PROVIDENCE BAY—The sun was bright and the air was hot as campers and day-trippers dragged their chairs through the grass and set up in front of the stage at the Bluegrass in the Country festival for the Saturday afternoon show.
Cole Hughson and George Williamson were first up and though their music is not exactly bluegrass, they did not disappoint. Several Blue Rodeo tunes set the audience in the right frame of mind to enjoy an afternoon of good music, with tight harmonies and a strong blend of guitars. George mentioned their Friday nights at the cenotaph in downtown Little Current, beginning June 16. Donations are welcome and all monies go to the food bank. “C’mon down,” George said, “you never know who’s going to drop by to sing with us.”
The New General Store followed with solid bluegrass tunes like ‘Who Will Watch the Home Place,’ ‘30 Years of Farming’ and several instrumental pieces. Their skill with banjo, guitar, autoharp, and bass, along with three-part harmonies, and sometimes more, kept everyone’s toes tapping. Larry Miller and Brian Riseborough (a phenomenal 85-year-old guitarist), have been playing music together since the sixties, but the rest of the group has been together only the last five years.
Ellie Maxwell was a crowd favourite, belting out Patsy Cline tunes, Elvis and one Paul Anka tune: ‘Put Your Head On My Shoulder.’ Ellie’s music accompaniment was pre-recorded but that did not detract from her performance in the least. The 15-year-old’s vocal range was amazing; her voice as sultry as the stars whose songs she was singing. She also sang a tune she had written herself, ‘Lucky,’ and this was her first time performing it. She was a huge hit and the crowd loved her.
Avery Drive, a fast-paced Espanola group took the stage and, as Jay Massicotte, the lead singer explained, “We take every song we like and speed it up.” And they were fast. “Mostly, we do progressive bluegrass, but when Jay Guay plays the mandolin, we’re playing true bluegrass,” he said. Their talent and skill on the banjo (Joey Ducharme), the slide guitar (Jay Guay), the bass (Nick Mailloux) and guitar (John Guay) were amazing, especially considering they’ve only been together since COVID began. Their vocals, with Mr. Massicotte as lead singer and the harmonies provided by the others kept the audience thoroughly engaged, even when the skies darkened and the rain began to fall.
Larry Carriere and Different Picks were delayed for a bit, until the rain lightened up. But the rain did not dampen the spirits of the listeners, as umbrellas popped up everywhere and the music carried on.
Carol Hughes, MP for Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing stepped up to the microphone to say a few words to the crowd in support of the Special Olympics. There were many Special Olympics athletes at the grounds on Saturday. Anna Bateman is an athlete in baseball and bowling. Andrew Splawnyk is into baseball, curling and track. His favourite being curling, the sport in which he made it to the Nationals in 2016. “I try to do better each time I play,” he said.
Rebecca Strain, an athlete in curling and baseball, when asked which sport is her favourite replied, “I’ll have to think about that one. We came in second place in the Nationals in Corner Brook, Newfoundland in 2016,” she said. “That was in curling. I guess curling is my favourite,” she said with a smile.
The previous Friday evening show began with Different Picks opening with a lively and varied set of offerings that got the crowd well tuned for an evening that featured local musical legend Robbie Shawana backed up by the Great Northern Opry Band, consisting of Urban Mejaki on bass, the fiddling barber Doug Hore (still fit as a fiddle) and Maurice Labelle on keyboard—all inductees into the Great Northern Opry.
Algoma-Manitoulin MPP Mike Mantha stepped up to provide a greeting, exhorting everyone to check out the vendors on hand and to be sure and sign up for the silent auction items.
Ben Lentir, himself a Great Northern Opry inductee, took to the stage with a backup band that included his daughter Katlyn. Katlyn wowed the crowd with an amazing voice and fluid mandolin. It has been quite the week for the 18-year-old, having secured her G2 licence, graduated from Grade 12 and was due to head off to prom right after the performance—her boyfriend sat incongruously in a blue suit waiting patiently in the stands to take his date home to change from country-wear to prom dress.
Friday evening was topped off with the energetic stylings of Dennis Lepage and HighBanks.
Sunday concluded Bluegrass in the Country with a free Gospel session featuring, in succession, Robbie Shawana, Ben Lentir and Jim Beech, concluding with The New General Store.
Mr. Lentir thanked everyone for coming out and making Bluegrass in the Country 2023 a success, adding that while he had big shoes to fill with the departure of founder Brother John Featherstone, he was proud to have been asked to step into those shoes and looked forward to many more years of the festival raising funds for such an important and worthy cause as Manitoulin Special Olympics.
