Summerfolk 2011 Photos

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At Summerfolk, you can 'feel the rhythm' of a festival that has been presenting the very best in folk music for three and a half decades. A beautiful site and friendly people create an energy that will envelop you at this, one of Canada's favourite folk festivals.

With a performer lineup that spans a spectrum of styles and genres, you will find a musical smorgasboard to savour. Evening concerts in the amphitheater are magical and the extensive daytime workshop
programming will inspire.

Certainly the heart and soul of the Festival is the music, but there are many aspects of Summerfolk to be enjoyed by folks of all ages. A rhythm flows through it - you can feel it!
Photos: Don Miller
www.summerfolk.org

Get into the Music Making at Summerfolk

Evening concerts in the amphitheatre at Kelso Beach Park hold wonderful memories for those who attend Summerfolk. These concerts have long been the centerpiece of the event. From 6:00 to 11:00 each night of the Festival, eight acts take to the stage. This means an awe inspiring variety of talent is presented, all in a five hour span.

It is only through the expertise of our sound and staging crew that a jam-packed show like this can run as smoothly as it does. During equipment changeovers between acts, the time is filled by yet additional performers affectionately called ‘tweeners’ who play from the right of the stage. So over the course of the evening, the audience witnesses a dozen or more musical performances.

These evening concerts would be enough to satisfy even the most discerning music fan, but there is much more to Summerfolk. During the daytime hours Saturday and Sunday, the workshop stages swing into action. Typically, three or four acts are grouped together with a given theme to guide their choice of material. Performing ‘in the round’, each draws upon their experiences to relate to the theme. Often they encourage each other to play along and the results can be amazing.

As an example, one of the workshops programmed this year is titled ‘Word Work’. It features performers who rely on the strength of their lyrics to get a message across. Hosted by Corin Raymond; gifted wordsmiths Lorne Elliott, Ian Reid and David Francey will explore what lies within the lyrics of their songs. This is done by performing them and explaining some of the process that goes into their creation.

Additional examples of workshops planned for this year are ‘Country Flavours’, ‘Songs in Harmony’, ‘Funny Stuff’, ‘En Francais’ and ‘Irish Spring’. During the weekend, a multitude of workshops are scheduled....plus there are participatory dance sessions, performances especially for kids in the music tent of the Children’s Village and interactive sessions in the teepee at the First Nations Village.

Some of the workshops are designed for active audience participation and other opportunities exist for patrons to join in. This is what I would like to focus on for the remainder of this article. It has been an interest and desire for me as artistic director of Summerfolk to offer programming at the Festival that allows for patrons to be involved in the creative process and in making music with others.

All the sessions at The Sharing Circle are meant to be ‘kitchen parties’ where everyone is invited to participate. Lead by performers from the Summerfolk lineup, you can sing and play along. There is no sound system and there’s no pressure. Join in the circle and be a part of the action. There will be drum and storytelling sessions, a ‘play your song’ with the band session, as well as Celtic, bluegrass, song, banjo, ukulele and fiddle music circles. Bring your instrument to the Festival - you can store it safely at ‘Stash Yer Stuff’ next to the Sharing Circle tent.

Summerfolk’s Open Stage is another opportunity to play your music at the Festival. Interspersed between workshop sessions at the Café of the Senses, nine time slots are designated for open mic performances on the Homemade Jam stage. You can sign up in advance by contacting the Folk Society office or sign up on site. One performer/act from the weekend’s Open Stage will be selected to join the Summerfolk lineup in 2012.

If singing is your thing, I hope you consider joining the fabulous Summerfolk Choir. Under the direction of the enthusiastic Tom Leighton, the choir has four rehearsals before taking to the amphitheatre stage to open the Sunday night concert. How cool is that! With an emphasis on fun, Tom prepares a wonderful selection of songs to sing.

Love to dance? The previously mentioned dance sessions at Summerfolk take place in the ‘Over the Hill...’ tent located at the south end of Kelso Beach Park. You can learn the steps from dance callers and to the best in music, enjoy dancing on the wooden floor. There will everything from Quebecois to Mediterranean, Contra to African, plus dancing to the Big Band sound of The Lighthouse Swing Band.

