As many know, I ride the bus almost every week between Montreal and Ottawa. About halfway there, and halfway back, I pass Vankleek Hill and symbolically wave to Terry Gillespie, the veteran blues and reggae artist who lives out that way.
Terry has put together the Glengarry Music Festival, an interesting series of concerts this summer and early fall in a converted barn in nearby Alexandria featuring an in impressive roster of artists. Actually, it’s really two series of concerts, one spread out over four Saturday nights and the other over four Sunday afternoons. The ticket price – $45 for the evening shows and $35 for the afternoon shows – includes Saturday night dinner or Sunday luncheon.
The Saturday night series opens June 20 with blues artists Sue Foley and Peter Karp teamed up to unveil He Said She Said, their acoustic duet album. While I’ve never seen Peter play, Sue is one of Canada’s mightiest blues artists and I’ve particularly enjoyed the acoustic things I’ve seen her do.
The Saturday night series continues July 18 with legendary South African singer Thandie Klaasen, August 22 with innovative jazz singer Karen Young and September 19 with the excellent blues-soaked singer-songwriter Ray Bonneville.
The Sunday afternoon series begins June 28 with Lynne Hanson, a very fine singer-songwriter from Ottawa, now making her mark all over the place, who blends contemporary folk and alt-country influences.
The Sunday afternoon series continues July 26 with local fiddler Ashley MacLeod, August 30 with Montreal blues legends Stephen Barry and Andrew Cowan in their creative duo setting, and winds up September 27 with Toronto’s Johnny Max Trio playing blues.
For information, visit glengarrymusicfestival.com or call 613-678-5862.
--Mike Regenstreif
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