Country Prose
by Charlie Hansen

We ventured to north eastern Florida this month to the town of Palatka which hosts one of the largest and best run festivals in Florida. This year’s festival featured Dailey and Vincent among others.

Friday was a full day of bluegrass opening with The Wildwood Valley Boys, one of the most under rated groups on the circuit today. They have great material, a lot of
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Country Prose
by Charlie Hansen

Winter is progressing well in sunny Florida although music hasn’t become a large part of it so far. We’ve taken in a few jams and small concerts and had the opportunity to put on a gospel show for the folks at Hunter’s run RV park a couple of weeks ago but music hasn’t been a large part of the winter so far.

We’ve replaced music this winter with attending some
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Country Prose
by Charlie Hansen

Not a lot happening in Florida these days but we’re managing to keep warm and that’s not hard because the weather has been great with only a couple of days that were below normal.

We’ve just been taking in some local jams and music in the “Park.” The festival season hasn’t begun yet but when it does we’ll be taking in a number of them.

By this time the PEI Music
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Country Prose
by Charlie Hansen

When most people reach the point where they have had a successful and fulfilling life they tend to lay back and enjoy what they have accomplished over their lifetime. This is not the case with Harold Noye. Harold, besides operating the very successful Sun N’ Shade campground along with his wife Marnie, has always kept his hand in the music business.

Harold and
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Country Prose
by Charlie Hansen

A couple of months ago I mentioned that Neil Matthews was beginning to record a new CD. Now, this isn’t new for Neil as he’s done this many times before, but this one is special in that it is made up of fourteen duet tracks featuring five of Neil’s female friends and family.

The ladies featured on this CD, Girl’s Night Out, are Jolee Patkai, Gloria Rodgerson,
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Country Prose
by Charlie Hansen

Well, the summer has faded into fall and many of the musical events associated with the warmer season have ceased operation for another year.

The summer season on PEI is always awash in music of every kind and colour and never ceases to amaze local and visitor alike. I’ve heard from visitors to the Island that they can’t understand how a place so small holds a
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Come-All-Ye

Review by Charlie Hansen

Come-All-Ye is essentially a showcase of Island music, story telling and comedy with an under current that features the values that make us what we are—Islanders.

The musical parts of the show, all arranged by John Connolly, are very well put together and make great use of a minimal amount of orchestration.

The comedy is pure Island with Patrick Ledwell
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Country Prose
by Charlie Hansen

With summer peeking it’s head around a long and wintery corner it’s time to hit the bluegrass trail and this summer there is an explosion of sorts in the bluegrass world with new festivals being added, it seems, every day.

First for the more established variety. The 26th annual PEI Bluegrass & Old Time Music Festival July 1, 2, and 3 has been covered already so
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Country Prose
by Charlie Hansen

After a winter of laying around and basically doing nothing I guess it’s time to get back to work and let you all know what’s happening in the real world.

Bluegrass festival time is here again and the grandfather festival of all PEI festivals is at hand. This year the PEI Bluegrass and Old Time Music festival is celebrating twenty six years of music and this
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Country Prose
by Charlie Hansen

At eighty-five years, Ray Price has a voice that any thirty-year old would be envious of—strong, true and dynamic. It is the voice that everyone wished they had. As the years have gone by his voice has gotten deeper and more expressive until it is now close to perfection.

With an eleven-piece band that resembled a symphony with its five-piece string section, Ray
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Country Prose
by Charlie Hansen

The music season has finally begun and we’ve had an opportunity to take in some very good concerts and festivals. On January 22 we took the trip to Yeehaw Junction, about 100 miles from Zephyrhills to see some of the finest bands in bluegrass. The weather was sunny but cool but we were reasonably warm in a large tent setup which included the stage and room for
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Country Prose
by Charlie Hansen

There isn’t a lot happening in frigid Florida so far but we look forward to things heating up both weather wise and musically.

We’ve taken in some bluegrass music at the local pizza shop and at the Zephyr Park where folks gather on Sunday to play with their friends. Once in a while you run into a good group but mostly it’s just folks playing for their own
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