North Country Fair - Day 2 of 4

North Country Fair continues with the second of a 4 part on-line fantasy festival featuring some of our favourite artists in an all-Canadian line-up, and well, we are north of the 49th and we love living in this Country. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:17

You are listening to Acoustic Avenue. Today we're broadcasting from the evolution stage in the second of four episodes of North Country Fair. This is Ted Crouch, your host and Festival MC with co-producer Joe Little in Calgary, Alberta. On Acoustic Avenue, we recognize with respect and gratitude that these lands where we live, work, and make our music remain home to a number of indigenous nations and people. We acknowledge this land out of respect for the indigenous nations who have cared for Turtle Island, also called North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day. North Country Fair is our online fantasy fair featuring some of our favorite artists who we would love to see and hear in an all-Canadian festival lineup. In this episode, we look a little deeper into the evolution of festivals during the last 70 plus years. The roots of folk music festivals in this country can be traced back to the 1950s and 1960s, when the folk music revival was gaining momentum. In 1959, the idea for a Mariposa folk festival was launched in Aurelia, Ontario, making it one of the earliest and longest-running folk festivals in Canada. In this first set, you will hear David Whippin, who played in 1966 at Mariposa. Mr. Whippin also had a profound impact on my musical career after a chance meeting at a Michigan Tech University coffee house in the early 70s while touring his coasted favorite album. We swapped the stories between sets and shared songs over the weekend. I'll share a bit more of that story in our final episode. Today, Mr. Witten plays the title track from the decoded theater. You will also hear Ian and Sylvia, the performers at the inaugural 1961 Mariposa Festival, alongside other artists, including Bonnie Dobson, Al Churney, Alan Mills, and the Travelers, to name a few. This song also became an encore standard for several years at the Edmonton Folk Festival, often led by Bill Bourne. It is also considered the unofficial anthem of Alberta. To open this episode of North Country Fair, I am with Joni Bye and Linda Kidder, and we will sing Hold the Rain. Inspired in part from songwriting conversations with David Whippin, we really enjoyed putting this one together in the studio and hope you enjoyed it. From the evolution stage at North Country Fair, here is Hold the Rain, Coast to Coast Fever, and Four Strong Winds.

SPEAKER_03 3:41

A time ago was crossing this country for the love of a friend. Riding horses wind and rain, the situation's the same. Love gives, love goes, love is about change. You are gone this highway, searching for diamonds and gold. Earl of wisdom, closest friends, get it for they get too old. Some may think, others drink, celebrate another richest in the hand. A temple, a two-the-tunga, complicating a woman and man. Is this really happening? To you are you running from? Those old lovin' boot. Everybody's got them. Don't you wanna get your loving from? Someone who puts their lovin' into you. Hold the rain from falling in your hand. Love runs deep, it's calling. Heaven opened your castles in the sand. Sky, you blue clouds tail by pictures you painted in your mind. Water in your brush turn rivers to rust. Tears to fall the rain from your eyes. A time ago was crossing this country for the love of a friend. I'll find out back again for where it all began. Riding horses with the rain, a situation sustained. Love gives, love grows, hold the rain. Love gives, love grows, hold the rain. Hold the rain.

SPEAKER_01 7:28

Some things been on his mind. Living the life of a man on the go and having a real good time. Then she came along, and there's not much to show, but he used to think she was fine. Before she went, her money got spent on good times, whiskey and wine. Now it's a bar, stool and blinkers. Couldn't sleepy yet anyway. Well, it's low inside, and a taste of fame has turned the tide. Yes, he's got a coast to coast fever, and highway on his mind. Seven years passed alone at last. He decided to hit the road. With a mind full of fire and a heart full of ashes, he carried his heavy load, and he played his tunes to empty rooms right on down the line. But before he went, my money got spent on good times, whiskey and wine. Now it's a bar stool and blinkers. He couldn't sleep be it anyway. Well, it's no inside, and a taste of fame is turn a time. Yes, he's got a coast to coast fever, and highway on his mind. But when a ship came in, he was tied and thin, and he didn't know what lay in store. The people came around and the rooms were filled, they were busting through the door. And he drew the crowds and they cheered so loud and it started to feel so fine. But before they went, the money got spent on good times, whiskey and wine. Now it's a boss tool and winkers. You couldn't sleep be yet anyway. Well, it's low inside and a taste of famous for the time. Yes, he's got a coast to coast fever, and I we all fine. And now he sits alone like there's no one home. Just staring out the door. The bottle keeps him company, as he wonders what he stays there for. Cause when he drew the crowds and the cheered so loud, well, it made him feel so fine. But before they went, the money got spent on good times, whiskey and wine. Now it's a bar stool and blinkers. He couldn't sleep yet anyway. Well, he's low inside, and the taste of fame has turned the tide. Yes, he's got a coast to coast fever, and high wig on is mine. Yes, she's got a coast to coast fever, and high wave on his mind.

