A lone cannon sits inside a depression formed by the old ramparts surrounding it and children run, play, and climb over the cannon. The significance of this is not lost on me and I say a silent prayer to be living in a country where the young ones are still so innocent. I’m standing on Blockhouse Hill in the town of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia where the main stage for the Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival is situated. The festival is celebrating its 25th year this summer and the weather is as beautiful as the town itself.
Lunenburg was established in 1753, is the birthplace of the Bluenose, and in 1995 was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The town is a wonderful display of gingerbread houses, old churches, parks, piers and wharves, many of which will serve as billets for performers, or as venues for some of the many concerts over the weekend. The presenting society has a mission statement that declares in part, to “strive to celebrate the joy of traditional and contemporary folk music. This was quite evident this year with the introduction of the first Traditional Music Conference facilitated by folklorist Clary Croft, who is best known as the successor to Dr. Helen Creighton. The conference also saw performances by Margo Carruthers, Jeff Davis, Ken Whiteley, and Bill Plaskett & Friends.
During the days, festival attendees can choose from a variety of performances staged in a number of locations within easy walking distance of each other. A number of churches and church halls, as well as the historic Lunenburg Opera House are the indoor venues for the daytime performances. The Heritage Society Bandstand and the Fisheries Museum Wharf are the locations for the outdoor stages, and with the weather as great as it was, all stages had great audiences. The main stage hosted evening performances throughout the four-day festival and was also the setting for the immensely popular Sunday Gospel Concert. During my walks about town, I was also able to learn some of the history of the area, its diverse economic background, and a bit about the origins of its settlers.
A few of my personal musical highlights of the weekend include James Keelaghan, a gifted singer-songwriter; Red Molly, a three-piece female act from New York that played a variety of acoustic instruments and sang incredible harmonies; House of Doc, a Winnipeg based band with Mennonite roots that played a blend of gospel and bluegrass; and the fabulous duo Mike Stevens and Raymond McLain. I was totally unprepared for the spectacle that I witnessed on Sunday morning. People began lining up hours before the gates opened to get the better seats for the Gospel Concert, which took place between 10:00 AM and noon. Hosted by The Lustre Brothers, the concert featured a long list of acts that included Ken Whiteley, Jeff Davis, Connie Kaldor, The Grass Mountain Hobos, and many more over the two-hour time slot. The tent was filled to overflow capacity and the atmosphere was definitely like a revival. Matt Anderson was the second-to-last act and he took the stage with his mother and they sang a beautiful harmony that earned them a standing ovation. The finale followed this and the stage was filled with as many of the morning’s performers as could find room. If contemporary churches offered music like this, maybe their seats would be fuller!
In summary, it was a weekend of great music, beautiful surroundings, good food, and a chance to see quite a few old friends and make a few new ones. This is one festival that I surely will return to over the coming years.
