North Country Fair - Day 1 of 4

North Country Fair - this episode is the opening day of an on-line fantasy fair 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 0:09

You're listening to Acoustic Avenue. Today we're broadcasting from the studio stage in the first of four episodes of North Country Fair. This is Ted Crouch, your host and MC for the festival 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. We chose the name North Country Fair for this online fantasy fair because it features some of our favorite artists in an all-Canadian lineup, and well, we are north of the 49th, and we love living in this country. We want to acknowledge that North Country Fair is also a live festival that many musicians, media, festival fans, and listeners to this program may be very familiar with. We'll talk a bit more about that festival in an upcoming episode. Folk music festivals in Canada have a rich history that spans several decades. These festivals have played a significant role in promoting folk music, celebrating cultural diversity, and fostering a sense of community. In this opening set, you will hear one of our favorite Canadian songwriters, Catherine McClellan from Prince Edward Island. In 2017, she released If It's Alright With You, the songs of Jean McClellan, a tribute album to her father. About this album, she believes that her father would appreciate the tribute. Catherine says he would be happy to know that his songs continue on, being remembered, given a new spark. She will play Put Your Hand in the Hand, which was written by her dad. And we will stay on the East Coast to end this set with Fare Thee Well, Love, by the Rankin family from Mabu, Nova Scotia. The song was written by Jimmy Rankin and Stuart Calvert and added to the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame as one of Canada's most enduring Celtic ballads of all time. With haunting beauty and emotion that transcends genre, time, and space, the song Let Me Take Your Breath Away. I've had the pleasure of attending many and performing at some of these festivals over the years, including the inaugural North Country Fair in Juice Art. To start today's North Country Fair, I'm joined by two remarkable voices, Joni Bai and Linda Kidder. We recorded this a cappella song together in Vernon, British Columbia. It's called Broken Ships and was written to honor the wildlife impacted by the wreck of the Exxon Valdez. From the studio stage at North Country Fair, here is Broken Ships. Put your hand in the hand and fare thee well, love.

SPEAKER_01 3:25

Out of the wind into the rain. Left behind the reminder of the mess. From the wrecks of broken ships. The break in the bow seems the fog rolling across because there's design. What about the man? The captain and his crew like an explosion or so few. Escape the ocean.

SPEAKER_04 4:10

Under the sky, the watchful eye, mother in heaven. In time, she must die from her children. Then the sea breathed misery from the devil.

SPEAKER_01 4:35

Let in blood flow to the shore of our nation. Raise the barrel to their lips. Let this day said farewell. Wildlife speaks to shadows pass through hell. Spirit will not wash away. Out of the wind into the rain. Left behind the reminder of the man.

SPEAKER_13 6:29

Take a look at yourself, and you can look at others differently. Putting your hand in the hand of the man from Galilee. Before I reach the age of seven. Now when I'm down on my knees, that's when I'm closest to heaven. My daddy lived his life. Two kids and a wife you do what you must do. And taught me enough of what it takes to get you through. Take a look at yourself, and you can look at others differently. Putting your hand in the hand of the man from Galilee. All the buyers and the sellers with no different feelings than what I profess to be. And it causes me shame I know I'm not the man that I should be. So put your hand in the hand of the man who's still the water. Put your hand in the hand of the man who calm sea and take a look at yourself, and you can look at others differently. Put your hand in the hand of the man from Galilee. Put your hand in the hand of the man who's still the water. Put your hand in the hand of the man who calms me. Take a look at yourself, and you can look at others differently. Putting your hand in the hand of the man from Galilee. Putting your hand in the hand of the man from Galilee.

SPEAKER_02 10:34

Again, no country. So I dream today.

SPEAKER_00 14:29

An Order of Canada recipient and well known for his hit rock and roll song from his debut album Countryman. Valdi also appeared in the CBC television program The Beachcombers as the environmental activist Halibut Stew. Today he'll sing Simple Life, Ode to LA, from his second album, Landscapes. He will be followed by Tannis Slimman, a folk music singer-songwriter originally from Oak Lake, Manitoba, and now based in Guelph, Ontario, where she is most noted for her album Lucky Blue, which won the 2008 Canadian Folk Music Award for Contemporary Album of the Year. From Lucky Blue will play another of our favorite songs written by Tannis and Lewis Melville. They will be joined by Stephen Pearing on vocals and acoustic guitar on Underground Railroad. Shirley Icard will end the first half of today's program with If I Had My Way. At age 13, Icard played alongside Joni Mitchell, Ian and Sylvia, and Bruce Coburn at the 1969 Mariposa Folk Festival. Two years later, when she was fifteen, her song It Takes Time was recorded by Anne Murray and became a hit in Canada. Here is Valdy, Tannis Limon, and Shirley Eichard.

