County Pop 2022

Live music returns to the Crystal Palace

The return of County Pop to the Crystal was an unqualified success. County trio Noronha/Bozikovic/Burns opened the afternoon of music on the main stage with a set that was lyrical, heartfelt and ultimately uplifting. These three singer/songwriters played two of each other’s songs and it was a seamless blend of musical skills. Seventeen-year-old Faeya was the first singer on the second stage in the adjacent Bluebird building. She’s a classically trained pianist and she’s been writing songs from an early age. The part-time Bloomfield resident started recording her music over the past two years during the pandemic and has released two EPs. She has a melodic singing voice and her music is poetic with gentle themes. This was the first time in a very long while that she has performed for a live audience. “I was really excited to get on stage and see everybody in a live performance setting,” she said. “I’m very excited to share my music and I love the feeling of playing live and playing my new songs.” The next singer to take to the Bluebird stage was Eden Hertzog. She had originally been invited to perform at the 2020 County Pop, and was happy to finally get on the stage, despite not singing before a live audience since 2019. “It felt so good and there was just so much energy in the room, and you can feel that everyone is just so happy to be with people again,” she said. Her cover of U2’s With or without you had everyone singing along with the chorus. And for good measure, to get the final dregs of Covid isolation out of her system, she led a brief session of primal scream therapy. The final performer on the second stage was Tony Forbes. The room was filled to capacity to hear his high-energy set that included his song Hundred-dollar roads about life in Prince Edward County that included the trenchant observation of “million-dollar houses and hundred-dollar roads”.

Back on the main stage at the Crystal Palace, Taylor Knox and his band kept the rock vibe going. They were followed by Kris+Dee with their “working class” acoustic folk music that attracted a host of young dancers onto the floor. The evening’s headliner was Charlotte Cornfield and her band. Cornfield was long-listed for the Polaris Prize in 2019 and her folk rock music and lyrics cover the themes of heartbreak and new love and navigating the path in between.

County Pop is very much a family music festival, and once again Krista Dalby and the Department of Illumination was there with superhero cape-making supplies for the youngsters. It must have been thirsty work for the kids. Lemonade Dave reported that he had completely sold out of lemonade. There were several food vendors on the grounds of the Crystal Palace, including Idle Wild, Kaleidoscope and Papa Ghanoush. Many families took advantage of the sunny spring day to have an outdoor picnic. Organizer Dave Ullrich called this year’s County Pop a success. “It turned out great. I’m happy with everything from the turnout to the weather to the musical combination. I thought the main stage and the second stage mix was working very well. There was a musical rhythm between the two that I was really happy about.” he said.