Posted by Sudbury Northern Life Reporter Bill Bradley
There no more intimate and affordable way to see a performer than at a house concert, said music lover Scott Merrifield.
He helped bring Thunder Bay singer songwriter Rodney Brown to
the city for a house concert Saturday night. Merrifield was
past artistic director for the Northern Lights Festival Boreal
(NLFB) and has been organizing house concerts for years.
"When I retired as artistic director from NLFB, I wanted to
still have a hand in promoting music. We had done a few house
concerts. I thought this would be a way to
keep involved."
He has been organizing house concerts steadily since 1991. These days he organizes six to eight per year.
Merrifield said the arrangement is good for performers.
"Sudbury is halfway in between places. When musicians are on tour with gigs in Winnipeg and Toronto and nothing in between, it is tough on their budgets. House concerts are a big boost for them," he said.
For the audience, a house concert provides an experience they would not get at a larger venue, noted Merrifield. In fact, house concerts have a long history.
"The experience goes back to the old days when musicians would play at a large house, a manor house if you go back far enough. People would come to be entertained. It is a low key, intimate, informal setting. A great way to get close to a performer."
The participant pays $15, depending on the artist, and brings their own refreshments and finger foods. Generally the performer plays right in front of the seated crowd in a living room or basement setting.
"We have had in the past Ian Tamblyn, Tamarack, Stephen Fearing, Ken Whiteley, and Ken Ham, the blues performer."
Accompanying Brown on fiddle was the city's Don Reed, a three-time North American fiddle champion. Brown is known as a folk singer who has received national recognition for his music.
"I think my kind of music is enjoying a bit of a renaissance at the moment.
Rodney Brown released his first album, Freedom in Me, in 1977. Since then he has nine more CDs. In the 1980s he put out three children's albums.
"I had children myself, so I got interested in children's songs and playing for kids. It helped me branch out in terms of music. Now I am getting back into my songs for adults."
He is now promoting his new CD entitled North Land. The focus is on the rich history and culture of northern Ontario and western Canada, he said.
"It is based on Canadian history going back to the fur trade days when Fort William was the inland base for the fur trade."
On Thursday, March 19, Brown will hold a CD release party in Toronto at Hughs Room Dundas West, starting at 8:30 p.m.
"I'll be there with the band that plays on my CD. Cindy Church will be singing harmonies. Paul Mills will play guitar. Don Reed will be there too," he said.
The next house concert will feature a trio of women from southern Ontario called the Good Lovelies Thursday, April 2.
"They sing wonderful original three part harmonies," said Merrifield.
On Saturday, May 2 blues guitarist and singer songwriter, Ken Ham, will perform.
"It will be the first time he has been back for a few years. Though from Thunder Bay, he is living out in Saskatchewan a number of years."
For more information, visit www.Rodneybrown.ca For those interested in upcoming house concerts email [email protected] to be on his list of interested people or phone 674-0422. Space is limited so reserve in advance.
