Bluegrass festival rocks Rodd Grand
Bluegrass musicians have been holding festivals in the area for more than a decade
Victor Doucette was one of many who attended and performed at the annual bluegrass festival in Yarmouth.
The Fundy Bluegrass weekend, sponsored by the Annapolis Valley Bluegrass and Old Time Music Association, had the Rodd Grand Hotel swaying to the music April 12-14.
Lisa Selig, vice-president of the association and organizer of the event, says it was a full house.
“We had 120 rooms with four people per room,” she said, adding the event has been held for the past five years but this year it was moved from March to April.
Performances took place in rooms on the sixth and seventh floor, in addition to the show/ concert in a convention room on Saturday night.
Musical groups were made up from those who signed up designating themselves as singers or players.
“The room doors are always open, so if someone’s playing, people can just walk right in,” said Selig.
The floors below the “musical floors” were described as “quiet” floors for sleeping…. but many who attended weren’t interested in doing much of that.
“Some people were still playing at 4 or 5 o’clock in the morning. Some people just ate breakfast and started all over again,” said Selig.
As a member of the Mountain Willow Bluegrass band, she’s used to playing in front of others. For those not comfortable with doing so, she says the event is a good opportunity to get on stage to play.
Those who attended the festival were from “all over”, including other areas of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
In January, the bluegrass association booked the Comfort Inn, a tradition that’s been going on for 15 years.
It also has a Spring Tune-Up in Windsor the first weekend in March and an event in
Bridgewater around tine’s weekend.
During the summer and fall the members perform at Bluegrass festivals. Valen- Stacey Doucette was one of many players who helped provide the music during the annual bluegrass festival in Yarmouth.