SPEAKER_05 11:30

Seven seas that run higher, all those things that don't change from what way, but our good times are all gone, and I'm down. I'll look for you with my heaven. Where there's good there in the fall. I got some friends that I can go to work in for Still I wish you'd change your mind if I asked you one more time, but we've been through that a hundred times or more for strong winds that blow no link, seven seas that run high, for those things that don't change from what day But our good times all are gone and I'm done for moving on. I'll look for you if I'm sway if I get there before the snow flies, and if things are going good, you could meet me if I send you down the fence, but by then it would be winter. There ain't too much for you to do, and those winds sure can look cold we are there, more strong wings that don't mean seven seas that run high all those things that don't change from what may But our good times are all gone, and I'm done for moving on. I'll look for you with high level Maclyss.

SPEAKER_00 14:36

In this second set, we begin with an artist I had the pleasure of meeting and working with on several occasions, Long John Bauldry. From an initial booking at the human hall in Calgary, Baldry returned to that city a year later for three nights and lacking out sharing his life story and songs. In 1986, we collaborated on a reproduction of the Edward French and recorded long John Voice from the musical drama. We were looking forward to a month-long tour in Austria for the fall of 2020. She left us with a legacy of beautiful and skillfully crafted songs, and today we will play I Built Abode, one of our favorites from her album, Everything Is Moving. This is Long John Baldry, Coco Love Alcorn, and Laura Smith.

SPEAKER_08 17:41

Around your baby, ain't nobody got it made, so you can live in your head. A thrill, a thrill A thrill, the thrill. I said a thrill is a thrill. You can have a bad young boys don't all hangin' out of the bar. Old men don't have to cruise them all by the time. Those young girls just love to smell them flowers. And all women love to play with empires. And the streets are out. The fires just leave us slow and down. They know that a thrill thrill. I'm doing a thing. I'm you a bottle who is now a girl. Let me know the thrill. Living your mind.

SPEAKER_06 23:06

I am feeling now that feels and all the way is gone. I'm unshakable, unbreakable, hardly. My destiny has tested me hardly. I've heard the call, I'm standing tall from this moment all. I'm unbreakable. I'm standing solid, solid on the ground. I'm standing solid for whatever comes around. Yeah, I'm ready. And I'm staying in this feeling that I found I'm unshakable, unbreakable. Finally, my destiny has destined me. I've heard the call and I'm standing tall from this moment off. I'm unbreakable. So test me, unhakeable. I come on test me. Unbreakable. Yeah, you can test me from this moment. I'm unbreakable. I have that last. I have that stuff and I've got to lift it. I have to lift it. But this stuff and the bottom lead. I'm unshakable, I'm breakable. Fine to lead. My destiny has tested me. I've heard the call and I'm standing tall from this moment off. I'm unbreakable. Don't test me. Uncheckable. I come on, test me, unbreakable. Yeah, you can test me. Uncheckable. Come on, test me. You can test me. Yeah, fully. Come on, test me. You can't test me.

SPEAKER_07 27:00

I built a for one. I didn't find any flaws until long after I was done. Everything was fine. Until I lost sight of shore. And then I knew I didn't want to be in a boat for one anymore. You should see me walking away, tearing her apart. Working night and day, rebuilding with my heart. It's there in all the pieces. I see it in every curve. The flawed design. I built a boat with fear and shattered nerve. I'm building a boat. I'm building over two. The hardest part was started. I don't know what the through You should see. We walk in tearing from part. Working lovely. I'm taking all the time I want. All the time I need. I'm building her for comfort. I am not interested in speed. I'm building a boat. I'm building her for two. She's going to catch the wind the way that love.

SPEAKER_00 29:22

The 1970s and 1980s witnessed the growth and expansion of folk music festivals across Canada, while the 1990s and 2000s began to emphasize cultural diversity and inclusion. Starting in the 2000s, folk festivals increasingly highlighted environmental awareness and activism. Over time, these festivals evolved to include a broader spectrum of folk music, integrating both contemporary and traditional styles. Born in Morden, Manitoba, and eventually settling in Stratford, Ontario, Lorena McKennan, is well known for her eclectic Celtic music that has received critical acclaim worldwide in fifteen countries and across four continents. In the early years, Lorena ran the music business from her kitchen table, selling recordings by mail order and producing her own concert tours. Today she leads her own company with responsibilities that include everything from creating strategic business plans to overseeing marketing and promotion. We're over the sun, moon, and stars to have her as part of our North Country Fair. And today she will play the old ways. Scott Cook has distilled his travels down into songs powered by a sharp eye for imagery, a healthy dose of humanity, and that unforgettable voice that at the same time intoned the rigors of the road and the most comfortable couch you have ever slept on. That's a quote from three-time Juno Award winner David Francy on his fellow Canadian songwriter friend. If you have not been introduced to the music of Scott Cook, please take a moment to open your heart and mind to his world. We have presented Scott a couple of times in small concert venues in our community, and were thrilled when he stood on main stage at our local festival and led the finale with his masterpiece. Even more exciting was the next year when Irish Mike and Nvaldi led the encore with this song. And today we will play Pass It Along from his album one more time around. Here is Scott Cook and Lorena McKennet.

