performing in places like Tobermory, Kincardine, Walkerton and of course Summerfolk.
