 |
| Mark Monahan presents the Helen Verger Award to Lynn Miles |
If there’s been a dream night for the traditional folk
festival audience at the Ottawa Folk Festival over the past three years it was
surely Sunday night with back-to-back concerts by Ottawa’s Lynn Miles, among the
finest of Canada’s contemporary singer-songwriters, the dynamic Carolina Chocolate Drops, who are at the forefront of the recent revival of the African
American string band tradition, and legendary singer-songwriter Gordon
Lightfoot.
The evening began with the announcement that Lynn, a
stalwart of Ottawa’s folk music scene for more than two decades – she performed
at the first Ottawa Folk Festival in 1994 – was the 2013 recipient of the Helen
Verger Award. Named for the founder of Rasputin’s the late, lamented Ottawa folk café, the award has been
presented annually by the Ottawa Folk Festival to someone for outstanding
contributions to Canadian folk music. Lynn, who, as well as being a great
singer-songwriter in her own right, has also been a champion of so many other
artists, was an excellent choice for this year’s award.
Immediately after Ottawa Folk Festival executive and
artistic director Mark Monahan presented the award to Lyn, she gave a terrific
hour-long concert accompanied throughout by the exceptional guitar playing of
Keith Glass and, for one song, a cover of “Helpless,” a nod to the festival’s
missing headliner, Neil Young, by vocalist Rebecca Campbell.
 |
| Lynn Miles |
Songs from Downpour, Lynn’s superb new album, dominated a
set that also included several of her classics including “Black Flowers,” one
of the best coal mining songs of recent decades.
As Lynn finished her concert on the RavenLaw Stage, the CUPE
Stage came alive with the Carolina Chocolate Drops, who turned in one of the
most dynamic sets of traditional music I’ve heard in Ottawa in years with
original members Dom Flemons and Rhiannon Giddens – who are both
multi-instrumentalists – joined by Hubby Jenkins, also an accomplished
multi-instrumentalist, and cellist Leyla McCalla.
 |
| Dom Flemons & Rhiannon Giddins of the Carolina Chocolate Drops |
Using varying combinations of instruments, with Dom and
Rhiannon trading lead vocal roles, they ranged through a repertoire of
traditional African American folk music, including much from the African
American string band and blues traditions, as well as the occasional foray into
other styles – including a terrific performance of Celtic mouth music by
Rhiannon. At one point, Rhiannon was joined by her sister, Lalenja Harrington,
for a dynamic a cappella gospel song.
A few minutes after the Carolina
 |
| Gordon Lightfoot |
While Gordon’s set leaned heavily on hits from the 1970s and
‘80s, and even material from the ‘90s, the best moments – at least for me –
came with “Ribbon of Darkness” and “The Canadian Railroad Trilogy,” two
essential songs from the 60s. I must confess there were other ‘60s songs – “Early
Morning Rain,” for example – that I wished he’d done.
Still though, we (the audience) were responding to Canadian
folk music legend and thanking him for his hundreds of songs and thousands of
concerts over the years.
 |
| Chris Smither |
After Gordon’s set, we made it over to the Hill Stage in
time to hear the last three songs – including a bravura rendition of Blind
Willie McTell’s “Statesboro Blues – by the sublime folk and blues artist Chris
Smither. Chris, who I almost didn’t recognize without his blue guitar (just
kidding), was in great form and I wish I’d been able to see more.
Highlights from stage bouncing earlier in the day included a
workshop called “Peace, Love and Understanding” with John Allaire, Martyn
Joseph, the dynamic Welsh singer-songwriter, and Trent Severn, an impressive
trio of three women from Startford, Ontario; a solo concert by young Halifax
singer-songwriter Mo Kenney; and some impressive songs by Dave Hadfield (Chris’
brother) who was accompanied by Trent Severn fiddler Laura C. Bates in the “Wild
People, Wild Places” workshop.
As always in a big festival, there many sets I missed over
the course of the Ottawa Folk Festival that I would have liked to have seen.
Among them, concerts by Terry Gillespie, Sheesham & Lotus, David
Lindley, Matt Andersen, and Patti Smith.
--Mike Regenstreif
