The Fourth Annual MUSICwestport
The Westport Arts Council’s fourth annual music festival on August 14 will repeat the successful formula of previous years. Nine bands will perform outdoors throughout the afternoon on three stages located across the village: beside the pond at The Cove Country Inn on Bedford St., on the front lawn of A Victorian Reflection B&B on Church St., and at the SOHO property on Bedford St. The Cove will host an indoor performance at 8 p.m. Admission is free at all outdoor stages, with a $5 cover charge for the indoor performance.
The music begins at noon with a children’s show on the Cove stage, 2 Bedford St., with the Perth-based trio Bald Like Dad. With their fun repertoire of songs about everything from trucks to dogs to math—suitable for children of all ages—Marty Crapper, Dave Balfour and Steve Hanna are the first musicians in four years to return for a second festival appearance. Montreal’s Sunfields follow at 1:45 p.m., with their own Indie Folk Rock sound, “with psychedelic undertones,” soon to be heard in broad release on their CD Palace in The Sun. The quartet includes Jason Kent, known to Westport audiences as a member of Spoon River, and bandmates Phil Burns, Chris Wise and Chris Roberts. Ladies of The Canyon take the stage from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. Currently finishing a Western tour, the quartet make their first appearance in Westport just a day before they perform at the Ottawa Folk Festival, and less than a week before they open for Great Big Sea at Toronto’s Molson Canadian Amphitheatre. Montreal-based and influenced by their favourite bands, The Eagles, The Band and Fleetwood Mac, the soaring harmonies of these four singers, songwriters and musicians—Senja Sargeant, Maia Davies, Jasmine Bleile and Anna Ruddick—is showcased in their full-length album Haunted Woman. The Ladies are joined on stage by guitarist and Delta-native Eric Lawrence of Bullmoose, a band he formed with Westport musicians Jeff and Seamus Cowan.
The acoustic stage of A Victorian Reflection B&B, 16 Church St., opens at 12:30 p.m. with Pete and Anne, the husband and wife duo of Peter and Anne Svenson of Maryland and Traverse Lake near Jones Falls. They perform a mix of original, traditional and cover songs from genres ranging from folk to rock and country. They’re followed at 2:00 p.m. by singer-songwriter Christine Graves who brings the award-winning folk/jazz sounds of her own highly original songs and interpretations of other songwriters such as Tom Waits and Fred J. Eaglesmith. A native of Halifax, and long-time member of the a cappella quartet Malaika, Christine lives in Lanark County. Her two most recent full-length albums are Stray (2001) and Wreckless Daughter (2006). Kingston’s country roots rocker Rueben deGroot performs from 3:45 to 5:00 p.m. A Sunday night regular at Kingston’s The Mansion who has also performed at the Cove, Rueben released his fourth album Hey! in 2009. A productive and frequent collaborator, Rueben was a member of the alt country-jazz band The Seams. They released a CD, Castaway Motel, in 2004 and toured it across the country.
The festival’s newest stage at SOHO’s, 43 Bedford St., welcomes its first act at 1:00 p.m. with another Kingston-based musical powerhouse, the Tom Savage Trio. Influenced by Neil Young and Towne Van Zandt, among many others, Tom, Geoff Chown on bass and Sandy Mackenzie on drums, together create music that one observer has called “dirt road rock and roll.” The son of Westport music teacher Anne Savage, Tom has a large fan base in the area. His albums include The Country Line and Tom Savage Live @ the Acoustic Grill. The Brock Zeman Trio—with Brock on vocals and guitar, Blair Hogan on guitar and mandolin, and special guest Keith Glass of Prairie Oyster on vocals and guitar—follows at 2:45 p.m. with the signature alt country style they’ve brought to audiences across both Canada and the United States, averaging 250 to 300 concerts a year. Still in his twenties, this native of Carleton Place, has released seven albums of original music to wide acclaim, winning praise from critics and fellow performers alike. Juno award winner Lynn Miles has written, "Brock Zeman is a master songwriter, who writes with a maturity far beyond his chronological age. He belongs on stage with the big boys." The Peterborough-based indie band, The Spades, wrap up the Soho venue and the festival afternoon with a performance from 4:45 to 6:00 p.m. The trio of James McKenty, Tommy Street and Josh Robichaud describe their music as “gut wrenching rock and roll, catchy melodies and impassioned delivery.” They have toured across Canada, appearing with bands such as the Tragically Hip, Blue Rodeo, The Trews, and The Sam Roberts Band, among others. Their recent album, Subatomic, which features the single The Revenge of Johnny Laundry, is charting on rock stations across the country.
The Cove Country Inn hosts an indoor performance by The Souljazz Orchestra at 8:00 p.m. ($5 cover charge). Based in Ottawa, the six-member orchestra—Kakari Frantz, Steve Patterson, Ray Murray, Pierre Crétien, Philippe Lafrenière and Marielle Rivard—surprises with its exotic tropical jazz/world music mix of soul, afro, and latin rhythms. The orchestra has a large international following for both their live appearances and their many albums, including Freedom No Go Die (2006) and their newest, Rising Sun.
Throughout the afternoon, a trio of roving musicians, Westport’s own King of the Swingers, comprised of Marty Crapper, Dawson Willsey, John Main and Stuart Pike, will perform at various locations around the village.
Rain or shine, come enjoy the music and the village of Westport on Upper Rideau Lake at the top of the Rideau waterway.