SPEAKER_08 16:30

Should tell us that we're through. Time and time again I've pleaded for a love so badly needed, but I guess it really wasn't meant to be.

SPEAKER_05 23:18

And I would circle you like a bird of prey. I would capture you if I had my way. If I had my way, I would cast a spell, you'd reveal to me the truth you hide so well. No more clever lines to keep my love at bay. You'd surrender oh if I had my way. For this tortured heart, though I touch your face. We're still worlds apart. If it would cleanse my soul, I would walk through fire to be free at last of the strange desire. If it would cleanse my soul, I would walk through fire to be free at last of this strange design. If I had my way, you would come to me no more masquerades and no more mysteries, I would hold you close to the light of day. I'd be loving you if I had my way. I'd beloved you if I had my way.

SPEAKER_00 28:11

All three musicians are associated with Canadian rooted music, Canadian genre, encompassing various styles such as old, rude, country, and Americana, and often incorporating elements of traditional Canadian music. They have all received recognition and accolades for their musical achievements. They've won numerous awards throughout their careers, showcasing their talent and impact in the Canadian music scene. They have collaborated with other renowned artists, both within and outside of Canada, and shared their musical expertise working alongside various musicians, contributing to a diverse range of projects and recordings. Each of these artists have released albums as individual artists, showcasing their own unique musical styles and songwriting abilities. Beyond their accomplishments within Canada, they gained recognition on an international scale, performing in different countries, touring extensively, and receiving praise for their work beyond the Canadian borders. It's worth noting that while these points highlight the commonalities, each musician has their own distinctive musical journey and style and contributions that make them unique in their own right. Headliners on any mainstay of a Canadian festival are truly worthy of acknowledgement as skilled musicians, songwriters, and significant contributors to the country's musical landscape. Here is Stephen Fearing, Bill Bourne, and Amos Garrett.

SPEAKER_07 29:52

And I awoke to pray that the stork who carries baby songs was heading my way, and I was tangled in the sheets, and I was torn between the two The man who married music, and the man who married you. Am I over the hill? Have I gone around the bend? Cause I'm out there chasing songs with melodies that never end, and I sing them cause I have to, and I love them so I do the man who married music, the man who married you. And every life is suffering, every life is pain, agony and ecstasy are my middle names. Truth is stranger than fiction, and strange is what I do. So keep a candle in the window. Cause on the day we were wed, there were two grooms and two brides, and I stood right beside you. They stood beside us too. The man who married music, the man who married you. And I miss you when I'm everywhere. I miss you when I'm home. I miss you when I'm nothing, and when I'm alone. Truth is stranger than fiction, and strange is what I do. The man who married music, and the man who married you, the man who married music, and the man who married you hair, ladies of fair, you know that I'm waiting, watching to be by your side, touched by your life, as I'll let my heart need to know it.

SPEAKER_11 33:43

It's many miles alone with your smile. That is as my way, my one dream, and gentlemen, my heart wants to sing, to see you love what's again. And no party is comfort away. And if pain is a measure of true love and pleasure. May we all drown in sorrow tonight, and though I'm born by the wind, and lost to my kind of cold and alone forever, and still my heart knows how the deep river flows and carries us to back. So let's drink around to the one that I found And though our part is comfort, and if pain is a measure, true love pleasure. May we all drown so that you're lady so fair wing in your hair now. That I'm waiting, watching and gentle spring My heart wants to sing to see you love once again So let's drink around to one death and though we're part of discomfort no way And if pain is a measure true love and pleasure May we all drown in sorrow tonight But let's drink give to the one another part else comfort and pain in same measure true love and pleasure may we all drown so too, but that's line I love presenting from all sides Got book off on my easy ride Bear the live in the blues Sunday morning everybody's in bed on the street knocking out of my head These old brick walls ain't everything I said Bear the live in the blue Bear live Bear the live in the blue live bear the live in the blue for most death read for rain Can't believe I'm gonna take all this pain ain't no use till having a game We're the live in the blue We're the live We're the live in the blue We're the live in the blue Love and Louis Beau Welcome by Here make 'em laugh, here make 'em cry no use to the Noah.

