MUSICIANS DUKE IT OUT FOR COVETED SPOTS ON OTTAWA FOLK FESTIVAL STAGE

The Ottawa Citizen, Friday, May, 28, 2004; F6

By Patrick Langston

Artistic boxing gloves donned, eight folk music contenders vie for victory Sunday night on the NAC’s Fourth Stage.  The prize: much-coveted performance spots at this summer’s Ottawa Folk Festival.

            The eight – four in the new performer category (under 25) and four in the open slot – were narrowed down from 54 hopefuls during the first round at Rasputin’s Folk Café last month.

            “This year is the first time we’ve had two rounds” says festival artistic director Chris White, of the audition cycle’s six-year history.  “There are so many good acts this time we though it would be fun to showcase them and give more people a chance to hear them.”

            The winner in each category will present a half-hour set at the Folk Festival in August.  A rising stars award, including $1,000, also goes to the winning new performer. 

            Open category performers at the NAC include Madison, Wisconsin – based Lis Harvey.  Last month, Harvey headed north after a show in Albany, New York, played two audition pieces at Rasputin’s and, being a stranger in Ottawa, wound up sleeping in her car on Clemow Avenue. 

            “I tried this new system, where I pitched a tent in the back of my station wagon,” says Harvey, who honed her any-port-in-a-storm expertise while she played 50 states in 60 days a couple of years back, a Guinness Book of Records first.  “I woke up with kids going to school.  It was a little weird.” 

            On Sunday, Harvey will pit her talents against Ottawa’s Shane Simpson and Dave Carmichael, and Montreal’s Echo Hunters.

            Audience members can look forward to bluesy vocals, flamenco flavorings, even California folk-rock from the contestants. 

            This year’s new performers include Ottawa singer-songwriter and finger-style guitarist Ana Miura, who anticipates “a lot more exposure and the opportunity to hang out with great musicians.”  Her performance strategy? “I always try to make an emotional connection with the judges, so they don’t just say, ‘Oh yeah, well, she’s a good guitarist.’”

            Competing – a tricky term in cooperative folk circles, but one that recognizes the realities of the music business – against Miura are Ottawa’s the Vanity Press, Montreal’s Joe Grass, and Fergus, Ont.’s Ryan Schneider.  Jazz, bluegrass and pop weave through the new performers’ folk music.  Sunday’s four judges, culled from the Folk Festival, the Ottawa Citizen and the CBC, will be looking for the best blend of musicianship, song content and stage presence.  The two winners will be announced at the end of the night.