Gordon Lightfoot Forums - View Single Post - Mariposa 2015

charlene · 07-07-2015, 09:28 AM

http://www.orilliapacket.com/2015/07...-its-all-about

Someone said, "This has to be the most international festival in years."

I wish I could remember who figured that one out, but when I heard it, I knew it was true.

Black Umfolosi taking the Mariposa Folk Festival main stage Friday evening is where the thread begins. This quintet of a cappella singers from Zimbabwe thoroughly entertained with rich harmonies, an awesome dance called the gumboot and a rendition of The Lion Sleeps Tonight that grew to a choir of several thousand voices.

The thread reached all the way to Sunday evening in the pub, where Brian Litvin and Jabulani performed with Kunle. The former are South African and the latter, Nigerian — the music was universal. They performed as one band shifting through the subtleties of the qualities that distinguish the music rooted in different parts of the vast African continent.

The real treat was watching the drummer, George Morellato, who was the only one on stage not from Africa. (He’s from Ontario’s frozen north.) His mannerisms and musical choices behind the drum set were incredibly much like a younger Ringo Starr.

As per usual at the festival, I didn’t see every performer, and I think some people have a secret delight asking me if I saw so-and-so, knowing my answer is probably going to be "No, I was in the pub at that time."

Of those I didn’t see, Lucho Quequezana hails from Peru, Michele Gazich from Italy and Farrucas, which fused its Ecuadorian and Mediterranean heritage but is familiar to me and most of Orillia by virtue of its many downtown street-festival appearances.

Then there are a number of musicians from any number of bands who will joke they are from another country, The Rock (Cape Breton), who played at the festival. And there was music from all corners of Canada, which can sound foreign if your familiarity with music begins and ends with playing the radio.

It was truly a melting pot of sound and rhythm all weekend, helped along by fantastic weather that gave us our first true summery, sweltering day Sunday, while Friday and Saturday were just right.

I did hear Taj Weekes and Adowa on the main stage Sunday night. The band members come from all over the Caribbean, so their brand of reggae is a little different, especially when they introduce African elements to the sound. They were a great break from the standard fiddle and banjo fare that dominates the ears at the festival.

So, too, was Reuben and the Dark when it took the stage in the pub Saturday night. Now, in the pub, it’s almost required there be a banjo or fiddle present at all times on the stage. That’s OK; the crowd loves it. But when these guys started, the sound was so different, many people were asking, "Who is this?" in a pleasantly surprised way.

Our own Griddle Pickers had numerous performances scattered around the schedule and I think they gained many more new fans than they bargained for.

I had to laugh when the hundreds of people swarmed in to the area around the Ruth Stage Sunday afternoon to catch the Gordon Lightfoot Songs workshop — then swarmed out when it was done, not realizing the person they hoped to catch a glimpse of, Gordon Lightfoot, would be back to enjoy his daughter’s performance with The Earnest Hummingways in the following workshop.

For the first, there were about a thousand on hand to rise and pay tribute when Gord showed up and barely more than a hundred in the next set. I spoke to several of the musicians after the first set and they were nervous about singing Gord’s tunes in his presence but also extremely focused on what they were doing in order to not let the nerves take over. One of the takeaways from that set: You haven’t lived until you hear Turbo Street Funk do The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

And, of course, Gord did a couple of tunes on the main stage in the evening — Couchiching and If You Could Read My Mind. Something happens to Gord when he walks onto a stage, like he becomes Superman or something, with a stronger voice and mental sharpness that belies his 76 years. I think Mariposa audiences will give him a standing ovation when he’s 99.

At the end of it all, the trepidation at the outset of the weekend of how well the lineup of lesser-known names would be received is a faded memory because of the good times and good music that passed in between.

John Swartz is a columnist for the Packet & Times. He can be contacted at watchthisproductions@encode.com.

07-07-2015, 09:28 AM	#5
charlene Moderator Join Date: May 2000 Posts: 16,001	Re: Mariposa 2015 - Lightfoot performs 2 tunes. http://www.orilliapacket.com/2015/07...-its-all-about Someone said, "This has to be the most international festival in years." I wish I could remember who figured that one out, but when I heard it, I knew it was true. Black Umfolosi taking the Mariposa Folk Festival main stage Friday evening is where the thread begins. This quintet of a cappella singers from Zimbabwe thoroughly entertained with rich harmonies, an awesome dance called the gumboot and a rendition of The Lion Sleeps Tonight that grew to a choir of several thousand voices. The thread reached all the way to Sunday evening in the pub, where Brian Litvin and Jabulani performed with Kunle. The former are South African and the latter, Nigerian — the music was universal. They performed as one band shifting through the subtleties of the qualities that distinguish the music rooted in different parts of the vast African continent. The real treat was watching the drummer, George Morellato, who was the only one on stage not from Africa. (He’s from Ontario’s frozen north.) His mannerisms and musical choices behind the drum set were incredibly much like a younger Ringo Starr. As per usual at the festival, I didn’t see every performer, and I think some people have a secret delight asking me if I saw so-and-so, knowing my answer is probably going to be "No, I was in the pub at that time." Of those I didn’t see, Lucho Quequezana hails from Peru, Michele Gazich from Italy and Farrucas, which fused its Ecuadorian and Mediterranean heritage but is familiar to me and most of Orillia by virtue of its many downtown street-festival appearances. Then there are a number of musicians from any number of bands who will joke they are from another country, The Rock (Cape Breton), who played at the festival. And there was music from all corners of Canada, which can sound foreign if your familiarity with music begins and ends with playing the radio. It was truly a melting pot of sound and rhythm all weekend, helped along by fantastic weather that gave us our first true summery, sweltering day Sunday, while Friday and Saturday were just right. I did hear Taj Weekes and Adowa on the main stage Sunday night. The band members come from all over the Caribbean, so their brand of reggae is a little different, especially when they introduce African elements to the sound. They were a great break from the standard fiddle and banjo fare that dominates the ears at the festival. So, too, was Reuben and the Dark when it took the stage in the pub Saturday night. Now, in the pub, it’s almost required there be a banjo or fiddle present at all times on the stage. That’s OK; the crowd loves it. But when these guys started, the sound was so different, many people were asking, "Who is this?" in a pleasantly surprised way. Our own Griddle Pickers had numerous performances scattered around the schedule and I think they gained many more new fans than they bargained for. I had to laugh when the hundreds of people swarmed in to the area around the Ruth Stage Sunday afternoon to catch the Gordon Lightfoot Songs workshop — then swarmed out when it was done, not realizing the person they hoped to catch a glimpse of, Gordon Lightfoot, would be back to enjoy his daughter’s performance with The Earnest Hummingways in the following workshop. For the first, there were about a thousand on hand to rise and pay tribute when Gord showed up and barely more than a hundred in the next set. I spoke to several of the musicians after the first set and they were nervous about singing Gord’s tunes in his presence but also extremely focused on what they were doing in order to not let the nerves take over. One of the takeaways from that set: You haven’t lived until you hear Turbo Street Funk do The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. And, of course, Gord did a couple of tunes on the main stage in the evening — Couchiching and If You Could Read My Mind. Something happens to Gord when he walks onto a stage, like he becomes Superman or something, with a stronger voice and mental sharpness that belies his 76 years. I think Mariposa audiences will give him a standing ovation when he’s 99. At the end of it all, the trepidation at the outset of the weekend of how well the lineup of lesser-known names would be received is a faded memory because of the good times and good music that passed in between. John Swartz is a columnist for the Packet & Times. He can be contacted at watchthisproductions@encode.com.