300-plus musicians have a blast in Falls
Event brings together players of all ages from across North America
If it wasn’t a thousand musicians, it sure sounded like it.
About 300 players — including roughly 50 drummers and just as many singers, guitarists playing electric and acoustic, bass guitarists, and at least one person on the clarinet — belted out a halfdozen songs in a show of musical force Saturday night for the Day of 1,000 Musicians at Firemen’s Park in Niagara Falls.
The day was a hit, pardon the pun.
“It was a great day today … fantastic. What a great pleasure to be part of this,” said Dean Kennedy of Niagara Falls, one of the numerous drummers who set up their kits side by side on the field.
It was organized as a daylong tribute to music, with the highlight — having as many musicians as possible playing together at one time — set for 6 p.m.
Surrounded by hundreds of onlookers, the makeshift band kicked off with AC/DC’s “It’s a Long Way to the Top,” cranked out several more standards and finished with Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World.”
Electrical cables threaded around the musicians grouped together, in many cases kids playing their own instruments alongside a parent or two also playing.
“That’s what we were pushing for, to tell you the truth,” said Paul Lemire, one of the organizers. “It was agreed that we would get songs, three or four chords and very basic and easy to play but a lot of fun to sing and perform, so anybody could play.
“If you could play three or four
chords, you could come out and play with us.”
Lemire and his friend John Fillion initially started planning for the day months ago, and others joined in, including Paul Brockwell of the Stamford Centre Volunteer Firemen’s Associaton, and musical director Roger McLaughlin.
It attracted not only Niagara singers and musicians, but ones from places such as Winnipeg, Ohio, Windsor and across the province.
Mark Terpstra, a Niagara Falls guitarist, said he learned of it online and knew he wanted to be part of it.
“That’s what music is all about,” he said. “Coming together, and there are people of all ages here. I made a bunch of new friends.
“There are people that are 70 years old here, and the guy standing behind me was seven. It was awesome.”
The day also collected food donations for Project Share, as well as money for Major Progressions music therapy program and Music Gives, which provides musical instruments to underpriviledged children.
There’s already talk of repeating the day next year.
“Our goal was 1,000 musicians, but more importantly it was to get everybody together playing — young and old, experts and amateurs — and just have a great day playing these songs,” Lemire said.
Gord.Howard @niagaradailies.com 905-225-1645 |@gordhoward