Folk Prints Winter/Spring 2010 by Folk Music Ontario

2009 Conference Wrap-up

OCFF Member Festival Spotlights: Winterfolk and Canterbury Folk Festival

The OCFF Strategic Plan

Winter /Spring 2010

SOCAN_Folk Prints 2010.pdf

2/9/10

2:45:03 PM

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Table of Contents The President’s Message ................................................................................................................................... 4 Executive Director’s Message.............................................................................................................................. 5 Winterfolk VIII - A Different Kind of Folk Festival.................................................................................................. 6 2009 Maple Blues Awards................................................................................................................................... 8 OCFF Board Nominations................................................................................................................................... 9 Chords and Dischords....................................................................................................................................... 10 Art Beat............................................................................................................................................................... 14 Extended Art Beat.............................................................................................................................................. 14 The OCFF Strategic Plan ( 2010 - 2014 )........................................................................................................... 16 Songs From the Heart........................................................................................................................................ 21 Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award................................................................................................................. 25 Ingersoll’s Canterbury Folk Festival................................................................................................................... 26 Let’s Give a Hand Clap for Memphis................................................................................................................. 27 New Members.................................................................................................................................................... 28 Youth Mentorship............................................................................................................................................... 29 Funders, Sponsors and Partners ...................................................................................................................... 30 o n t a r i o c o u n c i l o f f o l k f e s t i v a l s

BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2009/10

STAFF

Executive Committee

Executive Director Peter MacDonald.......... pmacdonald@ocff.ca Office Manager Jennifer Ellis............................. jellis@ocff.ca Community Outreach Manager Chris MacLean...................cmaclean@ocff.ca Administrative Coordinator(JCP) Tonia St. Louis......................register@ocff.ca

President - Paul Mills..............paul@themillstream.com Vice President -Scott Merrifield smerrifield@eastlink.ca Treasurer - Bill Stunt.......................... bill_stunt@cbc.ca Secretary - David Newland......david.newland@gmail.ca Member-at-Large - Katharine Partridge.......................... .................................katharine.partridge@sympatico.ca Past President - Aengus Finnan

Directors Richard Flohil............................... rflohil@sympatico.ca Dan Greenwood........................greenwoodd@socan.ca Tamara Kater..................tkater@winnipegfolkfestival.ca Dan Kershaw.......................... dkershaw@sympatico.ca Larry LeBlanc........................................... ljle@aol.com Paul Loewenberg........ paulfromsudbury@sympatico.ca Nicole Rochefort..............nicolerochefort@hotmail.com Jan Vanderhorst........................ justusfolk@rogers.com

Phone: 613-560-5997 Toll-Free: 1-866-292-6233 . Fax: 613-560-2001 E:Mail: info@ocff.ca.................www.ocff.ca Mailing address: 508-B Gladstone Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1R 5P1 Printing and layout by Orion Printing Cover photo by permission of David Wiewel Dima Ayurov, of the group Namgar, is playing the ‘morin-huur’ (horse’s head fiddle) at the 2009 OCFF conference. Deadline for Future Editions (Issue; Ad Reservation; Copy) Summer; April 30; May 7 Conference; August 20; September 1 Winter/Spring; TBA; TBA

AD RATES Business Card................................. $95/$135 Quarter Page................................. $145/$195 Third of a Page.............................. $195/$245 Half Page...................................... $225/$300 Full Page....................................... $350/$450 Inside Cover ( B&W ).................... $450/$550 Back Cover ( colour ).................... $575/$675 Listed above: member/non-member rates; GST extra; not applicable for Conference Program. Please visit our website for conference issue ad rates, as well as formats and sizes. Submissions (max: 500 words) and pictures welcome! We cannot guarantee inclusion of your submission in folk prints (but we will try!). Please send submissions in text format only. If you have any pictures, call us before sending them. The views expressed in this magazine are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the OCFF. Questions or comments regarding Folk Prints should be brought to the attention of Peter MacDonald at pmacdonald@ocff.ca. Articles and photos may not be reprinted without the express written permission of the author and/or photographer.

The president’s message

What a kaleidoscope of experience this year’s conference was! My goodness, I’ve been experiencing the OCFF shindig since the mid-nineties when it was in a tiny Holiday Inn in Barrie and now we have this wonderfully huge gathering of all of us who share a passion for this music we call “folk” or “roots” or whatever. It’s truly an inspiring experience! And you know what I like

by Paul Mills paul@themillstream.com

best? The sense of community. I saw it in the faces of just about everyone I encountered at our conference. Whether they were catching up with an old friend or shmoozing a potential buyer or looking with astonishment at an act they’d never seen before but wish they had, it was there in their faces – the pure joy of being in a place where they truly belong. OK, not everyone had the “perfect experience”. The private showcase floors continue to challenge us. This year the OCFF took control of these floors so that we could tailor everything to suit the needs of our community. We got a lot of things right but some things will need some fine tuning. We continue to learn and will try to improve. On balance, though, I have to say that this year’s conference was perhaps the best we have ever had! It was most certainly the largest attendance we have ever experienced. The showcases were first-rate, the workshops

informative and challenging, and the winners of the Estelle Klein Award, Sharon Lois & Bram, had our community on their feet! It really doesn’t get much better And while the conference is certainly the biggest thing we do each year, you will all see in the coming months a new emphasis of on services we can deliver to our members year-round. The Strategic Plan that your Board of Directors has developed over the last year will fundamentally change the priorities of the OCFF to the benefit of the folk music community in Ontario and across Canada. We are looking at delivering professional development seminars, providing enhanced information for performers and presenters on our website, reaching out to communities in Ontario, helping festivals become greener, and a whole range of other services. Stay tuned… it’s an exciting year ahead!

