What comes to mind when you think of music festivals? Sunshine? Food trucks?
It can be subtle, but there is nothing like walking through the fairgrounds and hearing the variety of music blend and swirl with each step. Festivals offer the opportunity to experience musical acts you may have never encountered and in their finest element — live!
Running June 24-25 at Meridian Place in Barrie, the Troubadour Festival returns to the city and is bringing an eclectic range of celebrated acts with it. Since its inception in 2018, the festival has hosted more than 65 artists and 6,000 music lovers from all of Ontario and beyond.
This year, the festival headliners are nationally acclaimed duo Natalie McMaster & Donnell Leahy and beloved super-group Dwayne Gretzky.
BarrieToday had a chance to speak to Natalie MacMaster (NM), as well as Tyler Kyte (TK) from Dwayne Gretzky before they take to the stage later this month.
RV: Your names are synonymous with an electric, must-see live show. How do you keep it so fresh and energetic while on tour?
NM: Keeping the music fresh is easy after a pandemic. We have become so much more grateful for the gift of music during these last two years. In the past, though, sometimes it can get tough keeping it fresh.
But what always works is making eye contact with the audience and entering into a relationship with them during the show. That way, every night is different. This provokes fresh musicality every night.
RV: What do you hope people walk away with after experiencing your live set?
NM: I just hope they receive something. Doesn’t matter to me what the experience is for them. It will be internalized many different ways, I just hope it gets internalized! That said, I suppose if they got a lift to carry them through the weight of life, I would be
grateful.
RV: Is there a particular song or moment while performing that you look forward to every time?
NM: Blue Bonnets Over the Border is most often my favourite!
RV: Other than geography, what is the defining feature of Cape Breton fiddle music?
NM: Rhythm! Oh yes, this is the greatest virtue of the traditional fiddle music in my opinion. My mom used to say after a good fiddler would play, “he’d make a dead man dance!”
RV: With a house full of talented musicians, have arguments ever broken out into duelling fiddles or step-dancing?
NM: (Laughs) No. Sorry to disappoint. Nothing too juicy here! But we often debate the material, never Donnell and I, but the kids sometimes have different taste than we do. But they are good kids and they revert to their experienced parents for the final say. I
embrace their opinions.
RV: What is in store next for you both? Is there another MacMaster-Leahy Family special in the works?
NM: Lots of projects, fortunately. We have a studio recording we are finishing up that should be out in the fall. The kids have a few shows on their own this summer. Our oldest, Mary Frances, will be recording her first CD and I’m writing another book.
Tyler Kyte from Dwayne Gretzky:
RV: What was the first song you remember wanting to cover?
TK: Hmm, might be Lightning Crashes by Live? (Laughs) Or possibly Lost Together by Blue Rodeo.
RV: More than a cover, the band creates fresh takes on classic songs from a wide variety of artists. How do you choose the tone or flavour of each song you re-imagine?
TK: When we perform live, we’re not playing re-interpreted versions of the songs; we usually try to be faithful to the original recording. But for our studio album that we released in 2019, we decided to tackle the songs in different ways and dress them up in different clothes. Because the band has spent so much time learning the songs of different artists, we now have experience performing a variety of styles.
So that was key when it came to re-imagining the songs we chose to record. It was fun to look at the songs as if they were being performed by other bands. For example, what would it sound like if The Strokes covered a Beach Boys song, or Kylie Minogue doing a QOTSA (Queens of the Stone Age) tune. The project all felt like a fun experiment. We just tried to play to our strengths as musicians and have fun in the studio.
RV: With no disrespect to the expanding lineup of excellent bandmates, if you could build a super group, who would you choose? Living or otherwise.
TK: That’s a tough question. I’d have to survey the whole band to get a great response to this. For me, I’ve always been a fan of the E Street Band. So much energy and they always crush it.
RV: How would you describe the Dwayne Gretzky live experience for people who haven’t seen you yet?
TK: Energizing, joyous, theatrical, and nostalgic.
RV: It's not uncommon for you to get onstage and “read the audience” to choose what songs to play. Without a set list, how do you know what song to play next?
TK: The show always feels like a conversation with the audience. Because we have a lot of songs to choose from, we have the ability to change the direction of the show mid-set.
Over the last 10 years, we’ve learned a lot about what what songs work early in a show, what songs are better at the end of a show, what songs are good when the room is just warming up, what songs to play if the room feels like it’s ready to pop, good tunes for younger audiences, older audiences, etc.
For us, it’s all about being present and playing to the natural atmosphere of the room or event.
RV: Are there any songs that you refuse to re-imagine, and why?
TK: We generally stick to songs that are positive in nature. Songs that seem a bit too aggressive or serious don’t often connect with everyone in the band, therefore we don’t ever play them.
Because we are a large band, we have a lot different song suggestions coming in, and when most of the people in the band are excited about a song… then it’s usually a good sign that it will make it into our regular show.
Click here for more information about the upcoming Troubadour Festival.
