Ottawa Grassroots Festival – April 23-26

The Ottawa Grassroots Festival, a small volunteer-run, family-oriented springtime folk festival spearheaded by Bob Nesbitt, returns Thursday-Sunday April 23-26 for its fourth year. It takes place at the Montgomery Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, 330 Kent Street in Ottawa. There are ticketed concerts Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and all kinds of free events Saturday and Sunday during the day.

Tickets for the evening concerts are $20 (Thursday), $25 (Friday or Saturday) – or $45 for a three-night festival pass.

The Thursday evening concert will be MCed by Alexandre Maheux and features Franco-Ontario performers Sarah Bradley, Eric Dubeau and Stef Paquette.

Old Man Luedecke

The Friday evening concert will be MCed by Tonya Price and begins with a short performance by The Sparrows, a children’s choir directed by Chris White, followed by feature-length sets by Shawna Caspi and Old Man Luedecke.

The Saturday evening concert will be MCed by Arthur McGregor and begins with Max Cossette singing “The Grassroots Festival Song,” followed by feature-length sets by Lyndell Montgomery & Terry Gillespie and Connie Kaldor.

The Saturday and Sunday daytime events include workshops, kids’ activities and concerts, performances, choirs, jam sessions, open stages and much more.

A daytime event that I’m particularly looking forward to is a song circle that I’ll be hosting with

Connie Kaldor

Connie Kaldor, Old Man Luedecke, Shawna Caspi and Terry Gillespie. That’s on Saturday from 2-3:30 pm on the second floor Grass Stage.

Visit ottawagrassrootsfestival.com for all the details including the full schedule and information on all of the performers, or to order tickets (also on sale at the Ottawa Folklore Centre and Compact Music).

Should be a great weekend.

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--Mike Regenstreif

Lynne Hanson – River of Sand

LYNNE HANSON
River of Sand
Well Done Music 
lynnehanson.com

Lynne Hanson’s first three recordings – released between 2006 and 2010 – were all good albums that showcased a singer-songwriter of great promise. After a four-year wait since her previous release, Lynne delivers on that promise with River of Sand – 11 songs delve deep into personal darkness, whether she’s seemingly writing about herself or obviously about a character she’s created.

Several songs delve into broken, ended relationships but she writes and sings with depth about contradictory feelings – “I say that I don’t care/ I’m stone but I’m lying,” she sings in “Whiskey and Tears,” and “Our home became four walls of love grown cold/ My heart still broke the day that it was sold,” she sings in “This Old House.”

Other songs explore the effects of depression. In “This Too Shall Pass,” the narrator contemplates the absolute loneliness of depression and, perhaps, a final ending. In “Heaven and Hell,” she feels like she’s being strangled by the devil.

The crutch of drinking and losing one’s self in the effects of alcohol are vividly explored in several songs including the title song as well as the aforementioned “Whiskey and Tears” and “Colour My Summers Blue.”

Lynne also steps outside of herself in “Good Intentions,” in which a character named Suzy finds herself compromised at the hands of a would-be rapist and fights back with lethal force.

The album ends on a brighter note. While still singing about a broken relationship in “Trading in My Lonesome,” co-written with producer Lynn Miles, Lynn sings about the personal redemption borne of real closure.

It is obvious, listening to these songs that Lynne is writing about these emotions with authenticity. The songs, and her clear country alto, are well served by finely crafted arrangements featuring such musicians as guitarist Keith Glass, fiddler Lyndell Montgomery, Anders Dreup on pedal steel and guitar, and Lynn Miles and Rebecca Campbell on harmony vocals.

Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif