Due to to other commitments in town, I was only able to catch the daytime entertainment at South Country Fair, July 18 in the Fort Macleod Fish and Games Park.
Luckily it was a great day for the blues, with several top notch blues musicians performing.
I arrived in time to catch a hot set from guitar whiz Steve Dawson, who was tearing it up on the acoustic guitar with help from his upright bassist Jeremy Hoss.
Dawson’s fingers were blazing on the acoustic guitar as he was also simultaneously playing some nimble finger picking as well as gut wrenching slide guitar.
He was playing a variety of brand new music as well as classics by the likes of the Mississippi Sheiks.
Happening at the same time was a cool Tom Waits Workshop featuring Linda McRae, Blue Moon Marquee, Ben Rogers and Rachael Cardiello, who were exploring their favourite Tom Waits tunes.
Blue Moon Marquee Alexander Wesley Cardinal and Jasmine Colette shined in their own set of beautiful blues tinged with jazz.
Colette and Cardinal alternated singing lead vocals Cardinal’s songs were more gritty Tom Waitsish, while Colette’s songs were more smooth jazz.
Cardinal played beautiful leads while Colette grooved on her upright bass.
I got caught up visiting friends in the campground so I missed most of the Misery Mountain Boys’ set of bluegrass and only caught the end of Ben Rogers and the Bloodred Yonder’s set of scorching alt country and rock music. I enjoyed their song about “colonialism.”
They were called back for an encore.
Shortly after that, while Bob Keelaghan and Jason Woolley of Muerte Pan Alley were setting up, I caught a hypnotic set of music from Rachael Cardiello. She alternated by plucking the strings of her viola and using the bow while signing ethereal melodies, which had the audience swaying in the sweltering sun.
I cut that short because I wanted to catch Muerte Pan Alley. Guitarist/ vocalist Bob Keelaghan and drummer Jason Woolley sounded like a stripped down version of their other band the Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir.
Keelaghan picked gritt
y blues licks and grinned as he told the enraptured audience to use their imaginations about what the bass would sound like in the music.
It was dirty, nasty, fingerpicked swamp blues music all the way.
If you missed some of the acts over the past few days, Sunday is a great day to catch what you missed as several of the performers will be playing together in a couple of workshops.
Workshops begin bright and early at 12:30 p.m. with Leeroy Stagger, fiddler Scott Duncan and country / roots performer NQ Arbuckle who was son the south Stage on Saturday night. They will be followed by New York songwriter Sean Rowe at 1:40 p.m. and Wendy McNeill’s set at 3:15.
The South Stage ends with a fun workshop with the Misery Mountain boys, Washboard Hank and Jenny Ritter.
You will be dancing on the east stage with the the Good Ol’ Goats, Derina Harvey band who will be joined by Brock Zeman who will close off the East Stage at 3:40 p.m.
The East stage will also be hopping beginning with Little Jill’s big grass jam at noon, for which you can get up and play if you were inspired by all of the excellent music.
12:30 Workshop - Leeroy Stagger, Scott Duncan, NQ Arbuckle
1:40 Sean Rowe
2:50 Poet - TBA
3:15 Wendy McNeill
4:20 Workshop - Misery Mountain Boys, Washboard Hank, Jenny Ritter
1:05 Skye Wallace
2:10 Dance “Til You Drop Sunday Funday Workshop - The Good Ol’
Goats, Derina Harvey Band, Brock Zeman
3:40 Brock Zeman
