We timed our trip to Prince Edward Island so that we could partake in the Rollo Bay Fiddle Festival. This is a small, family-centric festival. One main stage meant no running from stage to stage to catch the next act. The workshops are aimed to raise up generations of fiddle players. The festival featured minimal vendors for food, drink, and musician merch. Less distractions, more focus. In short, this was my scene.
On Friday night, we were welcomed by the Chaisson family. The Chaissons are hugely influential in the Prince Edward Island music scene, so I am surprised to find little online information about the family. Here is an article on Kevin, co-founder (or son of the co-founder?) of the PEI Fiddlers’ Association. Tim Chaisson, Darren Chaisson, and J.J. Chaisson were especially visible during the weekend. Yes, they led various fiddle sessions. And, they did the grunt work as well. Guided vehicles through the muddy parking areas, shoveled gravel to aid the stuck RVs, and made emergency runs for toilet paper.
As indicated by the mention of mud and stuck vehicles, rainy weather impacted this year’s festival. The weather held on Friday night, but the skies opened up on Saturday. The festival grounds were sopping wet. Fortunately, the afternoon sessions took place in the ceilidh barn. Ed and I settled in for the songwriter circle.
The circle included Andrea Beaton (Cape Breton), Laura Cortese (San Francisco, CA), Shane Pendergast (Prince Edward Island), and the indomitable Liz Carroll (Chicago, IL). Liz was the obvious Queen, and rightly so. Her skills are impressive. The layout of her website is a little crazy. Nonetheless, it is a good starting point for learning about her. These fiddlers spend more time on their craft than their online presence! Again, less distraction and more focus.
After the songwriter circle, we purchased warming soups from the Ladle and Loaf food truck. I got a luscious butter chicken and Ed got the corn and bacon chowder. Sitting under the beer tent, we decided to forgo the evening sessions and head back to the cottage. Driving through sheets of rain and puddled roadways in the daylight hours was preferable to leaving in darkness and fog.
We returned to the ceilidh barn on Sunday. The Rollo Bay Kitchen Group (pictured above) kicked off the sessions. This is a group of beginners lead by Darren Chaisson. Fiddlers are encouraged to join in at increasing levels of difficulty.
The afternoon had a recital atmosphere with J.J. Chaisson as the master of ceremonies. Queens County Fiddlers were next. Prince Edward Island has three counties: Kings County, Queens County, and Prince County. Each county has fiddle sessions.
The primary function of the [PEI Fiddlers] Society is to preserve the music by encouraging future generations to take up the fiddle, and exposing the music to as wide an audience as possible.
Queens County Fiddlers website
The Fanø Fiddlers hail from a small island in Denmark. This group of youngsters and their instructor completely charmed us. The brother-and-sister duo James and Sara Nelson (New Brunswick) talked about taking lessons at Rollo Bay as children. They finished their set with step dancing.
The Receivers likewise shared their gratitude for instruction. This tune, offered to Koady Chaisson whose untimely death shocked all of us in January 2022, brought joy to our hearts and moved us to tears.
The sun shone on the evening sessions. During the 6 Hearts session, Tim Chaisson and Jake Charron (from the East Pointers), and Emmanuelle LeBlanc and Pascal Miousse (from the band Vishtèn) invited the seated crowd to get up and move toward the stage. We joined in the joyous celebration with commitment to return next year for Rollo Bay Fiddle Festival #48.
Next year, I will be on the floor for the “Here We Go Barn Dance.”
For Her Home 