It’s been an other fine year for music in Wolfville. In 2009 I was lucky enough to ad a whole bunch of CD’s to my collection, which includes mostly local stuff and music by people who have performed in Wolfville. Most of these CD’s are available at the Box of Delights, by the way.

On January 10, 2009, Sarah Pound released “It’s About Time“, with a smashing concert at the Baptist Church. That disc is loaded with beautiful songs. These days, you can catch her with Matthew Magee under the name “Casual Show”.

Heather Kelday released her lastest work “Hitchin’ Post“. This album features contributions from a host of local musicians, including John and Andy Kavanagh, Ariana Nasr, Megan Lickley and many others local favourites.

Mike Aubé put out a second disc, “Cluster Folk“, a great collection of new songs. This one includes his band mates Rocket d’Eon and Terry

The Hupman Brothers released their second disc, “Countin’ Quarters“. This one with smokin’ R’n'B and great songwriting, featuring a pile of hot local instrumentalists like Bob Federer, Ian Sherwood, Caleb Miles, Ariana Nasr, Ryan and Scott (Hupman), of course, and Mike Carroll.

John Kavanagh’s second disc, “Small Rooms (Rags, Jazz and Encores for Uke)” appeared a few months after his passing: “To honour his memory and to celebrate his life, John’s friends and family pitched in to complete Small Rooms using the tracks that John had already recorded. The result is a beautiful, intimate portrait of a man and his music.”

That’s not all. There were brand new CD’s by Darren Arsenault, Thugs at Bay, Jamie Junger, Ryan Roberts, and many, many more. Added to the records from previous years I end up with quite a stunning collection which also includes: Band of Owls, Barefoot, Dungaree Brothers, Cuckoo Moon, Sean Peori, Don Osburn, Jack McDonald, Lustre Brothers, Hughie McDonnel.

The amazing thing is: I don’t know about most locally produced CD’s, but I still have enough local music in my house to last me for several days, without repeat! And my collection will get better in 2010. Several artists like Jack McDonald are gearing up to release a new disc this year! Yippee!

This here has been shown on Eastlink Magazine during 2 separate weeks in 2009

ELMAG – Feature – TAB.mov

Dale Leckie produced a little Folk-u-mentary for East Link Magazine….

New CD “Look at them Apples” Launch on Nov. 28 | t@b Music.

On the day that this Grapevine hits the streets, there’s a grand “We Love Lovis” benefit concert taking place at the Festival Theatre. Heather Kelday will arrive just in time to participate…

Arrive from where? Well, well, well. It appears that Heather, over the last few years, has accumulated quite a following in Ontario. She plays shows in Toronto and other hot spots several times a year. With her latest release, “Hitchin’ Post” she’ll appear in many festivals this summer, including, but not limited to, the Deep Roots Music Festival and the Folk Harbour Festival in Lunenburg.

The Hupman Brothers, who just released a brand new, smoking CD titled “Countin’ Quarters”, toured with Matt Andersen earlier this year. That trip brought them as far as the murky waters of the Pacific Ocean, dishin’ out blues, Valley style, in the west-most provinces. Of course you’ll be able to catch them at the Dutch Mason Blues Festival in Truro and many other great events this year. Check their calendar.

I also saw John Tetrault performing at the Jazz Festival in Toronto, where I also saw Coco Love Alcorn, Ian Sherwood. Around the end of June, Thugs at Bay, another Wolfville ensemble, played a string of 15 shows in New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec. Bluegrass guitarist Darrin Beaton was seen performing in Ontario this summer, including shows in Collingwood, St. Catherines, Toronto as well as the Cicadafest on the Niagara Peninsula.

It appears that the rest of Canada is slowly noticing and appreciating the musical talent from Wolfville and the Annapolis Valley. It’s sort of funny when you hang out in Ontario and run into people and Festival organizers who know very well who the Hupman Brothers are.  And folks are coming to Wolfville to hear music, to wine and dine, and to enjoy stylings like nowhere else on the planet. No wonder I have so much fun around here!

Yes, we (t@b) left the ville of the wolf on Friday late afternoon and went to Antigonish, where we played a short set on Saturday morning for a women’s solstice celebration. Jan McKay, Shauntay Grant, Emmy Alcorn, Molly Thomason, Jess and Greg and many others were performing as well. Note: I was one of only three men in a great hall filled with women only. I had dressed my left arm in drag, hoping that all those woman wouldn’t notice. The other two daring male specimens were Fred, the sound guy and Greg, accompanist for his partner Jess. The show went great. We sold a bunch of CD’s, made a bunch of new contacts and many new friends.

