Joella Foulds releases first solo recording.
Milwaukee Irish Festival hosts Nova Scotian musicians
On August 10 I attended a CD release at Rita’s Tea Room in Big Pond. This wasn’t for a new Rita MacNeil recording but the first release from her long-time friend and former bandmate, Joella Foulds.
Joella is a self-proclaimed ‘come from away,’ a transplant from Western Canada who has grasped Cape Breton to her breast and proudly proclaims it as her home. Best known as the co-founder of Celtic Colours, she also had a long career in music as a writer, performer, agent and manager. She toured with Rita MacNeil for years but then put music aside for almost three decades to involve herself in other projects, including Real World, Rave Entertainment and Celtic Colours.
Retired for a few years, Joella has gone back to her musical roots doing work in musicals and some solo performances. This has culminated in her first solo CD, “Looking Back,” a project that includes three covers, Rita MacNeil’s “Superstitious Times,” Connie Kaldor’s “Bird on a Wing” and “Liverpool Lullaby” by Stan Kelly. There are also eight of her own songs and a co-write with Gary Walsh, “Sisters.”
There is melancholy in some numbers, spirit in others, but each one gives us a clear taste of Joella great voice. I’m very partial to both “Superstitious Times” and “Bird on a Wing,” but I really like the first two cuts on the CD, Maybe Next Year and February Blues. The latter strikes a chord with almost everybody in Canada while the former is the plaintive song of any farmer, anywhere, a life that Joella understands well having grown up in a Prairie farm family.
“Looking Back” is also a Foulds family project as it was recorded at studios owned by her two sons, Jamie in Coxheath and Matt in Scotland. She also includes her daughter-in-law Maura Lea Morykot and her granddaughter Kyra Foulds and friends such as Allie Bennett, her bandmate during her time with Rita.
This is a great CD, with good material and great instrumental work. The highlight is Joella herself. All I can say is, it’s about time.
***** I ticked something off my bucket list last weekend when my wife and I attended the 38th Annual Milwaukee Irish Festival, the largest Celtic Event in North America and one of the largest of its kind in the world. It takes place in a large park adjacent to Lake Michigan, a venue that hosts festivals of various kinds throughout the year.
With 18 large and small stages and almost 50 places on site to eat, the festival moved more than 100,000 people through the gates in about 36 hours of programing. The adjacent area contains a massive amphitheater which was used for a Sunday morning mass celebrated by Archbishop Listecki and attended by over 10,000 people. And in a city famous for breweries, it’s also the weekend with the highest beer sales of the year.
Nova Scotia had a large presence at this year’s IrishFest, hosting an information tent and bringing along a number of performers, including Natalie MacMaster-Donnell Leahy and family, Còig, Mary Jane Lamond and Wendy MacIsaac, Scott Macmillan and Colin Grant, Decota McNamara, Shannon Quinn, The Stanfields and Shreem. The latter two acts mainly performed on other stages with folks like The Red Hot Chili Pipers and The Screaming Orphans.
All the acts were very well received, particularly at the Celtic Roots Stage, a mis-size venue that held about 1,500 and hosted Còig, Mary Jane and Wendy, Scott and Colin, Decota and Shannon. Natalie and her crew were at an even larger stage and always had a huge crowd. The Nova Scotia tent, located at the entrance to the Celtic Roots Stage, was always busy and was the perfect place to promote Celtic Colours, as well as Nova Scotia Tourism.
We saw lots of folks we knew, both regular attendees at Celtic Colours and musicians who have performed here. Wee Banjo 3, very popular regulars at IrishFest and Talisk, making their first appearance, drew very large crowds. Both, along with Daoiri Farrell and Atlantic Wave, have played Celtic Colours. Another popular IrishFest band, Socks in the Frying Pan, will play Colours this year.
Other performers that caught my ear included Cúig, not to be confused with Còig; Green Fields of America, a traditional musical collective; Doolin, from France; Derek Warfield and The Young Wolfe Tones; Connla and Sean Callaghan, with a ballad and a story of every occasion. To be honest, there was far too much music happening to hear it all. There were also sporting events, parades and lots of product vendors with everything from books to jewelry to clothing.
We had a chance to do some touring, including stops at The Quadracci Pavilion, the Art Museum with a movable, wing-like roof; the Public Market and several malls. The city itself was well kept with lots of revitalization happening in the downtown area. The folks were always helpful and even the panhandlers were friendly. We had a great time, added a few dollars to the local economy, and would certainly go back if the opportunity came again.
Now, what’s next on the bucket list?
*****
And tonight, there’s the Great Big Bash with Jimmy Rankin. Guests include Ashley MacIsaac, Steve MacDougall and Carmen Townsend, Jodi Guthro and Jordan Musycsyn. It’s an outdoor show behind the Harbourview Inn and Suites in Sydney, the former Martin Arms.
On September 16, it’s the Annual Terry Fox Concert / Ceilidh at the North Sydney Fire Hall.