Fiddle Tunes at Centrum: Festival of American Fiddle Tunes: Performances

Each year, the Festival welcomes hundreds of players of traditional American music come to Fort Worden State Park for a full week of workshop classes, band labs, tutorials, dances, concerts, open jams, parties, and informal and spontaneous gatherings.

These workshops lead into mainstage shows where audiences members gather at McCurdy Pavilion, a World War I-era balloon hangar converted into one of the west’s most distinctive performance halls, to listen to the masters play.

Festival of American Fiddle Tunes
2009 Public Performances

Friday, July 3, 7:30pm
FRIDAY NIGHT CAJUN AND SWING DANCE
Free gumbo while it lasts!
Festival seating on Littlefield Green (if you wish to sit, bring a chair)
Tickets: $15
18 and under: FREE

Jesse Lege, Joel Savoy
Jesse Legè, one of the most admired Cajun accordionists and vocalists in Louisiana, teams with fiddler Joel Savoy to provide the finest traditional Cajun music on the planet.
The Red Stick Ramblers
Mixing Cajun music, Western swing, and good old-fashioned honky-tonk country, the Ramblers are Kevin Wimmer and Linzay Young – fiddles, Chas Justus - guitar, Glenn Fields - drums, and Eric Frey – bass.

Saturday, July 4, 1:30pm
FIDDLE TUNES FROM ACROSS NORTH AMERICA
McCurdy Pavilion
Reserved seats: $20
18 and under: FREE

Patti and Joel Lamoureux – 3-time Canadian Grand Champion
Patti was the first woman in the history of Canada to ever win the prestigious Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Championship.
Kirk Sutphin and Riley Baugus – Old time music from North Carolina
Kirk and Riley live on the same road in Surry County, North Carolina, and are the stewards of a two-hundred year tradition of Round Peak music.
Jose Moreno and Jesus "Chuy" Castillo – Tex-Mex
Don José, born in 1930, is one of the true interpreters of traditional Tejano music from the Texas-Mexico border.
Greg and Jere Canote – Old time tunes and song
With fiddle, banjo, ukuleles and genetically matched voices, Greg and Jere Canote bring back fun, vintage American music.
Nightingale – Exceptional New England dance band
Nightingale is a highly sought after New England dance and concert band. Jeremiah McLane - accordion, Keith Murphy - guitar, and Becky Tracy – fiddle.
Special guest from the Orkney Islands

Saturday, July 4, 7:30pm
FIDDLE GRAND FINALE
McCurdy Pavilion
Reserved seats: $20
18 and under: FREE

John Specker – Matchless and incomparable solo fiddle
John’s contributions to old time fiddling reverberate today in the music of many of his contemporaries.
The Kane Sisters – Understated intensity from Ireland!
Liz and Yvonne Kane are outstanding practitioners of the light, ornamented South Sligo style of Irish fiddling.
Garry Harrison and The New Mules – Rare Illinois fiddle music and song
The leading champions of the traditional music of Illinois, the Mules’ music comes first-hand from an older generation of traditional musicians. Garry Harrison and his daughter Genevieve - fiddle, Smith Koester - banjo, Andy Gribble - guitar, and Abby Ladin - bass.
Lisa Ornstein, Normand Miron, and André Marchand – Dance music from Quebec
When these three friends play la musique du Quebec, the stage becomes a kitchen party, infused with their affection for the music and their joy of playing. Andre Marchand – vocals/guitar, Normand Miron – accordion, and Lisa Ornstein – fiddle.

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PERFORMER INFORMATION

Friday, July 3, 7:30pm
Jesse Lege, Joel Savoy and friends

Jesse Legè (accordion, vocals) is one of the most admired Cajun accordionists and vocalists from Southwest Louisiana. He’s been playing traditional Cajun music for over 35 years with a variety of bands, and has garnered numerous Cajun French Music Association awards, known as the "Cajun Grammys" - Traditional Band of the Year, Accordion Player of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, and others. He possesses one of the truly great voices in contemporary Cajun music, singing in the traditional high pitched, emotional style reminiscent of the late Iry LeJeune that can easily

cut across a dancehall without the aid of a microphone. Listeners who do not experience chills hearing him sing had better check their pulse. Known for his love of jamming, Jesse says about his cultural heritage of music: "Share it or let it die."