Todd Crowley’s ‘Musical Petting Zoo’ is back for a third year at Summerfolk. Todd brings more than a hundred instruments of all description from all over the world, and you are encouraged to try them out. That’s right – you can touch. Play them as long as you like. See how they are made and hear what they sound like. Little jam sessions break out and truly incredible things happen at the Petting Zoo.

Beginning last year, we added ‘The Zoo Workshop Room’ to Todd’s location as a way of farther exploring instruments and learning about music. Inside the tent we hold intimate sessions where you get hands-on instruction or information about specific topics. I am very excited about some of the themes we present this time out. As examples, publisher Jack Cooper will demonstrate transcribing music, Ken Whiteley and David Baxter will talk about how to produce a recording and Orchid Ensemble will show their exotic traditional instruments from the Far East.

‘JumbleJam’ is another participatory event happening at Summerfolk. You may find yourself in a band with Beckon, James Gordon or Robert Priest playing a song you’ve helped compose that day, on stage at the ‘Down By the Bay’ tent. Then there will be open mic opportunities during Sunday afternoon’s ‘SOUNDS...words and music’ workshop that will highlight spoken word performances along with music.

The Circus Court will be a new Summerfolk adventure this year. Along with performances by Lookup Theatre's Youth Troupe, there will be workshops for both kids and adults to learn circus arts like acrobatics, juggling and aerial. And in the same vein, Vita Twirlin’ Diva will be offering a demonstration where you can learn more about the art of poi spinning.

The full slate of concerts and workshops are available for viewing on the Summerfolk website. Make it a point to plan what you would like to see, and what you’d like to do at the Festival. It is my hope that you will avail yourself time to take part in one or more of the interactive activities offered. At many music events, audiences sit and listen. But I feel there is much to be gained, and enthusiasm added, when the audience is involved in the fun and the music making. Summerfolk is a place where you can do just that.

David Francey & Ron Hynes Play Summerfolk 2011

Two Pre-eminent Canadian Songwriters to Perform at Summerfolk

David Francey & Ron Hynes


David Francey has won three Juno awards and the former construction worker turned successful folk singer and songwriter has garnered critical acclaim for his ‘new’ profession. Poetic perception and a keen eye for the heart of the matter are trademarks of the man and his music earning him a reputation as one of Canada's most revered folk poets and singers.

Francey was born in 1954 in Ayrshire, Scotland, where as a paper boy he got his first taste of the working life. He learned to read at an early age, and by eleven, was devouring the newspapers he delivered. This helped establish his interest in politics and world events while developing the social conscience that forms the backdrop of his songs.

He was twelve when his family immigrated to Toronto. He says he can trace his love of the land, the history, and the people of his adopted country to weekend family drives exploring southern Ontario. Music played a large part in these family outings. They sang traditional Scottish tunes as they drove through the Canadian countryside. Dad and sister Muriel sang melody, while mother and David sang harmonies.

His attachment to Canada grew with travel. He hitch-hiked across the country three times. This attachment surfaces in his songs of rail lines, farms and the St. Lawrence Seaway. He grew to understand the people while working in Toronto train yards, the Yukon bush and as a carpenter in the Eastern Townships. These experiences coloured his first CD Torn Screen Door with songs like Hard Steel Mill, Gypsy Boys and Working Poor.

Even after releasing this CD in 1999, Francey continued to work in construction until his second album Far End of Summer was named Best Roots and Traditional Album at the 2002 Juno Awards - a surprise win which prompted him to make the switch to music full time.

“I said maybe we should be doing music because we just won a Juno for crying out loud,” said Francey at the time. “So it was a leap of faith in a sense, but to tell you the truth, I thought the timing was right to try it. And I guess it’s worked out the right way.”

While he admitted he missed the work and the friends he made while on the job, crafting songs was far less taxing on the body. “When I was getting up on stage and maybe feeling sorry for myself for being on the road, I’d be thinking - well, I’m not getting up in the morning and doing a couple of roofs or wheeling cement all day. So everything for me was a treat. The things I got to do and the people I got to meet, they were something to look forward to every day.”