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Executive director’s message People find it hard to believe just how busy the OCFF office can be in the period between the annual conference and the Springtime blossoming of both the landscape and the more traditional view of the festival season – that of a series of Summer gatherings under the stars. “You must listen to a lot of music during your downtime,” they exclaim with great envy. “What could possibly keep a staff of three or four busy every day?” some ask. “Why not just rent office space when you really need to use it?” asked one incredulous observer, who then asked if he might be able to borrow desk space to prepare a grant application in the peace and quiet away from his busy, well-shared flat. Well, much of the staff’s most important work is done from November to March. We review our activities from the past year and we write reports. So many reports. We prepare budgets for review and approval by the Board of Directors. We write grant applications and in so doing, we remind our generous funders about how much would be missing from the cultural landscape if the OCFF ceased to be. We conduct surveys. We talk to members who call or write looking for assistance. Sometimes, we get an earful, and in humility, we take both the praise and the brickbats back to the drawing board. In this issue of Folk Prints, you will find items that reflect the results of some of that work done over the past year or so, and some recent activity reports, too. The annual conference is a unique thing of beauty, filled with new discoveries for some

and a good helping of comfort food for others. Writer Phil Jenkins has contributed his conference observations in this issue – I expect we’ll get some mail in reaction to this opinion piece from a conference wallflower! The OCFF’s significant investment of time in the Strategic Planning process was given its first tentative airing at the AGM in October. We’re now ready to unveil the new Vision, Mission and Strategies as we get to work linking these to our operations. Check out the centerfold – it describes a manifesto of focus and determination that will guide the OCFF for many years to come! It’s high time that more people had a close look at OCFF member festival, Winterfolk, just finished its 8th edition. Is it (and Hillside Inside as another similarly-timed effort) a good model for other communities who could use some cold-weather folk fun? We think so. But how can we convince the public that a folk festival can actually happen amongst the snow banks in Ontario? In this issue we also reflect on the 10th anniversary of the Canterbury Folk Festival, take a look at the incredible list of people and places that participated in the Songwriters Association of Canada-sponsored Art Beat activities and take another opportunity to honour the win-

by Peter MacDonald

ners of the Songs From the Heart song writing competition. We’ve also included a piece from the Toronto Blues Society’s recent newsletter – we’ll be collaborating on many more activities with the blues community in the coming months and years! Be sure to investigate our advertisers and sponsors. Without them, we’d all be so much poorer. The now-concluded Winter Olympics provided an opportunity for us to proudly cheer on our fellow Canadians. The results of their efforts were record-breaking and awe-inspiring. As a tribe we have much to learn from the strident joy the games elicited. I challenge each of you to run a race that ends in an anthem. My race is arts administration. My anthem is a folk song.

The Estelle Klein Award Nominations for the 2010 Estelle Klein Award will be open soon. For more information, please visit www.ocff.ca and . click on ‘Awards’.

Photo by: Madelon Cooper

Record crowds attended the eight annual Winterfolk Roots and Blues festival held in downtown Toronto over the weekend of February 12-15, 2010. Most of the venues were at, or over, capacity. Similar to a summer park festival, schedule-toting attendees strolled from stage to stage to see their favorite artists. When Winterfolk joined the OCFF in 2003, folk festivals were customarily rural events, staged in parks scattered throughout Southern Ontario. When campgrounds fell silent at the end of the summer, so too did much of Ontario’s folk music. Brian Gladstone founded Winterfolk determined not to let Canada’s climate restrict the artform. Winterfolk was conceived to break the mold of a traditional folk festival and bring the music to the people in the city, in the depths of winter. In recent years, Winterfolk has been able to waive admission fees while providing paid work for its artists. While the task sounds daunting, even more remarkable is that Winterfolk has now delivered its eighth successful run, fueled only by a small army of 75 volunteers, with fundraising activities year round. “Our ability to survive and grow,” mentions Gladstone, “is because we provided a win-winwin-win scenario.” The four wins that continue to bring Winterfolk perennial success are for the artists, commerce, community and the artform.

David Celia and Joan Besen

Digging Roots and Trevor Mills

Of the over 100 artists at Winterfolk this year, about 80 were selected by an Artistic Director committee. Winterfolk’s focus is on Southern Ontario talent, especially artists creating a “buzz” and getting their names out there. Artists from across Canada are also included. Seeking out emerging talent “under the radar” of the AD committee, Winterfolk held six satellite prefestival open auditions in several Ontario cities, from which twelve artists were selected. An additional ten artists were selected from EPK and press kit submissions. Winterfolk VIII artists are listed at www. abetterworld.ca/p-winterfolk-viii/ winterfolk-viii-artists/. Gladstone understands that, “In order for any festival to be successful, money must change hands.” He accepts this reality while managing to keep the grassroots feel essential to its success. In addition, “Parking meters, bank machines, restaurants, and the venues all benefit from the thousands of people we bring into the neighbourhood.” The commerce win is significant at a typically slow time of year for the local merchants, in that it satis-

Photo by: Madelon Cooper

WINTERFOLK VIII – A DIFFERENT KIND OF FOLK FESTIVAL by Martin C. Winer

fies the bottom line without giving the festival a corporate “odour” that clashes with roots and blues music. “A strong sense of community involvement is vital to the success, growth, and longevity of an urban festival. Winterfolk reaches out and engages the community,” says Gladstone. Winterfolk works with various music organizations by offering them stages at Winterfolk to increase their public visibility and membership, and overall build a stronger roots community. In exchange, Winterfolk gets top notch showcasing stages. Of special note were the workshops conceived and delivered by the artists themselves. These were the finest example of music by the people for the people. Roots and blues music is a dynamic artform that is best viewed live. Before Winterfolk, folk music was presented at a few scattered clubs or remote campgrounds, rarely in the city in concentration, and rarely in the winter. Winterfolk brings the music within reach of the people and brings home audiences to the artists. Paid work in the neighbourhood is always good for the artists. Accomplishing what once seemed impossible, Winterfolk VIII entertained and excited audiences with acoustic soulful music warming all in attendance spiritually and physically in the otherwise “blah” and frigid month of February. Winterfolk has truly conceived a fresh template to carry on the roots tradition in harmony with the climate and culture of Canada.

2009 MAPLE BLUES AWARDS

“Sticks in a bundle are unbreakable.” – Kenyan Proverb

Brotherhood. It’s an oftused sentiment that’s thrown around so often these days, its meaning somewhat diminished. However, as some 700+ blues aficionados found out at Toronto’s 13th Maple Blues Awards, an overriding sense of family was ever-present. There are many reasons for this. Of course, times are tough – and we’re all sick of hearing it. What binds this group together is, naturally, the music, but there’s a true sense of fellowship that follows the progress of this relatively tiny industry each year, as we all wish the best to those who tirelessly play – and live – the blues. There’s no denying the sense of family that the MBAs foster each year, with their focus on reinforcing an entire country’s worth of blues talent. The spotlight was clearly on the winners, attractively framed by the stunningly beautiful architecture of Koerner Hall’s lush, wooden interior. Yes, the MBAs were a landslide for Ottawa’s MonkeyJunk with 5 significant wins (Entertainer, Electric Act, Male Vocalist, Harmonica, Guitarist) but the band is beloved based on the heritage of its members – hardly an overnight success and very much a hard-working