Of late, Jesse’s fiddler of choice has been Joel Savoy, oldest son of Marc and Ann Savoy, who was raised in a house bursting with music of all kinds. As a baby Joel sat in Dewey Balfa’s lap as he played the fiddle, and he’s learned first-hand from fiddlers Dennis McGee and Wade Fruge. A founding member of the Red Stick Ramblers, Joel sidelines as a recording engineer (with his own backyard studio), owns Valcour Records, and currently spends one day a week in his dad’s store learning to build accordions.

The Red Stick Ramblers
The music of Louisiana has a lot in common with the cuisine. An initial blast of heat usually commands attention right off the bat, but then -- slowly, but surely -- all sorts of subtler notes start to creep in, making for an irresistibly captivating experience. That’s the vibe that emanates from The Red Stick Ramblers, an appropriately-named aggregation that builds stylistic bridges spanning the decades. The Ramblers--Glenn Fields - drums, Eric Frey - bass, Chas Justus - guitar, Kevin Wimmer - fiddle, Linzay Young – fiddle, combine to form a good-natured and remarkably diverse acoustic string band.

Mixing Cajun music, Western swing, good old-fashioned honky-tonk country, and a touch of Django Reinhardt, the Ramblers prove themselves as one of the most confident and musically accomplished bands on the Americana scene today. In fact, it feels as if they’re the embodiment of every kind of French-based music ever played.

Saturday, July 4, 1:30pm
Patti and Joel Lamoureux
At the age of four, Patti Lamoureux began to learn the fiddle, and has a resume that reads like that of an Olympic champion. Among her achievements: Canadian Junior Champion (1985), 3-time Champion at the famous Pembroke, ON competition, 6 time Manitoba Champion, 3 time Grand North American Champion, and in 1994, 1995 and again in 1996, Patti won the prestigious Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Championship in Ottawa, ON. Patti was the first woman in the history of Canada to ever win and was the very first person from Western Canada to attain the crown. She is one of only a handful of Canadian musicians that has been asked to judge the renowned U.S. Grand National Fiddle Championship in Weiser, Idaho.

Patti is also the host of a popular radio morning show with her husband Joel and hosts one of Canada’s only weekly Canadian Fiddle music radio shows in Campbell River, BC.

Riley Baugus and Kirk Sutphin

Kirk and Riley live on the same road in Surry County, North Carolina. Kirk got fiddle fever as an 8-year-old, learning Round Peak tunes from his grandfather. He later became a protégé of Surry County fiddler Tommy Jarrell, who felt that Kirk captured the nuance of his fiddling more than anyone. Kirk as described by Mark Rubin: “In his own humble way he just sits there and plays absolutely the simplest and most plainly beautiful fiddle I have yet encountered.” He is also a highly skilled banjo player, and a master of the music of

Charlie Poole. Riley Baugus began singing and playing fiddle and guitar at an early age. By the time he was 12, he and his father built a banjo from scrap wood and he began to learn that as well. With Kirk he visited elder traditional musicians in and around Surry County and Grayson County, Virginia. Riley has played with numerous old-time stringbands, including the Red Hots, Backstep, and the Old Hollow Stringband, and currently plays with the Dirk Powell Band and Polecat Creek.

Jose Moreno and Jesus “Chuy” Castillo – Texas
The music of José Moreno harks back to a time over a hundred years ago, to the turn of the last century , to the late 1800s when just a fiddle, guitar, mandolin, and perhaps a string bass made up an "orquesta tipica" or "conjunto regional" along the lower Rio Grande Valley (El Valle). Don Jose' was born on March 20, 1930 near the city of Torreon in the state of Coahuila, Mexico and has been an active musician since the age of ten. By the time Jose' was eight he had already demonstrated the ability to play the violin, not a new or used violin, but one fabricated from pieces lying around his home. When he was ten years old his mother had saved 75 pesos for a used violin. In order to pay back the money his mother invested, José took a gig playing for a group of religious devotional dancers known as "matachines." The performance for which he was contracted lasted 24 hours! José Moreno is highly regarded along the border and is recognized as one of the true interpreters of traditional Tejano/Mexican music from that region. He wants to be remembered simply for "mi musica" (my music) and is to be commended for his willingness to share his talent freely with those around him ‚ all for the simple joy of watching people dance and rejoice.

The Canote Brothers

Audiences double up with laughter when these identical twin musicians take the stage. With fiddle, banjo, ukuleles and genetically matched voices, Greg and Jere Canote bring back fun, vintage American music – including forgotten fiddle tunes, swing classics and quirky novelty songs. The brothers grew up with a strong musical influence. Their father was an avid piano player. "We learned from him that music was fun, through his example. He would come home from work and sit at the piano and make up songs," Canote recalls. "He'd hear songs on the radio and he would play them. Anything he heard he could play. So that was our introduction to the idea that music was a fun pastime that we could share with other people."

