Once again, my day yesterday began in the Harbourview Room at the Delta Hotels By Marriott Prince Edward for the Export Buyers Roots Showcase. Fortunate Ones (Andrew James O’Brien and Catherine Allan from St. John’s, Newfoundland) kicked things off by treating us to some music from their 2018 album Hold Fast. “Steady As She Goes,” co-written with fellow Newfoundlanders Alan Doyle and Tim Baker, was inspired by the devastating fire in Fort McMurray in 2016. As the title suggests the song is rooted in a cautious optimism and determination to move forward in the face of turmoil. O’Brien wrote “Before You,” a charming love song, that really showcases his and Allan’s tight harmonies. My favourite song on the album is the title track, a rousing song about taking risks, and finding the encouragement needed to follow through with one’s plans and dreams. Dave Gunning likened East Coast Music Week to an episode of The Muppet Show, and if that is true (which I think it is a strong comparison) I think Gunning is our very own Kermit the Frog. He performed songs from his new album, Up Against the Sky, beginning with the poetic “In The Time I Was Away,” the very sweet “Ferris Wheel,” about a first date at a Carnival, and “Celebrate the Crop,” a insightful portrait of a party hosted by one of the poorest families in a rural town. In the spirit of The Muppet Show Gunning also penned the first line to a new Stompin’ Tom song, “Fish, potatoes, and Anne of Green Gables” his Stompin’ Tom impression is humorously accurate. We then all sang “These Hands,” a song that asks us all “what can you do to make the world a better place?” There is something magical and hopeful about watching a whole room come together to sing this song. Later in the Confederation Ballroom for ECMA Friday Night Gunning sang “Horse for Sale,” a devastating song about a farm that’s fallen on desperate economic times, and a farmer who is willing to sell it all for a good home for his horse, “A Game Goin’ On,” (from 2012’s No More Pennies) which is already Gunning’s own Stompin’ Tom song, and the beautiful “Sing it Louder” (from 2015’s Lift), an anthemic song of social justice, to inspire a louder call for change. The quality that Gunning most shares with his muppet counterpart is his beautiful earnestness. When he speaks and when he sings, it’s directly from his heart and from his truth, he reaches right out and connects directly with you, which I think is what makes him such a successful singer/songwriter, but also an effective activist. For something completely different we were treated to Menoncle Jason, a satirical character played by Jason LeBlanc from Memramcook, New Brunswick, the character is an older Acadian man who sings country songs (in the style of Johnny Cash or early Elvis Presley) in French about everyday life in rural New Brunswick. It is silly, but it’s also musically impressive, infectious and a whole lot of fun, even if you don’t understand the lyrics. Menoncle Jason explains the gist of each song in a great mixture of English and French. I love LeBlanc’s voice. His set was a real rollicking good time. It’s been 25 years since Rustico, Prince Edward Island’s greatest ambassador, Lennie Gallant, released his 1994 record The Open Window. He began his set yesterday afternoon with “Which Way Does the River Run,” a poetic journey that follows two people forging deeper connections with one another as they travel across the country. The lyrics in the chorus, hypothetical perhaps, are woven into the fabric of our culture. He followed this up with the lively “Laisse Aller,” en français, with Patricia RIchard (fiddle/percussion/vocals), from Searching for Abegweit. In my notes I wrote, “whew. what a party!,” which pretty much sums it up. He then sang “Pieces of You” from 2005’s When We Get There, an emotional song about the memories that linger in the things we leave behind. He closed his set, of course, with “Peter’s Dream,” which will be inducted into the Canadian Songwriters’ Hall of Fame at the East Coast Music Industry Awards on Sunday May 5th. I think this was my third or fourth time singing this song along with Gallant, at either a live show or last year at one of the ECMA Flocases (led by Flo Sampson), but every time feels as thrilling and surreal as the first. “Peter’s Dream,” like Jimmy Rankin’s “Fare Thee Well Love,” is one of those songs that I think when I heard it for the first time, as a child, I thought it was a traditional folk song that had been passed down for generations. It has a timeless quality to it that, I think, ensures that someday for a child who hasn’t been born yet, that will be the case for her. The Roots Showcases ended with a highly spirited performance from Prince Edward Island’s Gordie MacKeeman and His Rhythm Boys. Prince Edward Island has been very well represented by exceptional talent so far this week, and MacKeeman and his band were really the cherry on the Roots sundae this afternoon. MacKeenman plays the fiddle and dances; I had to look up exactly how to describe his dancing and “loose limbed step dancing” is exactly the right way. I also saw that someone used the word “frenetic,” which is also a very apt description of this band’s entire set. It is a raucous, frenetic, buffet of musical stylings, from roots to folk, to bluegrass, to Americana, to country, all at the same time and then back again backwards, while dancing. They largely performed tunes and songs from their 2019 album Dreamland, but the one notable departure was a gorgeous, slow and sweet fiddle tune called “Maritime Lullaby” which is on the band’s Laugh, Dance & Sing (2015). If you get the chance to see these guys live, grab it with both hands and go.
It’s 4:30am, so I should probably stop writing for a couple of hours and get to sleep for a bit. I will have more to tell you about the rest of my day soon. If you’re in Charlottetown, I hope to see you around at the ECMA shows!
East Coast Music Week runs until May 5th, 2019 in Charlottetown. For more information visit this website. Download the ECMA App Here. Follow ECMA on Social Media: Facebook. Twitter. Instagram (@EastCoastMusicAssoc). #ECMA2019.