SPEAKER_02 32:03

This guitar came from a timber, from the body of a tree, through the workshop of a luthier. Now it's all on to me, and it's good company after dinner. And it fits my hands just fine. But someday another singer with a pair of hands like mine will coax out songs much prettier, still hiding in its strings. Sing stronger, braver words than I could ever sing. And folks are gonna love it. This I'm almost sure. So I take good care of it. Cause I'm borrowing it from her. Pass it along, pass it along. May it land in careful hands when we're gone. But time won't own it to you for long. You don't own it, pass it along. This year is my country. Sometimes it's hard to recognize it, but I count myself lucky to have been born inside it. And I'm grateful for the rights. Others struggle hard to win, and you can be sure I'm gonna fight. They try and take 'em back again. Oh, and everywhere, teachers. Though some fell along the way, the words they said still reach us. Just like you're teaching me here today. And you may not speak it loud, but it's clear in what you do, and I hope to make you proud. Cause I borrowed it from you. Pass it long. Pass it long. May it land in careful hands when we're you can't read it for a moment. Time won't own it to you for long. You don't own pass along. Seems these days we're in a hurry to grab up all that's left to use. Putting patents on discovery, making seeds that don't reproduce. If our vision is so narrow, seeing only body soul will end up like the pharaohs, buried with their gold. We've all pushed this thing along, we've all been guided by our fear. But the river sings a song. We've gotta be quieter to hear. Best be gentle with this place. Cause we're borrowing it from them. Pass it long, pass it along. Midland and careful hands when we're gone. You can't read it for a moment. Time will own it to you for long. You don't own. Pass it long. Pass it along. Pass it long. May it land in careful hands when we're gone. You can't read for a moment. Time won't own it to you for long. You don't own it. Pass it long.

SPEAKER_06 37:19

On a dark New Year's night on the west coast of Glare, I heard your voice singing. Your eyes dance the song, your hands play the tune. Twas a vision before me. We left the music behind as the dance carried on as we stole away to the seashore. And smelt the brine, felt the wind and the hem. In sadness you passed. Suddenly I knew that you'd have to go. Your world was not mine. You eyes to me so yet it was there for the caros runs of time, and I wondered why. A vision came over me. A thundering host and beating wings in the clouds above. The eyes are lost! You suck as you flew, and I want to fly.

SPEAKER_00 41:29

Many festivals emerged during the 1970s and 1980s, including the Festival de Voyageurs in Winnipeg in 1970, North Country Fair in Jussard, Alberta, 1979, and both the Edmonton and Calgary folk music festivals in 1980. These festivals showcased a wide range of folk music styles from traditional Canadian folk to international genres. Ending today's North Country Fair, we welcome to the evolution stage two more of Canada's iconic folk singers. Rita McNeil and Joni Mitchell are both notable Canadian musicians who have made important contributions to the music industry, and while their musical styles and career trajectories differ. Both McNeil and Mitchell achieved significant success in the Canadian music industry. Rita McNeil, Kate Brett, First Lady of Song, wrote songs about conversations and friends getting together, community roots, believing in dreams, working people, taking residence and paying tribute to a loving family. Things that ring true for everybody. McNeil's breakthrough album was Flying on Your Own, released in 1987. It achieved multi-platinum status in Canada and garnered her international recognition. She received numerous awards throughout her career, including three journals and multiple East Coast music awards. McNeil's artistry lies in the way she can turn the events of her life into something with which many people can identify. About the coal miners of Cape Breton. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Joni Mitchell became known for her historically personal lyrics and unconventional compositions, which grew to incorporate pop and jazz elements. Producer or co-producer of most of her albums, and designer of most of her own album covers. Joni describes herself as a painter.

SPEAKER_06 44:47

It's a work and men on him, and I've been down underground, and I swear to God if I ever see the sun or for any minute of time I can hold it in my mind. I never again will go down the ground and just be pouring with his teeth. In the dark weight of the wall, where you wake before your dumb and the poor that the light heavy on your nose It's overhead And I can die off the ground And I swear to God I never speak to some Or for any of us I can hold it in my heart I never again with the four on the ground and be dust before we do at the door and if yet you are to the dog we death of the wall and the same thing. The rain and the snow on everyone So many things I would have done. But clouds got in my way. I looked at clouds from both sides of now. From up and down. Still from the home. It's clouded. I record a really good cloud and fairy sweet. The dizzy dancing way that you feel as if a fairy tale comes. But now it's just another show. And you leave them laughing when you go. And if you care, don't let them know. Don't give yourself away. I've looked at love from both sides now. From give and take. Still somehow love's illusions that I recall. I really don't know love. I really don't know love at all. Tears and fears and feeling proud to say I love you right out loud. Dreams and schools and circus crowns. I've looked at life that we are but now, old friends, they're acting strange, and they shake their heads and they tell me that I've changed. Well something's lost, but something's gay in living every day. I look at life from both sides from winning, and still somehow it's life. I recover a really blown life. I really don't know life.

SPEAKER_00 55:39

This is Ted Crouch signing off, and on behalf of Joe Little, from our hearts to yours, stay safe and love the ones you're with. Peace. Cook's jam.