I had the pleasure of playing some music on the weekend of September 14, 15, & 16 at the first and hopefully annual bluegrass and country music weekend gathering at Marco Polo Land in Cavendish.
In spite of extremely foul weather on Saturday the show went on. All performances were moved from the outdoor performance area to the cozy confines of the rec hall which seats about two hundred people comfortably, with a very nice stage and bearable acoustics.
Nudie and the Turks were the headliners of this event and didn't disappoint their fans with three greats sets on Saturday. They still have the fire that drives all honky-tonk bands and they have grown both musically and as entertainers since I first saw them a few years ago. They are, perhaps, more traditional country, (Lefty Frizzell, Carl Smith, etc.) now than they were originally or at least that's how I see it. I would say the only thing that would really round out their sound would be a really solid snare drummer. Of course I'll leave that up to them. In these days of gigs being few and far between who needs an extra mouth to feed.
There was a pleasant surprise in store for me on Saturday afternoon as I listened to Yvon (Ivan) Daigle a recent immigrant from New Brunswick and now living in the Borden area. Ivan is a fine singer, musician and entertainer in the country vein and I'm sure you'll be hearing a lot more from him in the future if he chooses to stay on PEI.
The Grass Mountain Hobos did their usual strong show and were very entertaining with their take on the traditional string band music of days gone by along with their twist on things not normally considered to be traditional.
The western PEI contingent was well in evidence over the weekend, and did their part to entertain a packed house. Wayne Brown and friends just continue to get better which goes to show that if you can keep a group together you can develop a sound all your own. With their instrumentation of two guitars, mandolin, bass and Wayne's great country tinged vocals they have succeeded in finding that sound.
SK Bluegrass, probably one of the longest standing groups also did a fine show. Although not all the group could make the engagement they put together a couple of very strong sets. The group has been together for a long time and I'm sure that they'll be going strong for many more years.
Bethany Coughlin guided her Bluegrass Angel Band through two good sets. Bethany has finally put together a group that will stay together for the long hall, and I'm sure that they will continue to improve. Bethany is in the process of preparing to make her second solo CD very shortly and this, on top of a band CD, is quite a feat for someone in her early teens.
Until next time don't forget to support live bluegrass and country music and listen to Bluegrass Island every Sunday evening at 9:00 on CFCY 95.1 FM and on the internet at 951fmcfcy.com
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