Red Barn Folk Festival

Live music comes to the Eddie Hotel and Farm

The live music scene in the County has been virtually non-existent for many months. Earlier this year, friends Chris Loane, Bonnie Clarke, Michael von Teichman and Alex Portman began a discussion on how to bring back live music in an outdoor venue. Von Teichman and Portman were the new owners of The Eddie Hotel and Farm, formerly the Fields on West Lake, just east of Wellington, and they were looking at expanding the uses of their sprawling property. Clarke is an events organizer with more than a decade of experience working for Google in the UK, and Loane is a musician with deep connections to the indie rock and folk scene. Together they came up with the idea of a three-day folk festival, pairing a national folk musician with a local band each day. The plan was to hold the festival in May, but the extended lockdown put a halt to that, and now the Red Barn Folk Festival is scheduled to go ahead July 30, 31 and August 1 at The Eddie. “This was born out of a bunch of creative minds coming together to figure how to re-engage live music again. Live music has been slightly forgotten about because of the restrictions, but it’s also important,” says Loane. “People realize it’s good for the soul. A lot of people were down, and depression and anxiety rose in this time. Live music takes care of that.”

The music will take place in front of the big red barn at the Eddie. This landmark structure has a three-level staircase in front of it, and the second level will be used as the stage. The audience will sit, socially distanced, on the lawn in front of the barn. Initially, only 50 tickets for each night were being offered, but with Stage Three of the provincial reopening imminent, an additional 50 tickets will soon be on offer. “The red barn is an amazing venue. It’s probably one of the prettiest in the County,” says Loane. “We are going to put the artists in the middle set of staircases and have them perform over the lawn. The three acts are very well known, and they’re also being paired with local openers.” The first night will see Juno winner Matthew Barber paired with local performers Norris and Jones, who many will know from openmike nights at the Drake Devonshire. Jason Collett will perform on the following night. Collett was a member of the collective Broken Social Scene and had a successful career as an indie rock musician. He will be joined by Kennedy Road, a duo comprising Sheila Carabine and Brian MacMillan. Carabine is one half of the folk duo Dala, and MacMillan is a singersongwriter and a multi-instrumentalist.

Closing the festival will be Justin Rutledge, who at one time lived in Picton and released a CD with a strong County connection, including the single Allisonville. He will be joined by the Sophiasburgh All- Stars, a five-piece band comprising Art Woods, Ben Vandergaast, Brian MacMillan, Jim Hardy and Mike Farrell. This is a rain-or-shine event, and more information is available at theeddie.ca/events.

The creative minds behind the Red Barn Festival are joined by the ever-inquisitive Ruby on the steps leading to the red barn. Front (L-R): Bonnie Clarke and Chris Loane. Rear (L-R): Michael von Teichman and Alex Portman.

The musicians were chosen from the many connections that Loane has established over the years. He was a member of the Grace Babies, a Halifax-based band that toured through the mid-90s. He was then hired as the booking manager at the Rivoli, a long-time nexus of the indie music scene in Canada. Names such as Sarah Slean, Hawksley Workman and Feist were on the marquee. The Rivoli ran 365 shows a year, and during his time there Loane estimates he booked over 1,500 shows, giving him extensive connections to the industry. “I was lucky to program for the Regent for a couple of years, booking bands like Bahamas and Big Sugar and The Trews,” says Loane. “I’ve always played music, and been programming music as well. I love performing, but I also love seeing music performed. There’s nothing like live music. I love the reaction of a good show.” One of Loane’s special memories of his time at the Regent was performing on stage with his father, who was the member of a well-known Beatles tribute band and was a big musical influence on Loane.

Bonnie Clarke thinks that The Eddie is a perfect place for the return of live music and is optimistic about the upcoming festival. “I’m really excited. I was keeping positive and hoping we were going to Stage Three, and we are, and with these amazing grounds there’s so much space,” she says. “We can still socially distance and put on an event safely.” For Loane, the imposed restrictions of the pandemic have sharpened his view on how important live music is. “I found myself compelled to sit at a piano or with a guitar and play chords and sounds and just be with music, because I found that it actually helps me with finding happiness in really dark times. Everything is stressful these days, but I can sit with a guitar and it takes me to a different place, a place of peace and calm and happiness,” he says. “I find that I’m listening to new music too. That has given me a creative vein to search for things to connect with musically. So I’ll be playing music forever, and giving music to people in whatever capacity.”

There are a number of public events planned for The Eddie over summer and fall, and co-owner Michal von Teichman says there will be a skating rink open in winter, plus some activities related to the Millennium Trail, which is easily accessible from the property. Chris Loane notes that dance parties have also been a casualty of Covid, and he aims to remedy that. “It’s in the ‘Coming Soon’ category, but when dancing is allowed, I’ll be putting on dance parties.”