product born of the Canadian blues scene. And as someone relatively new and fresh is ushered into the fold, Jeff Healey – one of the pillars of our blues community – was posthumously honoured with Recording of the Year. Songs from the Road producer, Alec Fraser, went on to win Bassist of the Year – deservedly so. The theme of family was again driven home in the choice of this year’s Blues With A Feeling recipient – Chris Whiteley – ably presented to him by his brother, Ken, and real-life partner, Diana Braithwaite. Chris and Diana also took home Songwriters of the Year awards as Chris scooped up Horn Player, for added icing for the cake. The artists community continued to embrace long-time artists alongside up-and-comers – from popular favourites like Bucky Berger (Drummer), [OCFF member] Suzie Vinnick (Female Vocalist) and Michael Fonfara (Keyboard) to New Artist of the Year winners, the Blackburns, themselves the epitome of a family band. Following in the fine, funky footsteps of their popular father, Bobby Dean,

this close-knit association of brothers are reaping the just rewards of the aptly-named Brotherhood, a labour of love which speaks volumes about their experience on both sides of the music business. The selection of Ed Torres as Blues Booster of the Year marks a significant moment in our blues community. Both Ed and brother Frank have worked above and beyond the call towards establishing Canada’s only all blues radio station, 101.9 DAWG FM, launching June 1st. This will provide a national community of die-hard fans with a monumental means of championing a distinctly Canadian blues voice on the world stage. As the parade of winners took their place on stage to perform together to the delight of a rapt audience, it was obvious that this had been a year to remember – an uncommon celebration of similarities and differences, fused together by a common love for the music: where it’s been and where it’s going.

Photo by: Eric Thom

The OCFF recently partnered with the Toronto Blue Society and sponsored the Acoustic Act of the Year at the Maple Blues Awards. Eric Thom’s article, below, was reprinted in part from the TBS Newsletter (Feb 2010).

by Eric Thom

Harry Manx was the recipient of the OCFF-sponsored Acoustic Act of the Year at the Maple Blues Awards

OCFF BOARD NOMINATIONS

Jan Vanderhorst, justusfolk@rogers.com

L-R: Tamara Kater, Scott Merrifield, Richard Flohil, Paul Mills, Nicole Rochefort, Bill Stunt, Dan Kershaw, Jan Vanderhorst, Dan Greenwood, Larry LeBlanc, Katharine Partridge, David Newland, Paul Loewenberg

The Board of Directors of the OCFF is looking to fill six Director positions for the 2010-2011 year. Directors are elected by the membership via advanced balloting during the summer and live balloting at the annual conference. The Board is responsible for creating the OCFF’s policies, for fundraising, and for strategic planning. The Executive Director reports to the Board; the Board is in turn responsible to the membership. To this end, we are seeking nominees to the Board possessing skills in some or all of the following areas: Fundraising, Communications, Marketing/Public Relations, Finances and Policy, Procedure and Governance.

Directors of the OCFF commit to a 3-year term with the Board. During that time each Board member is expected to chair a committee of the Board, sit on an additional committee and may also be considered for a position on the Executive Committee. If you know someone who would be a candidate for a position on the OCFF Board of Directors please encourage them to stand for election. You may nominate yourself if you feel you are a qualified candidate. A primer entitled “What to Expect If You’re Elected” can be sent to anyone thinking about serving the membership in this important capacity.

Nominations can be received in one of three ways: 1. From individual members 2. From the Nominating Committee 3. Expressions of interest from individual members In all cases, the nominating form on the OCFF website must be completed and submitted on or before July 16, 2010. All nominees will be reviewed by the Board and a final slate of candidates will be proposed to the membership for election. Please consider this matter carefully. This is your chance to help shape the country’s foremost advocate for the folk, roots and traditional community.

Members Only Early Bird Registration for the 2010 OCFF Conference has begun. Register until April 30, 2010 to beat the H.S.T.! Starting May 1, the new Ontario H.S.T will be applied to all prices.

CHORDS AND DISCHORDS

by Phil Jenkins Bobby Wiseman

Photo by: Thom Fountain

“Success is not having to play to drunk people any more.”

Thursday, October 15th, 4:55 p.m., lower floor, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Ottawa So here we are on the stroke of the beginning of the great opera that is the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals conference. Over the next seventy-two hours, just as there is in any good folk song, there will be happiness and heartache and losers, for while it is many other things, the conference is a contact sport, a talent show and a chance to get up close and personal with others of your tribe; it is all about making contacts and exploiting them to the greater good of folk music. Schmoozing, boozing, strumming, humming, insomnia, narcolepsy, poverty, temporary financial reprieve, good luck and bad luck (manufactured or accidental), all lie ahead. There will be tears of all kinds. 10

Registration, it turns out, is actually a big word for hug fest. There is a hug a minute going on in front of the registration desk, where the delegates are swarming in and red-shirted OFCC people are taking names and handing out wodges of paper. As in all things, there is fashion in hugging; the current in-hug involves all arms wide, then going in with the head at forty-five degrees, and maybe a gangsta double pat on the back. Duration of hug indicates a) level of previous intimacy or b) implanting identity into memory of the hugged. Meanwhile, and this will be a common sight over the next seventy-five or so hours, there is a lot, once the hug breaks, of over-the-shoulder glancing to see if someone more useful has appeared. One of the red-shirted people, apparently, is Phil Ochs

sister, Sonny; a wise junior delegate would take some time to get a few pointers from her, and one does. “We’re a community,” President Paul Mills, standing nearby, says, a big grin going on inside his beard, and he turns to hug the even-more bearded Ken Whiteley, who has just been discussing whether there should be a guerilla tribute to Jackie Washingston on the hotel’s 12th floor at three in the morning. (Washington died in his ninetieth year in June: he had the best smile on a Canadian folk legend you could ever wish to see.) Within minutes, the free-standing bulletin boards perpendicular to the entrance doors and up on the main corridor fill up with posters, the first of several tons of bits of paper that will plaster walls and cork boards everywhere

smell the need, and it is akin to the same smell in a casino. At least, that’s probably what the smell is. Overseen: During one performance by a sensitive singer-songwriter, the soundman takes a cellular phone call and begins chatting away. This being a folk conference, nearby delegates are too polite to turn it off for him, or just crush it. On high, the guerrilla (the PC word is ‘Private’ this year, but no-one uses that) showcases begin, and they are a little like back-room poker games, where the solos and duos and bands are the hands being dealt; this will go late into the night, and the security guards, who are guarding hotel stuff and regulations, not the artists, are looking bemused in a happy headshaking sort of way. Whether their heads are shaking in disbelief or to the Babel of beats is not clear. At one point, bagpipes, vibes, spoons and mass fiddles can be heard going, all in separate rooms. Someone has manages to get several bales of country and western hay up here. Overheard