With an ever increasing tour schedule, David continued recording and won 2 more Junos. One for his Skating Rink CD in 2004 and Right of Passage in 2008. His latest release Late Edition is his ninth recording project.

In concert David Francey is a singer and a storyteller who can establish, in moments, a personal rapport with his audience. He tours with New Hampshire multi-instrumentalist Craig Werth. Francey’s wry humour and astute observations combined with an openhearted singing style have earned him a loyal following. His often long-winded introductions are a legendary and integral part of his show, charmingly setting the up the songs that tell honest stories of real people and real places.

David lives with his wife, artist Beth Girdler and their three children Amy, Julia and Colin, in the Lanark Highlands of eastern Ontario.

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One of Canada’s premier singer-songwriters, Ron Hynes has created beautifully crafted songs for more than 35 years.

Frequently referred to as the ‘man of a thousand songs’, Ron is perhaps best known for penning the folk classic Sonny’s Dream. His songs have been covered by dozens of artists worldwide, including Emmylou Harris, Mary Black, Denny Doherty, Murray McLauchlan, Valdy, John McDermott, Prairie Oyster, The Good Brothers, and many more.

Hynes was born in St. John’s in December 1950, and raised in Ferryland on the southern shore of the Avalon Peninsula. He began as a singer-songwriter on the coffee house circuit in the early seventies, firstly in the Maritimes and then working out of Toronto. By 1975 he was back in Newfoundland, writing music and lyrics for stage productions.

He was part of a CBC television production called The Root Cellar. This series gave birth to the Wonderful Grand Band, which became one of Newfoundland's most popular acts. Combining traditional and original songs, fresh musical ideas and comic interludes, the band spent six years touring together.

By 1992, Hynes had compiled a catalogue of several hundred songs and earned a reputation as one of Canada's finest composers of folk and country music. His songs had became part of the fabric of Newfoundland culture.

Ron Hynes is a man who is not without his demons. He is the first to admit there were times when he was not at his best. But he has gone through treatment for addictions and a 2006 self-titled CD deals with these struggles. He communicates his personal suffering with painful honesty in songs like Dry and My Name is Nobody. Baring his soul, this intimate album showcases the skill of his songwriting, albeit with content that is somewhat dark. For me, this was the record that showed Ron Hynes was back, facing his demons head-on and crafting songs of truth and clarity.

His latest release Stealing Genius is his eighth solo recording, and his third project with award-winning producer Paul Mills. Inspired by works from some of his favourite Newfoundland authors and poets, these songs not only echo a life in that province but resonate with people everywhere.

Stealing Genius comes hot on the heels of the feature-length documentary film The Man Of A Thousand Songs in which Hynes is both subject and star, telling his own difficult story in three different narrative voices - the person, the persona and the myth. The film debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival to sold out audiences and critical praise.

Nominated for a bevy of awards, Ron Hynes is a six-time East Coast Music Award winner. He was recipient of the 2008 SOCAN National Achievement Award for his songwriting success and he holds an Honorary PhD from Memorial University for his contributions to the cultural life of his beloved Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Hynes songbook, The Songs of Ron Hynes Vol 1 is a collection of 26 pieces transcribed for guitar and voice. It includes such masterpieces as Sonny’s Dream, St. John’s Waltz, Leaving on the Evening Tide and Godspeed; songs that transcend their Newfoundland origins and have been absorbed into the folk repertoire.

“I can’t read music all that well” he confesses. “Reading and writing music is too exacting for someone like me. I just write a lyric and wait till it starts singing back at me. I like the idea that these songs are now available in libraries and schools - new Newfoundland songs for people to learn. These songs are who I am - part of a community of farmers and fishermen living on the edge of the world”.

Youth Talent at Summerfolk

One of the many highlights of Summerfolk is the ‘Discoveries Concert’ held Friday night at the ‘Over the Hill’ stage.

This concert features youth talent, generally performers in their teens and early twenties....the incongruous ‘Over the Hill’ refers to the stage location at the south end of Kelso Beach Park.

It is always exciting to see and hear young musicians with their infectious enthusiasm. This year the ‘Discoveries Concert’ will showcase eight acts, each of whom bring something special to Summerfolk.

