Bluegrass and Old Tyme Music to fill northern Sask. this August

She is also a part of the entertainment committee for the festival and said they’ll have groups from Halifax all the way to Tennessee performing.

The festival will feature bluegrass and old time music but there will also be some acoustic music.

“Not a lot of people in Saskatchewan are familiar with the genre but it’s a music that is very easy to listen to, it’s fantastic to watch because the pickers and the players are at the absolute top of their skill level, they’re masters of their instruments,” Lalonde said.

She said there is also a lot of dancing that takes place during the festival.

“There’s a lot of music, it’s a music lover’s festival. There’s very little that detracts from the music, we don’t have a big beer garden that’s rowdy, it’s a really family friendly and family focused festival,” Lalonde said. “You can walk around the site on the weekend and you’ll find people at their campsites making music, they’re jamming and it really fosters that ability to experience music both as a listener and a player.”

There will be three open fields for camping at the festival site and the price of the campsite is included in the ticket.

Follow the three day-festival is when the music camp will begin.

“We have our music festival and generally the main stage acts will play and perform and then go home but with ours a select number of bands stay behind and they teach classes for any students who want to enroll and (learn an instrument),” Lalonde said.

Instruments include banjo, fiddle, mandolin, guitar, standup bass, vocal harmony or anything related to an acoustic, bluegrass or old-time band.

Lalonde said the camp is like any other camp so there will be a cost to attending so they can pay the instructors and feed everyone.

Information on the classes, the cost and how to register can be found on the society’s website.

Lalonde said it’s an all ages camp but the majority of attendees are youths.

“Our society tries our best to subsidize our youth registration as much as possible,” she said.

Registration began in March but there are still a few openings available in banjo, mandolin and fiddle.

There are also openings for an instrument called a dobro which is like a resonator guitar — a common instrument in bluegrass music.

“The camp has grown quite a bit … the word of mouth has spread so it’s really increased in popularity so some of the classes fill up really quickly,” Lalonde said.

There are many benefits when it comes to learning a new instrument.

Lalonde said it helps with brain growth for young kids and learning music can help in all facets of life, thinking and learning.

“More than that, playing this kind of music creates community and we’ve really found that throughout the years,” she said.

She added when it comes to kids who may not take part in a typical activity like hockey, this kind of camp allows them to find an instrument to play and a community to be a part of.

“It allows kids and adults (as well) to pick up a skill and really shine and get a lot of encouragement in a group where there are people doing the same things as you,” Lalonde said.

She said the camp has created an interest for more acoustic music in Saskatchewan in more acoustic music and brought to life some of those bluegrass and old-time genre players and groups in the province.

“A unique aspect of our camp is that it can be intergenerational. Over the years we’ve found a grandparent used to play an instrument years ago … and they find out about this camp and they also happen to have a grandchild who’s just starting to learn. So we’ve had instance where a grandparent and grandchild will come and attend the camp together. It’s a really good way for families to connect,” Lalonde said.

She said it doesn’t matter your level of experience to be able to come out to the camp.

swallace@panow.com

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by Sarah Wallace

Bluegrass and Old Tyme Music to fill northern Sask. this August

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