The Shigawake Fair Presents: Thirsty Thursdays 2020 (Facebook Edition)

Since October 2019, I have been working for the Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network on a Canadian Heritage-funded called "A Different Tune: Musical Heritage in English-Speaking Quebec." It's a survey of the diverse grassroots musical cultures across Quebec's English-speaking communities, both rural and urban. This past March, I was en route to Shigawake and Gaspé when … Continue reading The Shigawake Fair Presents: Thirsty Thursdays 2020 (Facebook Edition)

Gérard Durette at the Wakeham-York Homecoming Fiddle Contest

... perhaps the most significant phenomenon in the English-speaking community was the 10-day Wakeham-York Homecoming Festival which ran for 25 years starting in 1978. I'll say more about the festival in future posts but for now, I want to note that it has been both interesting but also very complicated trying to write about something I never experienced myself (I began coming to Gaspé about six years after the festival folded). Still, many people talk about the festival and I want to give it its due when I write about it. I'll return to this topic at the end of the post.

Nash Stanley and the Gaspé Twang – Live at Shigawake Music Festival

Here are three YouTube clips I recently uploaded to the archives' YouTube channel. They feature Nash Stanley and the Gaspé Twang (Don Barclay - 2nd guitar, vocals; Glenn Patterson - fiddle) at this year's Shigawake Agricultural Fair and Music Festival (footage courtesy of Anna Swanson). Shigawake is a special community and its festival a real … Continue reading Nash Stanley and the Gaspé Twang – Live at Shigawake Music Festival