Let’s start with Australian band The Little Stevies, renowned for their casual blend of folk and pop music. Highlighted by the vocal blending of sisters Sibylla and Bethany Stephen, this Melbourne group has a stage presence that is mesmerizing. They deliver their songs in a beautiful way as three-part harmonies float through catchy melodies. Yet it is perhaps the charm of the witty Aussie banter between songs where their personalities shine through.

The 24th Street Wailers were crowned 2010 winners of the Toronto Blues Society’s annual New Talent Search and a worthy representative of the new face of the blues they are. The band first met at Humber College while studying jazz and discovered they had a mutual love for playing the blues. The result is a band chalk full of energy, soul and lots of drive.

Mittenz, an alternative/folk foursome, comes to Summerfolk from last year’s Open Stage where one act is selected to play the Festival the following year. Picked in 2010, soloist Emily Bones suggested she bring her band and how could we say no. The genesis of Mittenz was a meeting between Emily and Mary Deth in 2004, at the ages of 14 and 15. With a love for writing and performing music together, the pair were joined by bassist Laura Jaworski in 2010. The three of them performed acoustically for almost a year before auditioning drummer Lindsay Bird who was the fourth and final missing piece to the band.


In recent years, since 2007 to be exact, the Georgian Bay Folk Society has initiated the ‘Discoveries Showcases’ to bring the brightest and best in youth talent to the Summerfolk stage. This year, five acts were selected to join the Festival lineup and perform in the ‘Discoveries Concert’.

Brontae Hunter is nothing short of a sensational singer and performer with veteran stage presence well beyond her years. The 12 year old Kincardine resident is quickly making a name for herself throughout the area. You may have seen her last year at Summerfolk’s Sunday morning gospel show where she galvanized the show with a display of poise and talent that had everyone talking.

Cody Zevenbergen comes from Hepworth and attends school in Wiarton. This young man has a passion for the blues and he delivers his songs accompanied by strong rhythm guitar playing. Since his first appearance at the Discoveries Showcases two years ago, Cody improved his skill level so much that he was an obvious choice to be selected to play Summerfolk this year.

The charming harmony duo Kildear features the two Anna’s – Anna Horvath and Anna Wiebe. They come from Drumbo and New Hamburg respectively but both have summer jobs in Sauble Beach. They met at a folk festival at age 6, so playing Summerfolk is a big thrill for them.

Ciccone and Hyatt wowed the crowd at Back Eddie’s in Paisley during the Discoveries Showcase Preliminaries and they did the same at the Finals. Step dancing, fiddling and guitar playing of the highest order. Adrianna Ciccone was Maritime Open Fiddle Champion at age 18 while Ariel has won a number of Canadian Open stepdancing championships.

Port Elgin’s Mary Cassidy plays guitar, sings beautifully. She comes by it honestly, coming from a musical family, her brother Joe was a finalist in last year’s Discoveries. It is Mary’s compelling songwriting that sets her apart.

As an opportunity to further hone their skills, the Georgian Bay Folk Society invites not only the five ‘winners’ but all of the Discoveries finalists to perform at ‘Summerfolk TuneUp’. This event will be held at the Owen Sound Visitors Centre (1155 1st Avenue West) on Sunday, June 12th at 1:00 pm.

Nine of the finalists are available to play at TuneUp: innovative synth-pop The Electric Environment, Cody Zevenbergen, multi-instrumentalist Jake Scott, Mary Cassidy, high energy trio The Crimson Theory, the creative Loveworthfinding, Brontae Hunter, Kildear and songwriter Grant Mask.

Two Discoveries alumni have also come on board as host MC’s - 2009 Discoveries winner Jon Farmer and from the 2010 competition, Anne Beverly-Foster.

It is my hope that Summerfolk TuneUp will grow into a bit of a ‘happening’ with a focus on youth talent, driven largely by the creativity and enthusiasm of the ‘kids’. This will be the third year for the event. We had 100 people out the first go round, 150 last year and if we attract a crowd that’s close to 200, I’ll be very pleased. There is no admission but donations are gratefully accepted. Bring a blanket or lawn chair and enjoy the fabulous music served up by these young performers as they prepare to bring their best to Summerfolk.