Despite the layer of snow on the ground, the bluegrass is still growing.
The sound of fiddles, banjos, guitars, mandolins and upright bass pour out of the basement of the Montgomery Legion on Kent Street on the first Saturday of every month.
Musicians stand in circles, instruments in hand, tapping toes to the tune, while improvising and playing in harmony with the leader.
For these bluegrass fans, the informal monthly jam session is sometimes the only outlet for their bluegrass love during the cold winter months.
“Bluegrass music was known as the music for the common folk,” says Darwin Thom, a member and event planner for the local bluegrass music group, Ottawa Valley Bluegrass Music Association.
“The songs are about hard times and hardships; they come from people’s real experiences.”
The association is the nucleus of the bluegrass community, organizing and promoting events and local musicians. It is putting on its annual concert series at the Police Association Hall this winter. The concerts begin Feb. 20, with local bands and international talent invited to perform. It’s the first in a series of three, with the next two in March and April, respectively.
These concerts help keep up the interest in bluegrass music until the summer, when bluegrass music can be found at the Ottawa folk and blues festivals.
“If you’re down in Florida, for example, people will go every night to a different campground because there’s a jam there, but here, the weather’s a big factor,” says Kevin Golka of Concession 23, an Ottawa-based bluegrass band .
“In May, people are ready, they’re chomping at the bit and ready to get out and play. The winter concert series was brought in to help with that, so you’d get decent bluegrass in the winter.”
The Ottawa bluegrass community has around 200 active members. However, some members say the future of the community is in jeopardy.
Many worry about the waning popularity of acoustic music, which is being replaced by the glamour and glitz of modern music.
“It’s a bit of struggle to attract younger people to the music,” says Nicholas Strachan, president of the Ottawa Valley association. “It’s not really part of the Canadian heritage and we don’t teach it to our kids like they do some places in the States.”
But, younger audiences enjoy the honesty and acoustic sound of bluegrass, he adds.
“Young people are coming out to festivals because they’re tired of the sound of the things they hear on the radio,” says Thom.
“Bluegrass isn’t about gimmicks or hype. They see the appeal in the handmade sound, where all the instruments aren’t plugged in all the time.”