Nightingale

Nightingale was formed in 1993 by Jeremiah McLane (accordion, piano), Keith Murphy (voice, guitar, mandolin, piano, foot percussion), and Becky Tracy (fiddle). The nightingale bird is a poetic figure that appears in traditional songs from many places including parts of Northern Europe, Canada and the United States. So the nightingale was an appropriate emblem for a band committed to drawing inspiration from a wide musical territory that includes Ireland, France, Scandinavia, Newfoundland and Quebec.

Established players in the traditional New England contra dance community when they formed Nightingale, the musicians quickly became a sought after New England dance band. But from its inception, Nightingale explored music outside the bounds of New England contra dance. Songs of Quebec and Newfoundland are a staple of their repertoire and in their concerts they stretched the format of traditional dance music. Still, their experience as dance musicians generated an obsession with rhythmic integrity and the sustaining pulse that is the essence of dance music.

Saturday, July 4, 7:30pm
John Specker

The post-Highwoods String Band era in upstate New York spawned many young, excited, and passionate old time musicians who formed bands such as the Henrie Brothers, the Swamp Root String Band, and later the Horseflies and Donna the Buffalo. One outfit that left a serious mark was the Correctone String Band, led by the primal fiddler John Specker. Although Specker has lived in Vermont for decades, his influence can still be heard and felt in this region. His contributions to old time fiddling – blood red bow-driven backbeat, and playing chordally and in tune on three strings simultaneously - reverberate today in the music of many upstate players today. The tunes he plays are simple and generally not rare, but he strips them down, chews them up, internalizes their essence, and then presents them “with an intensity that has to be heard to be believed.”

The Kane Sisters

Liz and Yvonne Kane are outstanding practitioners of the light, ornamented South Sligo style of Irish fiddling. What’s most notable about a Kane Sisters performance, though, is the smooth and seamless synchronicity of their playing. They race through complex triplets and rolls, bows sawing up and down the strings in precise, virtually identical patterns. One is the virtual mirror image of the other. To have one fiddler who plays so masterfully is one thing; to have two, side by side, so evenly matched in every respect, can be breath-taking. When asked about the most important aspect of their music, Yvonne replied, “I suppose it would be playing from the heart. We very much play in unison without it being planned and practiced. It would come very naturally.”

Garry Harrison and the New Mules

For over 30 years Garry Harrison has been one of the leading champions of the traditional music of his native Illinois. Beginning in the mid-1970s with his influential band the Indian Creek Delta Boys, Garry has been playing old-time music from his home state, most of it learned first-hand from an older generation of traditional musicians whom Garry visited, befriended, and recorded. He is also a gifted composer of new fiddle tunes in an old-time vein; his CD of mostly original tunes, Red Prairie Dawn, was named Best Fiddle CD by County Sales.

Recently Garry and Jo Burgess published Dear Old Illinois, a comprehensive song/tune book and 3-CD set of the traditional music of downstate Illinois. On top of that, Garry’s current band, the New Mules, with Garry and his daughter Genevieve on fiddles, Smith Koester on banjo, Andy Gribble on guitar, and Abby Ladin on bass, won the traditional band contest at the Clifftop String Band Festival.

Lisa Ornstein, Normand Miron, André Marchand

When these three master musicians and very good friends play la musique du Quebec, the stage becomes a kitchen party, infused with their affection for the music and their joy of playing.

Andre Marchand, a founding member of La Bottine Souriante, is one of the finest singers of traditional music in Quebec and the most influential guitarist of his generation. Decades of playing have made him one of the most sought-after accompanists in Quebec and his vast experience informs his own compositions. Normand Miron is from Lenaudiere, a region north of Montreal that many consider to be the heartland of Quebecois traditional music.

He sings and plays both the accordion and harmonica with a grace, joy and depth of understanding that can only come from growing up in a living tradition. Much of his vast repertoire comes from his own family. Lisa Ornstein was born in the United States and her background is in classical violin. Many years ago she headed north for field work in ethnomusicology on fiddlers in Quebec and spent 14 years there before she returned home. She earned an MA in folklore at l'Unversite Laval, was an early member of La Bottine Souriante and cultivated an extensive repertoire of fiddle music.

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