Archives - Édition du 8 août 2007 Branches and Roots, Sarah Rennie T

"The soulful sound of the Biz Oliver Trio's rendition of the Blues filled the tent on the final afternoon of the three-day Branches and Roots Music Festival in Ormstown.

Fest goes to the grassroots of folk he tempting smell of smoked meat hung in the humid air as the sultry, deep voice of blues songstress Biz Oliver filled the main tent on the final afternoon of the fifth edition of the three day Branches and Roots Music Festival on July 29 at the Ormstown fairgrounds. The festival, with its extraordinary line up of talented artists playing an array of Bluegrass, Celtic, Folk and some New Orleans Mardi Gras style music offered the perfect opportunity to take in some of the more eclectic styles of music in an open atmosphere that is as welcoming for new comers to the folk circuit as it is appreciative of the honed sounds of the more established bands. This year's musical repertoire featured the legendary Canadian folk singer/songwriter and finger-style guitarist extraordinaire Ron Hynes; folk singers Terry Tufts and Chris Rawlings; Isabelle Delage; Greenwich Village alum Bruce Murdoch; and the rich folk sounds of The Bridge End Dairy Company. The Fat Tuesday Brass Band adding their New Orleans joie de vivre sound to the mix, while Kitchen Party, the duo Osmosaic, and performers Chris Crilly and Christian Laurence all threw down with their take on Celtic and Québeçois music styles. Swift Years returned from last years festival with a repertoire of gypsy melodies, fiddle tunes and folk ballads with a bluegrass flavour to kick off a powerful bluegrass line up that included local favorites Road Scholars' string ensemble and Little Brown Jug's Appalachian style fiddle tunes and ballads. In a departure from years past, Sunday afternoon was dedicated entirely to the blues, and featured the Boll Weevil Acoustic Band and their Delta Blues, followed by the soulful vocals of the Biz Oliver Trio, the Dan Livingstone Trio and award winning blues artists Dale Boyle and Kevin Mark who delivered an acoustic blues set. The festival was closed off with a scintillating set of electric blues led by Dale Boyle and the Barburners with guest Kevin Mark."