We hung about town until early afternoon with our trumpeteer friend Caleb Hamilton, before leaving for our evening gig at the sessions cafe in Rothesay, NB. Now that’s a place! or maybe I should say, was, a place. Sobey’s who seems to own the place where the venue is located, is tearing down the building and the future of the venue is unknown. Jason Myers and his beautiful voice (accompanied by Ariana‘s violin) opened for us to a fairly small crowd composed mostly of his friends, staff, and their friends. It was strange playing the second show on June 20 in a different province, (our first ever NB show btw,) but the show went over great. We sold four or five CD’s to about 16 people, met most of them, in fact, and had a great time at a famous venue…

It’s been a good nap at Jason’s Cabin and mostly eating clicks ever since. Yesterday we gave Quebec about six and a half hours of our lives before landing in Cornwall for sleep, shower, stocktaking etc…. Today (Monday, June 22) we’ll be divin’ into the big ugly, to meet our niece Bianca from Switzerland, Jazzmin, Sara, Hanspeter, Amin and lots of friends. Family day! Yay!

John Kavanagh, 1960 - 2009

Who around here wasn’t touched by his music? The first time I saw him play was at the CD release concert for Jack McDonald’s “Domestic Acoustic”. John Kavanagh was a band leader at the Flower Cart’s  jam dance events. On the ukulele he played jazz, Mozart and everything in between. Being a popular session musician, he played bass for John Tetrault and viola da gamba for Hope Gillis. On  countless CD’s he can be heard playing guitar, ukulele and other instruments. He recently toured the New England States with an international ukulele caravan and was part of Heather Kelday’s Mud Creek Symphonic. Together with his son Andy he performed in the Deep Roots Jam Dance and other prominent ensembles. With his life partner Mary he founded the hugely successful Valley Ukulele Group, an ensemble of ukulele players and students. This is barely the tip of the iceberg. Google for “Kavanagh Ukulele”.

On Saturday, June 13, in the early afternoon, friends of John Kavanagh will gather at the Ross Creek Centre for the Arts for a memorial concert. Many valley artists will perform. We will hear music composed in celebration of John’s life and music which we associate with John’s memory. Check the event listings for details or contact Maurice Gave.

It’s been brewing for a few months now. Initially I heard only whisperings. Then I met Ian Sherwood, “Up on the Ridge”, at the Hupman‘s Place. He was there to lay down some saxophone tracks. I heard, for the first time, a few tracks of their upcoming new CD: “Countin’ Quarters”. There are Hammond and fiddle sounds, double bass and some (un)real electricity. Now the disc is all that’s a-playin’ at our house.

A couple of years ago, when their first CD came out, I said to myself: “It just ain’t gonna get much better than that!”. Of course I was wrong. Since then I learned that Scott plays electric and upright bass, that he is a recording engineer and sound guy. Ryan is a visual artist and lyricist, and together with drummer Mike Carroll the brothers keep a groove that can be felt all the way to Chicago and Detroit. I am still amazed at how accurately this new CD represents the Hupman Brothers: The sounds are straight forward. The mood of the songs reached my heart before my mind caught on, and the space that the band creates allows them to be joined by musical fellows, listeners and dancers before the first verse is done.

Man! I stuck the thing into my computer and the thing went from zero to sixty in just a few seconds. The first song is called “Repeat” and features the classic trio sound with drums, bass and strat. Halfway through, Ian Sherwood kicks in with a few horns. I took the hint and switched my player program to “Repeat”. Gimme some more!

The Album mixes a laid back sense of home with melancholy. It oozes heart and hope. These are the guys everybody wants to play with. They make fast, driving R’n'B sound like a piece of cake and they draw fellow virtuosos like moths to the flame. On this record you’ll hear Caleb Miles playing his electric guitar, you’ll hear Bob Federer playing keyboard like nobody else in the Valley and Ian’s Saxophones are on six of the twelve tracks.

“Countin’ Quarters”, the CD, and “Countin’ Quarters”, the title track, both, conjure up an image of taking stock, choices made and dues paid, hands extended to friends, joy and sorrow shared. I tip my hat to Scott and Ryan, to the trials and tribulations of brotherhood. They keep setting the example, the standard and the bar of musicianship, of inclusion and of support.