SPEAKER_00 41:58

This brings us to the final set for today's North Country Fair on Acoustic Avenue. Throughout the history and evolution of folk music festivals in Canada, these events have remained platforms for artistic expression, cultural exchange, community building, and social consciousness. They continue to celebrate the diversity of Canadian folk music and provide a space for both established and emerging artists to showcase their talent. To end today's North Country Fair, we honor two of Canada's iconic folk singers who wrote about this country's people and places and moments in time and the life and times of the lives we all lived. Stan Rogers is considered by many as the greatest songwriter that Canada has ever produced. He's been likened to Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie and described as one of the most talented singer-songwriters in North America, by some of folk music's biggest stars. Although he's no longer with us, and his legacy continues to uh entertain, educate, and celebrate the Canadian experience in its raw and most honest forms. And what can be said about Gordon Lightwood? A singer, songwriter, and guitarist who achieved international success in folk, folk rock, and country music. He is also credited with helping to define the folk pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s. Lightwood has also been referred to as Canada's greatest songwriter, and his songs have been recorded by some of the world's most renowned musical artists. You can decide one or the other, or both of the world are Canada's greatest songwriters. Here is Dan Rogers from the album Between the Breaks of Alive with uh Mary Ellen Carter. Closing the show is uh Gordon Lightfoot performing his classic Canadian Railroad trilogy, which he wrote in three days to celebrate Canada's Centennial.

SPEAKER_09 44:25

She went down last October in a porn driving rain. The skipper he'd been drinking, and the maid he felt no pain. Too close to three-mile rockin' she was dealt her mortal below, and the Mary Ellen Carter settled low. There was just a spive aboard her when she finally was awash. We'd worked like hell to save her, all heedless of the cost, and the groan she gave as she went down, it caused us to proclaim that the Mary Ellen Carter would rise again. Well, the owners rode her off. Not a nickel with this men. She gave twenty years of service, boys, the never sorry end. But insurance paid the loss to us, so let her rest below. Then they laughed at us and said we had to go. But we talked of her all winter. Some days around the clock. She's worth a quarter million floating at the dock. And with every jar that hit the bar, we swore we would remain and make the merry oven harder rise again. Rise again, rise again, and her name not be lost to the knowledge of men. All those who love their best. And we're with her till the end will make the merry other. Thank God it's only sixty feet, and the currents here are slow. Or I'd never have the strength to go below. But we've hatched her ends, stopped her vents, dog hatch and portal down. But cables to her for an app and herded her around. Tomorrow noon we hit the air and then take up the strain and make the merry on her heart her eyes again. Rise again, rise again, and her name not be lost to the nodded man. All those of her back, and where we'll be merry on her heart, eyes again. She'd saved our lives so many times, living through the gale, and the laughing drunken rats who left her to a sorry grave. They won't be laughing in another day. And you to whom adversity has dealt the final blow, with smiling bastards line to you everywhere you go. Turn to and put out all your strength of arm and hard and brain. And like the merry of an heart, rise again. Rise again, rise again. Oh your heart is the broken on life about to end. No matter what you lost, be it up, oh my love a friend, like the merry of her heart, rise again. Rise again, rise again. Oh your heart is the broken or life about to end. No matter what you lost, be it up, oh my love a friend, like the merry of her eyes again.

SPEAKER_14 49:35

When the real road did not run, when the wild majestic mountain stood alone against the sun, long before the white man, and long before the wheel, when the green dark forest was too silent to be real. But time has no beginnings and history has no bounds. As to this verdant country, they came from all around. They sailed upon her waterways and they walked the forest tall, built the mines, mills, and the factories for the good of us all. And when the young man's fancy was turning to the spring, the railroad members for the huge hammer's ring, their minds were overflowing with the visions of their day, and many a fortune lost and won, and many attempts made. Oh, they looked in the future. What if we see the sun I rode around the sea to the sea? Bring the goods to the younger land, all of them seabood singing the land. Across this mighty land from the east to the shore to wells, to stress. We gotta lay down the tracks and tear up the trails. Open our heart, let the light flood flow. Gotta get on a wheel, because we're moving too slow. Bring the workers and bring up the rails. We're gonna be down the tracks, and we'll tear up the trails. Open our heart, let the light flood flow. Gotta get on away, close we're moving too slow. Get on away, close, we're moving too slow. Behind blue rockies, the sun is declining, the stars they come stealing at the close of the day across the wide prairie, all of ones lies sleeping, and beyond the dark oceans in a place far away. Swingin' our hammers in the bright blaze in the sun, living on the stew and drinking bad whiskey, bending our backs till the long days are done. We are the Navy to work on the real wheel, swinging our hammood in the bright blazing sun, laying down track and building the bridges, bending our back till the railroad is done over the mountains and over the plain, into the musk and into the rain. Up the snow, so we do guest face, swinging our hammers draw a pain. A thought and a place for my hair, a drink to the living, a toast to the dead. All the song, all the future has been strong, all the battles have been won. All the mountain tops we stand, all the world at our command. We have open up the soil without teardrops and our toil. When the green dark forest was too silent to be real, when the green dark forest was too silent to be real, and many of the dead men were too silent to be real.