Sunday, August 28, 2016

Stompa

Gotta get up, listen to me
Clappa your hands, stompa your feet
Nothing is wrong, if you move to the beat
Clappa your hands, stompa your feet
Stompa your feet
~Serena Ryder

Peterborough is a city for music lovers. Throughout the town, live performances are hosted at bars, festivals, hillsides and other venues. It's not unheard of for there to be several performances going on at once. This was the case a week ago when a few locations aired the final concert of our beloved Tragically Hip. As in many towns across Canada, screens popped up in parks so that fans could set up their lawn chairs to watch together. It was the next best thing to being there. The local Holiday Inn on the waterfront also shared that live feed. That same night heard ongoing performances at the Peterborough Folk Festival, as well as this season's closing act at Musicfest, which has featured free concerts every Wednesday and Saturday night throughout the summer for thirty years.

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This year, in late June, Musicfest opened with a biggie - local singing sensation, Serena Ryder performed for her home town in front of an enormous and appreciative audience. She put on a fine show.






Her family and friends were all there to cheer her on. And her sweet young niece joined her on stage to perform Sia's song,  Elastic Heart.





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She put on a great show full of energy and passion.






Her hit Stompa really got the crowd going.





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It was a superb start to the year.





jerome godboo
On the previous night, there was a bit of blues happening at the waterfront Holiday Inn with Jerome Godboo.





jerome godboo harmonicas
Note all of the harmonicas, each in a different key, hanging from his belt, and the colourful percussion tubes which reportedly belong to his kid.






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A large crowd gathered to watch. They arrived by foot, by bike..





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...and by boat, as was the case with this little sweetie.





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She quickly made friends with someone who had a pocket full of doggie treats. No, it wasn't me.




Jerome Godboo tubes
As the evening moved on, we got to see those tubes in action.


Other performers at Musicfest's free summer concerts also caught my attention, at least for a little while. There was Keifer Sutherland Band, Jocelyn Alice & Ria Mae, husband and wife duo, Whitehorse, and a few cover bands - Powerhouse (Chicago), Hotel California (Eagles) and Classics Albums Live featuring Fleetwood Mac hits.

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And then I had the pleasure of listening to The Sultans of String.





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This was a grey night and it was raining on and off. Unfortunately, that meant a smaller crowd for this performance.





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For me, that was good luck. As I stood off to the side of the stage snapping a few pics, one of the venue volunteers invited me to take a seat in the VIP section since it had scarcely filled up and the show had already begun. I gladly and gratefully selected a seat and enjoyed a great view of the show.





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I had first heard of this group a couple of years back when I read an impressive review of their performance in Maynooth - where I was living at the time. It seemed I had missed a good show and so I made a mental note of going to see them if the situation ever presented itself to me. It presented itself very nicely.






Here's a small snippet of how they sound.





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These two backed them up occasionally.





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With a plastic bag for my camera (so classy!) and an umbrella for me, I didn't mind the brief but heavy downpour.





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It was a great show and a fine season.

I can hardly wait until Musicfest 2017.

30 comments:

Theresa said...

Sounds well awesome! Nice on those VIP seats. Now have we seen little Miss Papillon before? You get such wonderful pics Hilary. It's almost as good as being there. I'm heading off to look up some of those artists.

Linda said...

That little girl has a big voice!

Anonymous said...

Sounds great! you had a good time hearing the music and enjoying the day.

Tabor said...

Wow, you picked a great place to live. I love Canadians!

Gary's third pottery blog said...

You live in the greatest little city :)

Marie Smith said...

Love the music and the photos. Great post.

If weather kept us back, we wouldn't do much in this country.

messymimi said...

It looks and sounds like you have some great entertainment there on a regular basis!

TexWisGirl said...

glad the performances are so appreciated.

Out on the prairie said...

Would love to be so close to good music. I had one home near a fairgrounds that featured a lot of concerts, but the wind needed to be right to catch them good. I played guitar with the best in my backyard.Ozzie never asked me to return.LOL

DJan said...

What a great place for a music lover to live! And I have to smile at that pretty Papillon doggie, just like my sister's companion. :-)

Author R. Mac Wheeler said...

okay...the puppy stole my heart

Linda at To Behold The Beauty said...

It's nice that you live in a community that supports this type of thing. You got some marvelous shots of the groups.

Karen said...

Great selection of artists this year! I'd like to hear those string artists live too.
Great photos Hilary!

Anvilcloud said...

It looks like there was a little something fr almost everybody.

stephen Hayes said...

You've made me realize it's been far too long since I've enjoyed live music. Must remedy that.

Rita said...

OMGosh! That really looked like a fun fest!! And thank you so much for the videos, too!! That really made it feel like we were there for a snippet. What fun! Too bad it rained, but maybe next year will have glorious weather. :)

William Kendall said...

Cute dog!

I've seen Serena in concert. She's got a great act.

yaya said...

How fun! I can't believe Summer is coming to a close. Our free outdoor concerts were over a few weeks ago and all the schools are now in session. You live a wonderful place to enjoy such a great mix of music! You should be their photographer...great job! That little pooch looked like she had a big smile on her face in the first pic!

Barb said...

Hilary, it looks and sounds like you live in a town that supports music and performance. I'm glad you were out and about listening and shooting with the camera, no matter what the weather. That pup has big ears!

Phyllis E said...

I can feel the music in your pictures, Cuzzie.

Maggie May said...

Looks good! You captured the *feel* on photo!
Maggie

Jenn Jilks said...

I wondered how you managed such close shots! Now, I know! What a gift!
I love Serena Ryder. There was a show of hers on TV, where they had to truck everything in by helicopter. I've forgotten where... but much fun!

Daryl said...

awesome POVs and photos ... you should offer copies to the artists ... or not ...

Dan said...

Enjoyed the vibes and shots... felt like I was there too. :)

photowannabe said...

Great captures of good times and fabulous memories.

Kat said...

Yes! One of the absolute best things about summer. All the live music. My city has live music a few times a week. Complete with food trucks and all kinds of yumminess. There is also one of the largest music festivals less than an hour from my house. It is called Summerfest. Amazing. Just love that.

What a fun post!

Barbara said...

I'm glad you were offered a VIP seat so we could get such an awesome view of the show. It sounds (literally) like an awesome show! Thank you for sharing!

Shammickite said...

Sultans of String are a great band, I have volunteered for them a couple of times here at our local theatre. And Chris McCool has been here doing concerts for kids, my grandies have been up on the stage with him playing some of his collection of instruments!

ellen abbott said...

well, this one slipped past me somehow. What fun.

sage said...

I looked as if you had fun with the music and seeing that dog must have been delightful.