at three in the morning: “I wrote this song when I was pissed off. Best time to write a song.” Friday, October 16th, 10:00 a.m., Crowne Plaza Hotel, Ottawa Worked into the schedule, which resembles a ton of potatoes in a half-ton sack, are panel discussions, and the most intriguing one of the conference is entitled “Success: What Is It?” Well, success, or the continuance of it, is the fox that the hounds are running to ground this weekend, and the notion gets a good kicking around. A SOCAN (blessed be its name) representative on the panel uses the phrase “this folk thing of ours”, a Mafia reference that might do better in Montreal. He also supplies the odds on achieving success, if that is defined as making a living solely from music. “There’s 80,000 members of SOCAN,” he says, “and only 15,000 of them make any money at all.” Those are depressing odds, but the musicians here

Photo by: Thom Fountain

delegates go. It’s as though the artist Christo, the one that covers things, has a work in progress going. Judging by the posters, the United Steelworkers of Montreal will take the prize for most tattooed band. The first showcase of a great many is in the prime spot - by the bar. It is to be an evening of blues, and Ken Whiteley - him again - in a robin’s egg coloured suit gets it going. From a perch in the bar, a young woman from Alberta, a third Ken’s age, goes to school on his showmanship and technical ability, though she can match him in confidence. She will be showcasing on a much higher floor later in the conference. Later that same night an avant-garde rock band takes the stage. The lead guitarist abandons his acoustic and settles on Telecaster, which he immediately cranks, inadvertently symbolizing the shift that has taken place in folk festivals as they attempt to broaden their appeal by broadening the decibels. On the second floor, the hope bazaar is also well underway, souls being sold in twenty-minute slots, with the salon nearest the drop box room getting the greater attendance. Delegates are popping like groundhogs into the drop box centre, which resembles a multiple voting booth, which in a way it is. Artists of all degrees of coolness and competence arrive with envelopes containing, well, themselves, really, the digital tears of their soul, valentines they hope the artistic directors, the demi-gods of the conference, will love enough to make contact and perhaps even book them. Filling the summer calendar with as much with gig ink as possible is the mission here in this beehive. You can almost

Sharon, Lois & Bram leading gala dinner attendees in “ Skinnamarink”

Photo by: Thom Fountain

Christine Tassan et les Imposteures playing outside the Exhibit Hall

are working on the true odds in life, which are fifty-fifty; either a thing happens or it doesn’t. There is a drift upwards around dinner time, to the Pinnacle Room, cunningly placed at the top of the hotel. SOCAN is hosting the keynote (appropriate term at a music conference) speaker. Much chatter and the occasional airborne pizza crumb, and then the room comes to order. Overheard: “My blood pressure is way up. How are you doing?” A man in comfy college professor garb, known in his trade as the producer’s producer, the talent who brought you Pink Floyd’s The Wall, hops, skips and jumps onto the stage. Bob Ezrin. The title of his recitation is that old chestnut, Go Folk Yourself, which draws giggles only from the younger delegates. There is a discussion of the “Holy Shit” moment, that moment all the artistic directors are here to experience, when you see and hear the next big folk thing for 12

the first time, as Ezrin did when he saw Dylan the angry young man. The grey hairs in the audience are hoping for gossip and anecdote, for Ezrin must surely have a forty-acre field full, but after a Toronto story about Lonnie Johnston, and the lovely quote that when he was a kid growing up in the Big Biz “every doorway led to music”, he loses his footing and decides to show the OCFF, from on high, how to better itself, particularly in marketing. He commences this lesson by demonstrating his own inability to Google ‘Ontario folk festivals’ properly. Later, a brief visit offplantation to the Glue Pot pub across the road. Packed and, it is a bar showcase, not a festival one, but it is fun; like a Fillmore show of old, or more accurately a battle of the folkers. Even later, up on the seventeenth floor, where there are now bottles floating loose on the floor (none with a message

in) the young woman from Thursday night in the bar. Overheard in her lyrics: “I don’t want to sing those songs they all wanna hear.” Saturday, October 16th, 1:00 p.m., ground floor, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Ottawa The day starts later and less well attended than the one before, as battle fatigue sets in, and romances blossom in the wee small hours. The buzz, the word on who’s hot and who’s not, gets up late too, yawns, stretches, and then goes off to its buddy rumour and they begin their daily jog around the corridors - an artistic director dethroned here, a tap dancing team stealing the show there. It is a matter of observed truth that getting a room full of folk musicians to shut up and listen to another folk musician perform is as hard as tuning a wet twelve string. If said musician is receiving an award, it’s twice as hard. Perhaps

there is jealousy somewhere at work, in the form of stage envy. The rule certainly holds during the Gala Awards dinner on Saturday night, although M.C. Grit Laskin makes a noble speech that links guilt and respect. It only serves to cause a brief dip in the hubbub, then it’s back up in the red. Future folkers in the form of a kids’ a capella group, awards for Songs From the Heart, an award in memory a much-revered female singer, a wonderful off-beat performance by a mic-tapping young woman who seems capable of a Holy Shit moment sometime soon, all are operating under waves of sound until the handing out of the Estelle Klein Award, which goes to Sharon, Lois and Bram, and then the room snaps to with respect and within minutes they have us on our feet lustily singing (if that’s the right word) Skinnamarink. One gentleman at the dinner with impeccable manners who plays the electrified hockey stick, comments on the noise, and decides it’s the sound of egos inflating or deflating that we can hear. Overheard dinner table joke: “How many folk musicians

does it take to change a light bulb?” “Dunno, how many?” “Two: One to change the bulb and the other to sing about how great the old light bulb was.” When someone announces the latest batch of lost and found items, even that sounds like a song: “A red jacket, a cowboy hat and a tuner.” Very odd jam session that night in a huge room underground, led by a very polite young man with a keyboard. No real attempt at improvising, just one original song after the next. More like jousting. Sunday, October 17th, 10:00 a.m., Crowne Plaza Hotel, Ottawa A day of administrative matters, and the beginning the restoration of decorum, carpet cleaning, the discovery of items bound for the hotel lost and found. Overheard from a departing delegate: “Having to be a good girl for three days straight makes me want to go out and screw up.” It is said that up on the seventeenth floor, for about a week or so, guests will hear

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phantom echoes of six-string guitars in the night, and snatches of lyrics about wounded love. Has it all been worth it? That is not something that can be decided now, but which will come clear in the bright light of the forty-odd summer fairs in Ontario, 2010. Perhaps the question is better re-put thus: Is the OCFF evolving or devolving as a way of delivering acts to artistic directors, in the same way that television is means of delivering consumers to advertisers? Certainly there are always more losers than winners at talent circuses like this, and hopefully the losers have an inkling of what it takes next year to become a winner. Meanwhile the blogs have fired up and the electronic slings and arrows of outrageous fortune are flying. And then there is that rare combination of both, and that is the secular grail that artistic directors are looking for. And so, as Hamlet, who played a mean harp, said, “We end the heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to.”

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extended ART BEAT The objective of the Extended Art Beat program is to introduce students to folk music and the film medium, as they engage in a hands-on creative process. The program is collaboratively sponsored by the OCFF and the Independent Film Cooperative of Ottawa (IFCO). This year Extended Art Beat involved 16 grade six students from Bayshore Catholic School, in the west end of Ottawa. Brian Sanderson (musician) and Pixie Cram (filmmaker) collaborated to bring the students a week-long program of learning culminating in a performance and student-made video which wa showcased at the Gala dinner on October 17th at the annual OCFF conference. “We loved the opportunity to see it all come together on Saturday night. Our kids were in awe of being on a stage performing live as your guests dined at the hotel. Our beaming parents were more than pleased to take the time to get their child(ren) out to the performance last Saturday, October 17 evening. Congratulations and thank you for the opportunity to have our children perform.” Donna Bekkers-Boyd, Principal, Bayshore Catholic School

ART BEAT We had a record number (33) of artists and venues participate in Art Beat this year. As the conference will be rooted in Ottawa again for one more year, Art Beat continues to develop even stronger ties with the community. The response that we have received from both artist and community participants this year is indicative that this program is meaningful and beneficial on all levels. Thanks to all of the artists who gave of their time to perform sessions in schools, seniors’ residences and hospitals. They include: Alyssa Wright..........................St. Anthony School Andrew Queen............... Ronald McDonald House Charlie Sohmer ............... Saint-Vincent Hospital Choirgirlz................ St. Patrick’s Home of Ottawa Chris MacLean .........Élisabeth Bruyère Hospital Christophe Elie................Knoxdale Public School Chuck & Albert......................... Dunning-Foubert Elemetary School Dan McKinnon......... Regina Street Public School Dave B. Borins .......General Vanier Public School Don Bray..................................St. Anthony School Drew Gonsalves...Roland Michener Public School Dwight Peters............ St. John the Apostle School Ed Winacott..................... Lakeview Public School Geraldine Hollett..... Blossom Park Public School Gordie Tentrees..... Convent Glen Catholic School Graham Playford............ John McCrae Secondary School Gurpreet Chana........St. Theresa Catholic School Jay Linden.................Élisabeth Bruyère Hospital Jessica Rhaye............... York Street Public School Jill Zmud.................. Trillium Elementary School Joe Jencks..................... York Street Public School Jon Brooks...................... Canterbury High School Karyn Ellis....................Centennial Public School Katherine Wheatley......Grant Alternative School Kim Logue .................. Greely Elementary School Laura Bird................... Elgin Street Public School Lindsay Ferguson......................Holy Cross School Louise Laurier . ....................... The Glebe Centre Marianne Girard...........Woodroffe Avenue Public School Mark Cameron............. Our Lady of Peace School Megan Jerome.............The Hospice at May Court Rosemary Phelan......... Goulbourn Middle School Shelley O’Brien............ Arch Street Public School Shelley Chase...........Munster Elementary School Sue Peters.................. St. John the Apostle School Tony Turner....... John Young Elementary School

The S.A.C. is working on a new look.

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www.songwriters.ca 15

The OCFF Strategic Plan (2010 – 2014)

1. The Need for a New Strategic Plan The OCFF has grown & evolved. Originally started by six folk festivals as an organization to serve the needs of folk festivals, the membership now includes not only festivals, but also performers, music organizations and companies, and even folk music fans. The largest proportion of the OCFF’s membership is made up of performers. Consequently, the OCFF felt it was time to review what it does, what its organizational direction should be, and what course it will chart to get there, in order to ensure that the organization and its services align with our current members’ needs. 2. How It Was Done The OCFF Board of Directors formed a Strategic Planning Committee which developed a comprehensive plan involving: • An Internal Scan to discover the ways in which the current organization serves its members. • An External Scan to get a fix on the environment within which the OCFF operates. • A Mission, Vision & Strategy Formulation to define the overall purpose of the OCFF and the direction it should be following. • The membership was consulted through a special on-line survey and via thirty-eight randomly selected in-depth member interviews. In addition, a number of related industry organizations were consulted for their input. The OCFF staff and Board of Directors each took part in extensive meetings to discuss the past, present and future of the organization. All of this culminated in a two-day Board retreat during which the new Mission, Vision and Strategies were drafted and subsequently approved by the Board of Directors. The results were presented to the membership at the Annual General Meeting held at the conference on October 18th, 2009. 3. The Result The resulting Strategic Plan for the OCFF is summarized in the Mission, Vision and Strategies outlined below. Simply put, the Mission describes what we do; the Vision describes where we want to be within five years; and the Strategies describe how we will get there. The Mission The Ontario Council of Folk Festivals supports the growth and development of folk music in Ontario by supporting the growth and development of presenters and performers. The Vision By 2015, the OCFF will have facilitated a stronger, more engaged, connected and active folk music community in Ontario. The Strategies 1. EXPANDED MEMBER SERVICES 1.1 Supporting the development of live music presentations 1.2 Building the audience for folk & roots music 1.3 Increasing media awareness of folk & roots music 1.4 Improving member outreach 1.5 Providing resources for members including member education and research on pertinant demographic, economic and industry issues. 1.6 Offering group (bulk) discounts and benefits. 2. MORE EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS 2.1 Improved communications with the membership 2.2 Improved internal Board and staff external communications 2.3 Improved membership outreach 2.4 Improved external communications.

3. RENEWED FESTIVAL COMMITMENT 3.1 A renewed commitment to festivals in all services and recognition of festivals as the key component of the presenter community 3.2 Reinstatement of a festival-only retreat. 4. IMPROVED ADVOCACY 4.1 Government advocacy (all levels, but especially federal and provincial policy related to arts policy, program, immigration, copyright and funding. 4.2 Developing relationships with various levels of government 4.3 Developing partnerships with the other organizations and the community at large 4.4 Playing a cultural leadership role 4.5 Advocating for the folk roots music community to the arts and culture industry at large. 5. LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY 5.1 Using social media technology to build networks and strengthen community 5.2 Understanding industry shifts driven by technology 5.3 Using technology to support services offered 5.4 Providing members with technology education (for example: DIY tools, web promotion). 6. BEING GREEN 6.1 Maximize green practices in the operations and services provided by the OCFF (for example: reduce waste, ensure environmentally friendly products) 6.2 Provide green education to members (for example: inform members of green initiatives they could implement as performers or festivals). 6.3 Promote green as value of the OCFF as an organization, and show leadership 6.4 Leverage green as an OCFF organizational advantage when possible 7. INCREASED BRAND IDENTITY 7.1 To increase the awareness, profile and brand identity of the OCFF. 8. IMPROVED ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS 8.1 Stabilize organizational financial situation, including the finding and securing of additional sources of funding 8.2 Optimization of organizational resources 8.3 Improved operational and strategic planning. 4. The Next Steps • Review & revision of Charter & Bylaws • The Strategic Plan may require changes to our Charter and some of our Bylaws. Any changes will have to be approved by the OCFF membership and we will be seeking that approval in 2010. • Development of an Operational Plan • We will begin to align the OCFF operations and services to the Strategic Plan under the leadership of the Executive Director. These activities will be reflected in the annual operating plan and budget, which will require the approval of the Board of Directors. • Annual Review of Strategic Plan • The Strategic Plan will be reviewed annually to see how we are doing and to make changes to our direction and strategies if necessary. • Organizational name change • Eventually, we may be coming to the membership seeking their agreement on a change in the name of the organization to more accurately reflect who we are. The Board is currently advocating that the new name of the organization should be “Folk Music Ontario”.

now introducing... Folk Music Canada will be ready to offer memberships as of May 2010! Stay tuned for our monthly newsletter and new website. We will begin working with our new Executive Director, Erin Barnhardt, in March and can’t wait to serve the Canadian folk and roots music community. We will start by developing tangible resources for members

- a national directory (festivals, events, venues, radio programs), travel/health insurance packages for members, creating partnerships and networks for professionals working in our community. We will also be recruiting new Board Members, a national Artist Advisory Committee and volunteers to help build a healthy new organization.

Folk Music Canada would like to thank the Canada Council for the Arts, the Winnipeg Folk Festival, the Edmonton Folk Festival and Big Rock Brewery for their supporting us in getting this organization off the ground. Please contact us at info@ folkmusiccanada.ca with any questions or concerns. We’ll be in touch very soon!

Calling All Writers Do you have a story that you want to share with our readers? Is there an issue that you feel needs addressing? . We welcome submissions (500 words or fewer) and photos. While we cannot guarantee that all submissions will be published, we will read everything that is sent to us. Please send submissions in text format only, and send low-res versions of any photos that you think might be appropriate accompaniments to your piece.. *If you have an idea for a longer piece, please contact the office and. speak to the OCFF’s Executive Director, Peter MacDonald.

Songs From the Heart 2009… The OCFF’s Songs From the Heart Songwriter Awards highlight the talents of Ontario songwriters and provide an opportunity for the winners to showcase their work for festival presenters. Each year, two songs (one English and one French) are chosen, and the songwriters receive Galaxie Rising Stars Awards. The award-winning French song, Pêché de la mer, was co-written by Cindy Doire and Colin Linden. The English winners were co-writers David Leask and Bruce Madole for their song, While I Still Breathe. The lyrics of both songs are presented below.

WHILE I STILL BREATHE

PÊCHÉ DE LA MER

There’s a ship out in the harbour patient on that glassy green As the last boat rowing slowly carries her away from me I know her heart was heavy, heavy as these iron chains And her face was stained with sorrow as she turned her eyes away

Il fait chaud, il fait froid Le fond gelé en désarroi Incertitudes, inquiétudes Je suis figé là avec toi

Hold the wind, don’t let it blow Gentle as a babe asleep, silent as a stone Hold the wind, calm the seas Quiet every single breath while I still breathe Soon the jailer will collect me, march me down that oneway street Hang me like a flag of freedom while she sails out to sea What I did I did for honour, not for lust and not for gold For to see that villain strike her made my blood turn freezing cold Hold the wind, don’t let it blow Gentle as a babe asleep, silent as a stone Hold the wind, calm the seas Quiet every single breath while I still breathe There’s justice now and judgement later Here’s the price that must be paid Now I’ll go to meet my maker Longing for one last look at her sweet, sweet face Hold the wind, don’t let it blow Gentle as a babe asleep, silent as a stone Hold the wind, calm the seas Quiet every single breath while I still breathe

Je m’oublie dans ta nature Je m’efface dans tes ratures Immobile fébrile, fragile J’oublie le sens du mot tranquille C’est le plus beau péché de la terre Qui pousse dans le fumier de tes peines le plus sombre péché de la mer Qui coule dans tes veines Masqué par ta peau blanche Aveuglé par tes peurs bleues En méditant une autre revanche Tu n’entendras pas mes adieux Ton corps, tout en absences N’éveille plus mes tentations Je te dévisage en silence Et j’envisage ma libération C’est le plus beau péché de la terre Qui pousse dans le fumier de tes peines C’est le plus sombre péché de la mer Qui coule dans tes veines

SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED! Official and Family Showcases at the 24th Annual OCFF Conference 16th Annual Songs From the Heart Songwriting Competition Visit Sonicbids (www.sonicbids.com) or www.ocff.ca for more information.

FOLK PRINTS: SUMMER ISSUE The summer issue of Folk Prints will hit the street during the first week of June. In it, we’ll be highlighting Summer festivals and providing lots of information about the 24th Annual OCFF Conference in the Fall. This provides a great opportunity to tell the folk roots community and the music industry across Canada about:

• Your festival line up, dates and location. • Your latest touring plans, including performances at summer and fall festivals. • The latest exciting signing to your agency roster. • Your community radio show. • A new album or video.

If you are an OCFF Member and book/pay for your Summer Folk Prints ad before April 30, we’ll pay the GST - that’s a 5% saving! For ad rates, see the masthead on page 3 or visit www.ocff.ca and click on ‘Advertising’.

25 YEARS! The OCFF will celebrate its 25th Anniversary in 2011. Help us make the . celebration a great one by donating (or loaning) your memorabilia, memorable stories, photos and anecdotes. . Visit www.ocff.ca/anniversary to find out how to contribute and participate!

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BEAT THE HST - JOIN Or rENEW YOUr OCFF MEMBErSHIP BY APrIL 30 The OCFF is the largest member-based folk and roots music organization in Canada, and as our membership grows so too does our influence. The introduction of the HST in Ontario provides an added incentive to renew early, ON OR BEFORE APRIL 30, 2010, the beginning of the two month “transitional period” prior to the July 1, 2010 HST implementation date. If you have any questions about the OCFF or the value of membership, please email admin@ocff.ca or call 866-292-6233. This form is also available at www.ocff.ca/join.html. "-----------------------------------------------------------YES! I would like to join/rejoin the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals. I support the OCFF and its mission: To support the growth and development of folk music in Ontario by supporting the growth and development of presenters and performers. Individual Membership q One-Year ($40.00 + taxes) q Youth One-Year Rate ($25 + taxes) q Partners One-Year Rate ($75.00 + taxes) q Family One-Year Rate ($95.00 + taxes) q Lifetime Rate ($600.00 + taxes)

to April 30 $ 42.00 $ 26.25 $ 78.75 $ 99.75 $665.00

May 1-31 $ 44.65 $ 27.90 $ 83.75 $106.05 $665.00

June 1-30 $ 44.95 $ 28.10 $ 84.30 $106.75 $665.00

July 1 onward $ 45.20 $ 28.25 $ 84.75 $107.35 $678.00

Organizational Membership q Small & Not-For-Profit ($100.00 + taxes) q Medium ($125.00 + taxes) q Large ($175.00 + taxes)

$105.00 $131.25 $183.75

$111.65 $139.55 $195.35

$112.35 $140.45 $196.65

$113.00 $141.25 $197.75

For more information on membership rates and specific benefits, please visit www.ocff.ca/join.html. Name: __________________________________Address: __________________________________ City: _________________________________ Province/State: ______Postal code: ________________ Phone Number: _______________________ Alternate Phone Number: _________________________ Email: ________________________________________ Website: ____________________________ Method of Payment (check one) q Cash q Money order q Cheque q VISA q MasterCard Credit Card Number __________________________________ Expiry date: ______________________ Name on Card ___________________________Signature ___________________________________

COLLEEN PETERSON SONGWRITING AWARD by Kyrie Kristmanson

The first time I felt the immensity of a song was when my Dad sang to my sister and me before we fell asleep as little girls. He would sit on the edge of our bed in the attic room of our home in Montreal, playing us to sleep in the fading light. Whether it was a Daniel Lanois, a Bruce Cockburn or one of his own compositions, there was a vastness to the words and melodies that seemed to reach simultaneously both forward and back in time. It made me shiver to imagine the way the night had always come on, long before when our street had been a forest or field. To seek refuge in this feeling is to invite both an emptiness and a fullness into one’s heart. An emptiness because this feeling is like a ghost, and a fullness because it carries with it the raw energy that is perhaps the stuff of songs. When I was younger, my parents would sometimes find me lying on the floor staring transfixed at the ceiling, listening to a song, oblivious to all else. I had made friends with these songs and invited them in. I now know that this is a dangerous thing to do, because songs never come alone. They carry with them their sadness, joy and their mischief. Not long ago, I was in Ottawa playing and exchanging tunes with a group of songwriter friends. One of them began to sing one that my father had often played for my sister and me during our nightly ritual. I sang along and when he finished we laughed because we all felt that

there was something to that song, something big, something that reaches both forward and back. “Some songs are written,” we had to agree, “and some songs are found.” I was deeply moved to learn that “Song X” had won the Colleen Peterson Songwriting award. To write a song sometimes feels like stumbling upon

a ghost or a memory haunting the land on which you find yourself. And I accepted the award with a salute to these living stories that sometimes choose to show themselves through words and a melody. Even though one person writes the song, it has really been growing on the land, in the wind and in the birdsongs, for a very long time.

INGERSOLL’S CANTERBURY FOLK FESTIVAL, THE LITTLE FESTIVAL THAT DOES by Ted Comiskey Canterbury Folk Festival - July 9- 11, 2010 - www.canterburyfolkfestival.on.ca

Ted Comiskey and Lennie Gallant

McLauchlan, Ian Thomas and Valdy. The non-paying audience has grown from a few hundred to 2009’s estimated 25,000. Organizers still do not get paid and, yes, they still ensure that all expenses are covered before the festival opens. On-site festival earnings kick-start the next year’s event. The Town of Ingersoll, its retail stores, and the municipal Parks and Public Works departments support the Canterbury Folk Festival to the point of

closing the main street and the side streets flowing into Memorial Park to make way for dance stages, workshop tents, vendors, carnival rides, and the bubbleblowing jester-mobile. 2010 marks the eleventh consecutive time that, for one beautiful weekend in July, the heart of Ingersoll becomes the centre of entertainment. Canterbury may be called a little festival across Ontario, but that’s okay because it’s big for the folks in Ingersoll.

Photo by: Martin Brooks

It all started back in the fall of 1999 when Ted Comiskey, Roberta Mitchell, Carolin French and a few other good friends decided to launch a folk festival in Ingersoll, Ontario. Five strategies, they determined, would make a festival work: run it for the love of music, without compensation for the organizers; involve all age groups; showcase local talent along with professional musicians, dancers and crafters; be free to the public; most importantly of all: pay for the festival before it opens. After ten successful years, this approach has not changed – except that the single afternoon of entertainment has expanded to three days and seven stages. Local toddlers to seniors have performed beside seasoned professionals such as Jon McDermott, Pavlo, Murray

Photo by: Martin Brooks

The ‘little’ Canterbury Folk Festival celebrated its 10th anniversary last July.

Valdy and Canterbury Folk Festival volunteers

LET’S GIVE A HAND CLAP FOR MEMPHIS! by Jennifer Ellis, jellis@ocff.ca Once again, the OCFF took its show on the road to the 22nd Folk Alliance International (FAI) conference in Memphis, TN. The FAI conference is four days/evenings of industry workshops, panels, exhibits, showcases, outreach concerts, etc., for members of the international music community. It offers official showcase space to 200+ artists in its Performance Alley Showcases. Members of the OCFF staff and Board attended workshops, staffed a booth in the exhibit hall, and presented the annual “Yours to Discover: Ontario Folk and Root Showcase”. The OCFF gratefully acknowledges the support of the SOCAN Foundation in presenting this showcase. It took place on Saturday, February 20th, and featured the following Ontario artists: • • • • • •

Murray McLauchlan Alejandra Ribera Lynne Hanson Sultans of String Suzie Vinnick The Good Lovelies

Other OCFF members and Ontario artists who showcased (both officially and privately) at FAI included David Baxter, Nancy Beaudette, Kaley Bird, Jonathan Byrd, Carrie Catherine, David Celia, Elvis Bossa Nova, Rose Cousins, Ariana Gillis, David Gillis, Allie Hughes, Oliver Johnson, James Keelaghan, Treasa Levasseur, Alison Lickley, Madison Violet, Samantha Martin, Chris McKhool’s FiddleFire!, Lynn Miles, Arthur O’Brien, Andrea Ramolo, Jessica Rhaye, Stephen Lee Rich, Samantha Robichaud, Layah Jane SingerWilson, Gordie Tentrees, The Dardanelles, The Once, Ken

Whiteley, David Woodhead and Jill Zmud. The OCFF, partnering with Alberta Music, Folquébec, ECMA, Manitoba Music, Sweet Beaver Suite, Canada Council for the Arts, FACTOR, SOCAN Foundation and Folk Alliance Canada, also hosted a Pan Canadian Initiative (PCI) networking reception, connecting Canadian artists with presenters. On a personal note, my second visit to FAI was highly anticipated and Memphis did not disappoint. The weather was lovely – a welcome change from Canadian winter. I managed to visit both Sun Studio and Reverend Al Green’s church (sadly, he wasn’t there, as he’d just had a tooth pulled and was in some discomfort, but the service was still ridiculously uplifting and not at all like any church service I’ve ever attended before). I ate catfish at Westy’s, brisket at Central BBQ, and of course, fried chicken at Alcenia’s. I heard loads of wonderful music in both official and private showcases, and met or reconnected with countless friends and acquaintances at our booth in the exhibit hall. Because I wasn’t leaving Memphis until the day after FAI ended, I was able to share with virtually every other Canadian left in the hotel the unique experience of watching Canada’s Olympic men’s hockey team play the US team in a preliminary round, from outside of Canada! The outcome of that wasn’t quite what we were hoping for, but it was fun watching the other patrons of the hotel bar bemusedly marveling at the crazy Canucks. All in all, the staff and Board of the OCFF would like to thank Louis Meyers, Cindy

Cogbill, Marissa Foshee and the rest of the excellent staff for another great conference. The OCFF and FAI continue to learn from one another, and our partnership with FAI is greatly valued.

NEW MEMBERS WINTER/SPRING 2010 The OCFF welcomes the following new Members who joined us since the last issue of Folk Prints. New Individual Members - ONTARIO Robert Allan, Ottawa Mike Erb, New Hamburg Donna Green/Mike Sanderson Family, Toronto Roberta Hunt, Toronto Paisley Jura, Toronto Jess Lee, Sudbury Aaron Lightstone, Vaughan Graham Lindsey, Ottawa Katharine Partridge, Toronto Mike Regenstreif, Ottawa Bill Stunt, Ottawa Sandra Whitworth, Newington Greg Younger-Lewis, Almonte New Organizational Members CAPACOA, Ottawa The Good Lovelies, Toronto Vireo Research, Cookstown

New Out-of-Province Individual Members Mitch Anderson, Vancouver, BC Hal Brolund, Shelburne, NS Tracey Bunn, Darwin, Australia Geneviève Còté, Montreal, QC Karen Mackenzie, Iqaluit, NU Corbin Murdoch, Vancouver, BC Curtis Olson, Saskatoon, SK Jessica Rhaye, Saint John, NB New Out-of-Province Associate Organizational Members Dare to Care Records, Montreal, QC ZØGMA Collectif de Folklore Urbain, Laval, QC The OCFF Board of Directors and staff have been reviewing the requirements for membership in the OCFF. effective at the beginning of 2009 all out-of-province Organizational Members are classified as “Associate Organizational Members” and are non-voting members. this will

distinguish them from Ontario- based organizations until a complete review of the membership structure can be completed. This change will bring us in line with the current OCFF bylaw (8.02.02), which states that organizations must be ontariobased.

HAVE YOU MOVED..? …or has your contact information changed? Please take a moment to send us your new details, by e-mail (admin@ocff.ca) or by snail mail to: OCFF 508-B Gladstone Avenue Ottawa, ON K1R 5P1 Be sure to include your name, postal address, phone number, e-mail address and website, as well as any business contact information. Thanks for helping us keep our records straight!

by Megan Jerome

Photo by: Brian Goldschmied

YOUTH MENTORSHIP

Kyrie Kristmanson and OCFF Youth Program participants

It was hard for me to imagine a greater honour than to be invited to be a mentor to a young singer/songwriter. I said yes instantly. And then I began to worry. What if I didn’t have anything to teach, to give? I wondered what I might possibly have to offer Elyse Simpson. That was before I Googled her. Elyse has a myspace page, youtube videos, she has started her own record label, and has signed young singer/songwriters from Oakville, where she attends high school. Elyse writes songs. She studies music theory and technique, and has completed several courses in music business by correspondence from Berklee College in Boston. This is a very young woman with very big plans! I hoped and

indeed I prayed that I might have something to offer this young firecracker! I figured honesty and intuition would be my best resources, so as soon as we could, we set to talking about life and music. Luckily, we had a lot to discuss. And we weren’t the only ones who felt like talking. The program creates a wonderful sense of community. The range of participants is exciting. What a gift to learn about each other’s approaches to a life in music, particularly in this culture of idol-type shows where the message seems to be that there is only a yes or no option: you make it or you don’t. This is simply not the case! How encouraging and inspiring to meet a range of people in a range of styles who are mak-

ing music in a way that pleases them. There are truly so many ways to succeed. I am astounded and inspired by Elyse Simpson. By her clarity, by her ability to identify what she wants or feels she needs to know and by her gumption and confidence in finding that information. It was hard for me to imagine a greater honour than to be invited to be a mentor to a young singer/songwriter like Elyse. And yet, imagine how I felt when Elyse turned to me before our final performance and said: “Megan, I feel like there’s been a door in front of me, and I’ve tried to kick it down, and I’ve tried to shove it open, and you’ve said, ‘Here, let’s just try this handle.’

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