The band met at the Frizzelizer's Place

I will make sure to be in attendance when the Hupman Brothers celebrate the completion of their latest recording with a concert at the Al Whittle Theatre in Wolfville, on Saturday, the 30th of May, Apple Blossom weekend. The preparations for this show are running at full steam. Most of the participating musicians met last Monday at Brian Frizzle’s Dungaree Lair for a rehearsal. I was lucky enough to listen in, and I heard a world class blues band, having fun, groovin’ out, tradin’ licks. There’s a buzz out there. It’s coming. My number one CD of the Year.

Kimberly Smith and his fellow travelers from www.moviegames.ca made the best of the AMP Festival by assisting as event reporters…

CD Cover: Frank Fisher ~ Buttons and Whistles

Frank Fisher, who is a walking repository of bluenose folk music, has just finished his first CD recording. After the last Night Kitchen event of the 2008/2009 season, Frank Fisher met Jude Pelley, who was performing with Darren Arsenault under the handle “Blue Nose Pickers” that night. Jude Pelley is an accomplished mandolin and guitar player, with countless recording from coast to coast to his credit.

Frank Fisher was consequently invited to the South Shore, where Jude helped him arrange and record a bunch of original and traditionals songs. This beautiful collection of songs features Frank Fisher singing, playing the button accordion and the tin whistle.  Jude Pelley plays strings, percussion. Derek Pelley, Jude’s father plays the bass guitar.

When you next see Frank Fisher play his accordion in Wolfville, ask him about his new CD. He’ll likely be able to fix you up with a copy. It’s worth it! I got one myself!

Find Frank Fisher on YouTube…

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that somebody was spreading rumours about the front page of the Grapevine being written by somebody new. There was also an unsubstantiated claim that this person would be carefully selected by Ariana and myself. All these statements, in hindsight, seem a tiny bit inaccurate. I shall devote this, one of my last two front pages, to an effort of making better sense.

As far as the front page is concerned: We did not choose a new writer. We chose a new management. A few months back, we started looking for someone to take over this community newsletter. Two of the most community oriented individuals we know had expressed an interest: Jeremy Novak and Jocelyn Hatt.

Jocelyn Hatt has been participating in Wolfville and the Valley for a while now. With Michelle Kulyk she brought “Hatt & Kül” to Main Street, the ethically sourced clothing and accessories store. Jocelyn can sometimes be seen at Paddy’s Pub, where she provides music lovers and others (music non-lovers?) with beverages and good humour. She is the graphic artist who created the logo for the Wolfville Farmers Market. Jocelyn also designed all the graphics for the latest CD of Caleb Miles: “Memory Well”.

Jeremy Novak, too, is no stranger to the Wolfville community. He finished studying business administration at Acadia last year (2008) and participated in Edaline Theatre’s musical productions, including “The Newsies”.  He frequently helps out at town events and is perhaps best known as “Tour Guide Extraordinaire”. Jeremy ran “Wolfville Walking Tours” during the summer of 2008 and then created an overnight success with “Wolfville’s Gravely Ghost Walk”, an extremely entertaining walking tour, which employs “street theatre in the darkness” to embed local history and lore in the minds of visitors and audience.

Both Jeremy and Jocelyn are well connected with business and arts community. Both are creative entrepreneurs with a very pragmatic streak. With respect to the Grapevine, they conducted surveys, questioned suppliers, chatted up readers and examined advertising issues. They consulted with Adam Barnet, the founder of this publication and learned everything they could before accepting the Grapevine as a challenge.

The coming months promise to be a very exciting time for all of us who have been and will be involved in the Grapevine. With new stewardship is seems we might see all three generations of Grapevine operators cooperating, from Adam Barnett to Jeremy and Jocelyn. All of a sudden it is conceivable to have a paper with more depth, more contributions and more integrity.

We are thrilled to pass the Grapevine into such capable hands. We want to thank all of you: Readers, supporters, advertisers, past and future publishers. It’s becoming an institution, this Grapevine of Wolfville. We learned many things. About this town, about the people, about how things are and could be. We learned stuff about life, love, community and ourselves. We’ll stick around and learn some more. This is, after all, the best place in the world for us to learn in. Thanks guys!