Pure Country to perform at ‘Spring Fling’ in Burrough’s Falls
In a perfect world, there would be magic potion that we could drink to enhance our abilities and talent. In that dream world, we could explain Frank Young’s talent with the fact that he didn’t drink that potion; he fell in a big pot of that elixir.
In our normal world, we can say that he was born with all that musical talent but just didn’t know it. Since he was a teenager, Young has been a natural when it came to music.
Raised in a family where music took an enormous place, Young was always exposed to country music. “My mom, Huguette Pelletier, used to sing in a band years ago and my father used to listen to bluegrass and traditional country music all the time,” Frank Young said in an interview.
Even if music was part of his DNA, it’s not before he was a teenager that he got interested in learning how to play an instrument. “As far as I can tell, I always loved music, but it is only when I was 14 that my parents got a banjo and then I really started to learn and play,” Young explained.
This banjo sparked in him the urge to learn how to play. He never took any lessons but was determined enough to master that instrument, which he did in no time. This was the beginning of a lifelong challenge for him and his success at mastering a first instrument just made him want to learn more — much more.
For years now he has been honing his skills, and his dexterity on the guitar is more than impressive. Young didn’t stop there. He spent hours practicing, trying to get better and better.
He is now a multi-instrumentalist. He plays the five-string banjo, lead guitar, piano, mandolin, bass guitar, and he recently started playing pedal steel guitar. Proficient at playing all these instruments, Young is always looking for an extra challenge and he keeps proving himself able to go further in his musical quest.
To him music is not a hobby, it is something he wants to do full time. Always pushing the envelope, he also worked as a studio musician and even tried his hand at producing. He wants to do it all.
“Playing music is how I have been making a living since I was 17 years old. I always played gigs in clubs and bigger shows with some well-known artists such as The Lost Fingers and John Jorgenson.
“I have also been giving guitar, banjo, and mandolin lessons, and producing CDS for a lot of other artists. I have a country band with some guys from Montreal and we are backing up people in some of the summer festivals,” he said.
His main genre of music is bluegrass, but he also has this love for traditional country music and western swing. He has a reverence for some of country music idols, including Ricky Skaggs, the late Daryl Singletary, Vince Gill, Merle Haggard, and Buck Owens.
Young is always eager to learn more and experiment other genres — this is why he started to play some gypsy jazz music and he loves it.
He and his girlfriend and partner, Lynda Gosselin, now own their own professional recording studio in their house. They’ve named it the “Pure Country Studio.” They also work as a duo and perform in clubs everywhere.
Young and Gosselin will be performing at Burroughs’ Falls on April 7, as part of “The Country Music Appreciation Jamboree Spring Fling.” They will grace the stage of the venue with a backup band including the excellent Yvan Moreault on bass guitar, the incomparable Mario Desrosiers on pedal steel guitar, and the great Serge Maheux on the drums.
This lineup holds the promise of a great show with Lynda Gosselin on vocals. Gosselin is a well-known and established singer in the field. She has been performing for many years with different local musicians before she started working mainly with Frank Young.
By the time she was 4, she already knew that she wanted to be a singer. And she did it. “My mom had a turntable in which we could plug a microphone. When I sang in that mic for the first time, I knew what I wanted to do in life,” she stressed in an interview.
She was brought up in a house always filled with music and country music is where her heart is. “It’s not just that country is close to my roots, it’s also in my blood. My biological father is the well-known country singer, Lyndon Sheldon,” explained Gosselin about her love of country music.
It is easy to understand her love of the musical genre. Golden singer Sheldon could have made a country fan out of anyone with his pure country voice. People use to call him the George Jones of Quebec.
Actually he’s definitely not a stranger to the young girl’s love of music and wanting to perform. He taught her the rudiments of piano, guitar, and harmonies. She proudly followed in his footsteps.
Lynda Gosselin is an accomplished singer, but she also plays guitar. For over 20 years, she has been working all week on a regular job and playing music on the weekends. She has been an interpreter of all musical genres but her heart belongs to country music.
“Although I have nothing against all styles of music, I prefer classic country. For several years, I have been listening to Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, and George Jones and so on, they are all part of my childhood,” she said.
“I also really like Rhonda Vincent; how she controls her voice and the musical instruments she plays in addition to her talent as a singer. She is an excellent musician.”
Gosselin is eager to perform and meet people on April 7.
It might be a good idea for people to reserve their tickets (lunch included) for this edition of “Country Music Appreciation Jamboree Spring Fling.” Music starts at 1 p.m. and the lineup features Pure Country with Lynda Gosselin and Frank Young, The Country Classics, Dave Bessant, Steve Aulis, The Plainsmen, and more. Reservation at: 819-838-4912. Support our local talent!