Tottenham Bluegrass Festival 2009

A few weeks ago I stepped outside of my usual indie music snob comfort zone by attending an R&B show that featured some of the biggest names in Canadian soul music today. Obviously the broadening of my beard sportin' skinny jean wearin' surroundings proved beneficial in the sense that I enjoyed the show immensely, and it helped me to appreciate more fully the talent involved in urban music today. Well, last weekend, thanks to the kindness of a workmate of mine, I managed to engage myself in a little more musical boundary crossing when I attended the 26th Annual Tottenham Bluegrass Festival which took place at the Tottenham Conservation Area in the town of (you guessed it) Tottenham, Ontario.

To be fair, the leap into bluegrass appreciation was much shorter than the aforementioned R&B jump since a lot of the rock music I listen to owes a great chunk of its existence to this rootsy sub-genre. Artists as diverse as Elvis Costello, Robert Plant and Jack White have all dabbled in bluegrass, and others like Wilco and Ryan Adams have openly embraced it as part of their repertoire. Even Tommy Ramone (who is of course, the last surviving original member of The Ramones) is currently touring in his own bluegrass band, Uncle Monk. This actually makes a bit of sense when you consider that the world famous New York punk club where The Ramones got their start was called CBGB, which stands for Country, Bluegrass and Blues.

Yes, there's a good chance that you're already listening to some sort of bluegrass offshoot and enjoying it greatly, whether you realize it or not. This festival of course, is catering to those who unashamedly DO realize it. This is for all of the artists and fans that openly embrace bluegrass without the irony, soaking in that traditional sound and celebrating it in all of its resonating, and technically demanding, improvisational flatpicking glory. I always had a feeling that I was one of those fans before, but after attending the festival myself, my suspicions have been confirmed: I most definitely am a bluegrass fan!

As we drove through the conservation area to look for a parking spot, I was immediately taken in by the chilled out vibe in amongst the campgrounds. Many people had been camping out for several days, and as I looked around it was clear that there wasn't a site on property that didn't have an array of traditional instruments laid out for the purpose of some all night jamming. It's one thing to appreciate music, but these people lived it. Bluegrass was not something that you just put on the radio in the background while you occupy yourself with other things. For these people, bluegrass was the air that they breathed; their means of survival in many ways. I totally respected that. In fact, to be honest, it was a little bit difficult not to be somewhat envious of it.

This festival has been consistently drawing bluegrass fans from all over North America and around the world for over 26 years now, and each year seems to be a little bit more successful than the one before. Although a wedding reception Saturday night would prevent me from spending the entire day at the fest, I enjoyed soaking in the sun and taking in the sounds of the bands that played that afternoon.

When we arrived there, Tottenham's own Hometown Bluegrass band was just finishing off their set. This is a band that plays a classic style of bluegrass that pays homage to the pioneers of the genre. The instruments are all acoustic and traditional, and although all of the members are insanely talented, violinist Leslie Dawn Knowles seems to be their secret weapon of sorts, as is emphasized by her lightning quick style of fiddle playing. Even the vocals of Wayne Douglas sounded like something you'd hear cracklin' out of a late 40's Appalachian radio station. Personally, I would probably have to get in the proper mindset to listen to their music at home, but on the live stage, it's a real treat to watch such incredible talent.

The next band to take the stage was The Dixie Flyers. This band has been an unstoppable force on the Canadian bluegrass scene since the early 70's, having reaped the praise of many bluegrass institutions including the original pioneer himself, Bill Monroe. Their experience was immediately noticeable as they took to the stage and performed with great confidence and zeal. The band looked like they were genuinely having a good time on stage as they kept the playing loose and somewhat improvisational, allowing the instrumental portions, in particular, to shine. If there was one complaint amongst me and my peers, it was that the sound mix on Al Widmeyer's dobro was a little too low for our liking. The dobro is such a prime instrument in the world of bluegrass that it would have been nice to be able to hear it a little bit better, because from what we could see, the man was very proficient at handling it. Hopefully it all got sorted out in time for the evening show because performance-wise, the band was very impressive.

Taking to the stage next was Bluegrass Diamonds, a band from Memramcook, New Brunswick. Several members of the band are multi-instrumentalists, delving into several different styles of playing. Although the word "bluegrass" is featured prominently in their moniker, the band played more songs in the vein of traditional country music, as opposed to first generation traditional bluegrass music, even pulling out a cover of an old George Jones ballad. They were unique in their ability to alternate between English and French language lyrics which enabled them to standout from the rest. Like the bands that played prior to them however, their shining moments were when they featured their instrumental prowess, most notably when they played a fast paced extended Bill Monroe number that was easily their most impressive moment.

The last band that I saw that day, (not to mention the best) was Dailey & Vincent from Nashville, (pictured above.) Both Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent have had a lot of experience in the world of country, bluegrass and gospel music, having recorded with artists like Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Keith Urban, to name a few. The band played with immaculate tightness as they segued from song to song without missing a beat, even at times when the musical style would shift quite drastically. Some of the instrumental pieces whipped by at locomotive speed, and watching the unfaltering chemistry between the banjo, fiddle and mandolin was rather spellbinding. What really set these guys apart from the other performers that I saw was the fact that, as impressive as their instrumentation was, their vocal abilities were equally as awe-inspiring. There was even a moment when they put the instruments down and graced us with an accapella number that was as soul stirring as anything else they played that day.

Being only a casual partaker of all things bluegrass means that when distanced from the live stage, I may not be all that inclined to pop a bluegrass CD into my player on just any given day. Being a rabid fan of musical talent however, means that watching these artists display their craft in such an enthusiastic fashion can't help but be contagious. There are genres that are loads of fun, but rather juvenile in their three chord pursuits. There are other genres that are mindblowing in a technical way, but overwrought with pretentious overindulgence. Bluegrass is probably the most difficult music to play that there is but, it's also incredibly fun. In this way bluegrass stands alone, and having learned that myself, I'm looking forward to possibly heading on out to Tottenham next year to relive this valuable experience again.

Photos: My shots of the Tottenham Bluegrass Festival 2009 are on flickr
Myspace: The Dixie Flyers
Myspace: Dailey & Vincent