ROCKIN’ ROOTS MUSIC
Guardian reporter Sally Cole gets to the root of it all at the ECMA Roots Stage
Getting to the root of it all at the ECMA Roots Stage
After taking in the exciting East Coast Music Awards show with a variety of music Thursday night, I felt like something was missing.
It turned out I was longing for traditional music.
You know, the kind of music that gets you clapping your hands and stamping your feet and eventually will have you on your feet and dancing.
So after I filed my award show story, I was thrilled to discover that the Roots Stage was underway in the Delta Ballroom.
Good 2 Go, a Nova Scotia collaboration of Scott Macmillan on guitar and Colin Grant on fiddle was an energizing experience. Like a fencing duo, their set was a fiery instrumental interplay between two master musicians. And their set ranged from Celtic to classical and everything in between.
The lively Celtic music continued with Ben Miller on pipes and Anita MacDonald, fiddle (Cape Breton). They were accompanied by Zak Cormier, who is from our Island, on guitar. The trio played a variety of tunes, starting with slow airs and waltzes to jigs and reels. As the tempo increased, so did my desire to kick up my heels.
Looking around I realized I wasn’t alone as three men were already step-dancing in the audience.
Earlier in the show, the audience was treated to Cassie and Maggie MacDonald. These Nova Scotian sisters were exciting to watch with their lively fiddle and guitar arrangements and stirring harmonies in English and Gaelic, complemented
by their fast-paced step dancing.
Also on Thursday night, as Anita MacDonald shed her violin to do some step-dancing on stage, I saw men and women in the audience join her. Soon, it seemed that everyone in the room was dancing. It left me with a very happy feeling.
Then on Friday, Gordie MacKeeman and His Rhythm Boys kept the foot-tapping traditional rhythms going during the Canadian Music, East Coast Style, Export Buyers “Roots” Showcase in the Trinity Royal Ballroom of the Delta Hotel.
Playing the fiddle, with the instrument tucked under his chin, MacKeeman delighted audiences with his fancy footwork and comical moves as he crossed the stage.
With tight harmonies and fast pickings, the quartet received thunderous applause from the tightly-packed room. The audience also sat quietly as MacKeeman played a Ned Landry tribute in honour of the New Brunswick fiddler.
That’s what’s special about covering the ECMAs. You treat it like a regular work assignment, but then the music gets to you.
And you become part of the dance.