This is the third in a series of stories about some of the performers appearing at the Princeton Traditional Music Festival. The Festival begins on the evening of Friday, August 19 with the opening ceremony followed by an Irish country-dance on Veterans’ Way beside the legion. The dance will feature a live band with fiddle, guitar and concertina. Everyone is welcome. There will be a caller to teach the dances so no experience is necessary and people don’t even need to bring a partner. On Saturday and Sunday there will be music from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. on two stages – one on Veterans Square and one in front of the museum.
A group new to the Festival this year is Songtree, a duo consisting of Earle Peach and Barbara Jackson. Songtree perform an eclectic collection of stories told in song with two voices. Their music represents folk traditions from the 14th to the 21st centuries with some jazz and samba thrown in. The arrangements are original and the variety achieved with two voices, one guitar and occasional added ornamentation is a delightful surprise. You will be moved through a wide range of emotions and you will hear various languages and tonalities. You will also have opportunities to participate. Barbara and Earle have been singing together for over twenty years. They also have their own musical projects. Songtree has performed at coffeehouses, house concerts, community festivals and fundraisers – any place where music brings people together and celebrates the human spirit.
Janet Michael was born and raised in Newfoundland and we welcome her to her first appearance at the Festival. Janet grew up drenched in musical culture – popular, traditional and classical. Her roots go back to the English West Country of the 1700s. Her anglo-celtic musical heritage primed her for the traditional music renaissance of the 1970s when she was enthralled with groups such as Planxty and Steeleye Span. She was a founding member of the Celtic band Paddy Wick and the Celtic duo Gaelin’. She has been an actor on stage and in film for thirty years but now hopes to see music take centre stage in her life. She plays for love and money.
These are just some of the new performers coming to this year’s Princeton Traditional Music Festival and the best thing about it is it’s free!
The reason it’s free is because it’s run entirely by volunteers and the performers are donating their talents. To make the festival a success the organizers will need lots of volunteers. If you’d like to get involved, please contact them. Even if you have only a couple of hours available your help would be most welcome. Give them a call and they’ll welcome you aboard. To find out more visit the Festival’s webblog at princetonfestival.org or give Jon and Rika a call at 250-295-6010.