Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday March 23, 2021

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU in Ottawa on Tuesday afternoons from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

CKCU can be heard live at 93.1 FM in Ottawa and https://www.ckcufm.com/ on the web.

This episode of Stranger Songs – Episode #7 – was prerecorded at home and can already be streamed on-demand by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/51327.html

Theme: A tribute to Ottawa folk music volunteer extraordinaire Bob Nesbitt, the founder and director of the Ottawa Grassroots Festival. Bob died of lung cancer at age 81 on February 27 and all of the music on this edition of Stranger Songs is by just some of the artists that Bob presented at the Ottawa Grassroots Festival over the years. Click here to read Bob's obituary in the Ottawa Citizen.

Lynn Miles- Million Brilliant
Downpour (Lynn Miles)

Moore & McGregor- Dancing Shoes
Dream with Me (Ivernia)
Connie Kaldor- Singer of the Sacred Heart
Out of the Blue (Coyote)
Sneezy Waters- Little Bird
Sneezy Waters Live (Sneezy Waters)

Shawna Caspi- Oleaster
Forest Fire (Shawna Caspi)
Old Man Luedecke- I Skipped a Stone
Easy Money (True North)
Ana Miura- Only One
Cool is the Daylight (Ana Miura)
Howie Hooper- A Telephone Ring
The Art of Procrastination (Howie Hooper)

Bob Nesbitt at the Ottawa Grassroots Festival (2017)

 

Durham County Poets- Chikkaboodah Stew
Chikkaboodah Stew (Durham County Poets)
Missy Burgess- Trouble in Mind
Missy Burgess with The Blue Train Live (Missy Burgess)
Vince Halfhide- Sonny Boy Said
Vince Halfhide (Vince Halfhide)

James Keelaghan- Cold Missouri Waters
History: The First 25 Years (Borealis)
Jessica Pearson & The East Wind- Think of Me
Grave and Garden Songs (Jessica Pearson & The East Wind)
Greg Kelly- I Only See the Sun
Ghosts (Greg Kelly)
Toasted Westerns- I Can’t Stop
Out to Lunch (Moo Music)

Russ Kelley- Whiskey Stone Blues
In Plain Sight (Ark Road Music Productions)
Tannis Slimmon- In and Out of Harmony
In and Out of Harmony (Tannis Slimmon)
Garnet Rogers- Old Campfires
Summer’s End (Snow Goose Songs)
Jamie Anderson- Remember Me
Songs from Home (Jamie Anderson)

Rick Fines- One Lone Loon
Solar Powered Too (Rick Fines)
Amanda Rheaume- Wolf of Time
Holding Patterns (Amanda Rheaume)
Ken Whiteley and the Beulah Band- Feel Just Like Goin’ On
Ken Whiteley and the Beulah Band (Borealis)

Chris White- Circle of Song
Music All Around (Chris White)

Next week – Songs Inspired by Bible Stories

Find me on Twitter. www.twitter.com/mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Old Man Luedecke – Domestic Eccentric

OLD MAN LUEDECKE

Domestic Eccentric

True North

oldmanluedecke.ca

truenorthrecords.com

Reviewing Hinterland by Old Man Luedecke – aka Chris Luedecke – for Sing Out! magazine in 2006, I noted that his banjo style was “picked up from old records by Dock Boggs, Bascom Lamar Lunsford and others of that ilk, but that “he writes lyrics like a keen-eyed observer of his own time and place.”

Indeed, Chris has continued to wed tried and true folk music styles – in addition to banjo, he now writes and plays many of his songs on guitar – with well-crafted, incisive lyrics and I think his latest album, Domestic Eccentric, is his best yet. He recorded the album at home in Chester, Nova Scotia and almost all of it is performed front-porch style with the always great Tim O’Brien as his principal collaborator.

There’s a theme to most of these songs – all of them original compositions – and it’s easily gleaned from the album title, Domestic Eccentric. These are songs about home life and family and about missing that home life and family while he’s away plying his trade as a touring musician.

He begins the album with the clever “Yodelady,” a clever play on the words ‘yodel,’ ‘lady’ and a slangy phrase that would say ‘you’re the lady’ in more proper English. “Yodelady,” is also a love song for Chris’ wife, the mother of his children, which he first recorded on Mole in the Ground, his first EP from 2003 – the release that announced Old Man Luedecke as one of Canada’s most promising new folk artists.

Other love songs include “The Girl in the Pearl Earring,” an absolutely lovely song that compares the object of his affection to the subject of the Vermeer painting of the same name; and “Old Highway of Love,” about the dedication essential to making love endure.

The album’s best song – which I think will endure as a classic for decades to come – is “The Early Days,” a homage to the all-too-brief, fleeting years when one’s children are small. With a beautiful melody and irresistible chorus, Chris sings of specific memories of his own small children that are almost universal memories for all parents.

Other highlights include “Chester Boat Song,” a tribute to a Vietnam War-era draft resistor who became a boat builder in the Nova Scotia village where Chris lives, and “The Briar and the Rose,” in which he seems to step outside of himself to write from an old man’s perspective – hey, he is Old Man Luedecke – about a lifetime’s love.

Pictured: Mike Regenstreif and Old Man Luedecke at the Ottawa Grassroots Festival, April 25, 2015.

Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

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.

Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Ottawa Grassroots Festival – April 27-28

The Ottawa Grassroots Festival, a small volunteer-run, family-oriented springtime folk festival spearheaded by Bob Nesbitt, will return Saturday-Sunday April 27-28 for its second year. This year it’s taking place at the Rideau Curling Club, 715 Cooper Street in Ottawa. 

The daytime events, centred on workshops, kid-friendly concerts and a contra dance, are free of charge. Tickets for the Saturday night concert are $25. The Sunday night tickets are $15 and passes for both nights are $35.

Among the artists participating in the daytime activities on Saturday will be Missy Burgess, Ana Miura, Amanda Rheaume, Wendell Ferguson, Suzie Vinnick, Amanda Bon, Ed Lawrence, Chris White, Selina Bishop, Hollis Morgan, Mary Gick, Arthur McGregor, Pat Moore, and Folka Voca.

The Saturday night concert features performances by Ottawa singer-songwriters Ana Miura and Amanda Rheaume followed by Wendell Ferguson, a great guitarist and humourist, and folk and blues MVP Suzie Vinnick.

Sunday daytime events will feature workshops, concerts for kids, a contra dance, a Spirit of Rasputin’s open stage, Gil’s hootenanny and more. The Sunday night concert will feature several choirs.

Visit ottawagrassrootsfestival.com for all the details.

Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif