Festival of Small Halls in Maberly and McDonalds Corners

Jeff Green and Julie Druker | Sep 24, 2015

The Ontario Festival of small Halls made a big splash in McDonalds Corners and Maberly last weekend, and all the rest of the concerts scheduled for Lanark and Renfrew Counties this soming weekend are sold out, including one at the ABC Hall in Bolingbroke featuring Bealoch and Tichborne fiddle whiz Jessica Wedden.

Taking its cue from similar events in Prince Edward Island and Australia, the organizers of City Folk in Ottawa sponsored a series of concert featuring nationally known roots musicians in some of the unique local halls in Eastern Ontario. In each case the major acts were paired with some of the best local musicians around.

On Saturday night (September 19) at the McDonalds Corners Agricultural Hall the Long Sault Trio (Linda Grenier – guitar- from Watson's Corners, Victor Maltby – fiddle - from Carleton Place and Dave Tilston – guitar - from Maberly) opened the show. Each of the three members of this band are songwriters, and in their show the sound varies from swing to bluegrass to celtic to all of the above. The trio has been playing together for several years and it shows in the smooth interplay they have developed and the serious speed they bring to some of their bluegrass and celtic inflected numbers. They set the stage well for Gordie MacKeeman and his Rhythm Boys.

Gordie MacKeeman has a personal website called Crazylegs.ca and it did not take long to see why.

He started off the show by tapping at break neck speed, legs flying every which way or so it seemed, and then he started playing fiddle at the same time.

The Rhythm Boys, who all come from PEI, did not fade into the background either, taking turns singing and playing lead on guitar, double bass, drums and banjo. They performed a varied mix of styles just as the Long Sault Trio had, from Bluegrass to Celtic to Rockn'roll. The dance floor was active from the start of the set, which the band appreciated, and the music never wavered in its dynamism throughout. MacKeeman has an infectious, mischievous energy, and great skill with the fiddle. There was no let up right to the end of the set.

The Festival of Small Halls concert at the Maberly Hall the next afternoon, September 20, was sold out.

It opened with The Unspoken Rests, an eight member youth ensemble made up of players aged 8-16, all members of the Blue Skies Community Fiddle Orchestra and led by Cindy McCall. McCall said she formed the group “as a way to challenge the younger students in the orchestra and give them a chance to play faster, tighter and with more harmonies in a smaller ensemble setting.” The group enchanted the audience with their a line up that opened with “Swinging on the Gate” and included the famous Ottawa Valley tune “Pig Alley Rip” and “St. Anne's Reel”. The group received a thunderous, heart felt and well deserved standing ovation following their set, which no doubt may have inspired a few listeners to answer McCall's recent advertisement for a new “absolute beginner” fiddling group, which will have a maximum of 10 players and will start up on October 21. Call Cindy at 613-278-2448 or email her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

The concert then continued with the East Pointers, the full throttle traditional PEI Celtic trio comprised of fiddle player Tim Chaisson, banjoist Koady Chaisson and guitarist Jake Charron, who also got the crowd to their feet with their rousing set, which nearly blew the roof off the Maberly hall.

The three, who are each talented players in their own right, have come together in this trio, and they demonstrated in their original tune, the title track of their new album titled “Secret Victory”, how they love to play all out. The album will be released on October 9. This tune has them slowly increasing their intensity, only to be silenced abruptly for a beat, then come right back in louder, harder and faster than before. These songs are what inspired the many listeners to jump to their feet and swing along. While the trio's all out Celtic swings and stomps are what they are likely best known for, they are also diverse in their repertoire and they nailed some more sombre and reflective tunes like the original “The Wreck of the H.M.S. Phoenix”, a sad tune based on the true story of a P.E.I. ship wreck, and their funkiest song of the show, their cover of Gotye's “Hearts a Mess”.

They also sing gorgeous harmonies together and their a capella original titled “Blainey's Laughing Eyes” was pitch perfect, seamless and perfectly weighted. Tim's virtuosic abilities on the fiddle are mesmerizing; Koady's fingers can pick out the quickest and most precise leading lines on banjo; and no matter how fast and hard the playing gets, Jake Charron can hold down the lower end and keep everyone in check with his solid rhythm guitar.