The County Pops

Family-friendly music festival continues to grow

The sun was sitting low in the west, filling the Crystal Palace with a golden glow as Jill Barber launched into her hit song Oh My My to close off a day of exceptional musical performances. Barber, in a heart-sequined silver jumpsuit and matching silver sneakers, was literally sparkling as she encouraged the audience to join in, and they did so with considerable enthusiasm.

Headline performer Jill Barber stepped off the stage to directly serenade the audience at the fourth annual County Pop music festival at the Crystal Palace on Saturday evening.

The fourth edition of County Pop drew hundreds of people for a day of some of the best in Canadian music, with local talent well represented. As in previous years, the headliners played on the main stage in the Crystal Palace, while local stars got their chance to shine in the adjacent Bluebird Room, with the performances coordinated such that there was no overlap. The Bluebird stage performers were Nicole Lisa Craig, Travis Hamel, the Lori Farrington Band, and Norris & Jones. While these artists were all very good, Craig’s performance was a cut above. The solo performer used looping and a synthesizer built into her guitar to achieve the sound of a full band to go along with the remarkably pure tones of her voice.

This festival is more than just music. Krista Dalby of Small Pond Arts had a cape-making station for budding superheroes, artist Treese Moore painted numerous little faces through the day, and there was a pint-sized drum kit and guitars for the little rockers to strut their stuff.

Fabric artist Suendrini honoured young climate change activist Greta Thunberg with an art installation on the wall behind the main stage composed of reclaimed fabric and marine rope. Food was available from a number of vendors, including Kaleidoscope Catering, JK Fries, the Outlet Food Company and PicnicPEC. Inside the Crystal Palace beer, wine cider and cocktails were available, with refreshing lemonade as a non-alcoholic alternative.

The main stage performances were opened by The Layrite Boys, a bluegrass duo with mandolin and guitar. The second performer was Grace Bongard, who was on the Bluebird stage last year. Her musical prowess has taken a quantum leap over the past year as she graduated from a solo performer to being backed by a three-piece band. Hers is a modern day fairytale music story. A Nashville producer saw her acoustic Metallica cover song on Instagram and got in contact with her. She has since been travelling back and forth to Nashville for recording sessions. She was ecstatic to be performing on the main stage at the Crystal Palace. “It’s the greatest feeling to come to this stage,” she said. “It’s such an honour to know that people are enjoying my sound and to be able to come and perform in front of so many. It almost takes my breath away.”

Following Bongard on the main stage were the Durham County Poets, a blues and folk band from the Chateauguay Valley. Then The Peter Elkas Band upped the tempo and the rock quotient before headliner Jill Barber took the stage. Barber has had a long career in music, with her first professional gig at age 14, and then being a regular performer with Stuart Maclean’s Vinyl Café. But her career took off with her breakout single Chances, and that is the song she opened her set with. She followed that with a song in French from her album Chansons, and then she stepped off the stage to sing Tell Me directly to individual audience members. While her early music has a mellow, comfortable feeling, her latest works are more socially conscious, and run the gamut from compassion in Mercy, to assertiveness in Girl’s Gotta Do. This was the first time Barber has performed at the Crystal Palace and she had high praise for it, especially for the opportunity to perform up close to, and sometimes in, the audience. “How cool is this building?” she said. “For me as a performer, the energy of a place really informs my performance. I’m always looking for ways to break down the wall between performer and audience, so if I can get down and connect face to face with my audience it just makes for a better show. I love Dave Ullrich’s vision for this festival, which is family-friendly. It’s a great way to bring the community together, people of all ages.”