It has been a very long time since I've written, but it has also been a very long life journey. Since posting, I have made a very large move from the city of Halifax to the town of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Being my place of birth, I have a lot of connection to this place and although its population is less than a third of Halifax's, I feel right at home and just as busy as ever. Believe it or not, PEI houses some of Canada's (and I could argue the world's) biggest talents and this place is thriving with music; it's just about everywhere you look! So with that, much networking has been and has yet to be done, and so many more acts have to be listened to. One of the first places to go for both of those aspects had to be Music PEI's showcase events.
I was able to go to last night's show at the Guild. The place was crowded with local, national, and international delegates as well as the public, it was a very pleasant atmosphere. First to the stage was Teresa Doyle, who was absolutely a joy to listen to. Her sound was a fusion of traditional Gaelic, to contemporary folk, to a bit of Caribbean flare that was thoroughly enjoyed. I must also comment on her falsetto: her vocal abilities were beyond amazing, not to mention her control over her range. It's very hard to come by these days.
Next up was Gordie MacKeeman and His Rhythm Boys. All I have to say about this group is WOW!! This set was definitely high energy and upbeat, full of fiddle and dancing. You could tell these guys were up there having a blast. The most memorable part about this had to have been when the cord for Gordie's fiddle flew off during his dancing and playing, so you could no longer hear him from the monitors. He then proceeded to do a very high energy dance and finally he jumped up on his bandmate's upright bass and played through the microphone on stage. Talk about improvisation and going with the flow; I was so beyond impressed with this man for pulling it out like he did!
The lovely Meaghan Blanchard was next on the list of performers and she was definitely a treat to hear play. Her voice was simply divine and her whole vibe was just wholesome and fun. She played some really good country songs, as well as engaged the audience to help her sing along with a couple of tunes. The last song she sang called "The Bumblebee Song", a slow ballad, just gripped my heartstrings and made me fall in love with her music. I look forward to seeing Meghan perform again in the near future.
The bands continued for the rest of the evening and I must say that the performances were hardly a disappointment at all. I look forward to many more live music shows over the course of my time on PEI!
