MIMEFest (Moncton Integrated Music & Entertainment Festival) will be held in Moncton from April 2-5. The festival will feature 50 bands from across Atlantic Canada, Quebec and Ontario.
The event spawned from the birthday concerts that were held for the website Monctonlocals.com but has become a much larger event since its start in 2003. The event, now under the name MIMEFest, will be expanding in 2009 to include more programming, an awards show event and an educational component.
MIMEFest 2009 will showcase all genres of music with acts as diverse as Les Paiens, The Monoxides, Michou, Sigil Of Aeons, The Peter Parkers, Ghostown Belle, ECMA Award winners Iron Giant, Kestrels, Danger Bees, Urban Surf Kings and dozens more.
The new educational component will feature seminars open to festival attendees that will cover subjects such as touring in a band, the do-it-yourself aspect of running a band or label, putting on an all-ages show and a demo critique from record label executives. The delegates being brought in for this year’s festival are Adam Kreeft of Underground Operations Booking Agency, Katie Clark, operations manager for Underground Operations Record Label and Josh Hogan, CEO of Diminished Fifth Records.
“We’re really looking forward to the educational aspect of this year’s festival,” MIMEFest founder Don Levandier said in a press release. “The delegates we’ve got coming in will bring a sense of legitimacy to the event and show our local acts that we’re not that isolated and people are paying attention to what’s going on out east.”
The festival will open on Thursday, April 2 with a special launch party featuring The Superfantastics, Morse Code Alphabet, Hospital Grade, L’embuscade, and Bloodsports at The Paramount Lounge. Friday will see the entire 02 complex filled with bands on every stage, and Saturday will showcase the all ages show at Moncton Lion’s Club as well a show at Doc Dylan’s.
Bracelets, which will grant entry to all venues as well as educational sessions, are on sale now at The Manhattan Tavern and Spin-It Records. For a complete schedule, check out Mimefest.ca.
Bathurst native releases album
Bathurst native fiddler Louise Vautour is set to release Traces, her first solo album composed entirely of original material. The album, which has a Celtic sound, was released this week at a launch party in Caraquet, a long way from where she wrote much of the album – in Spain, France and the Magdalen Islands, to name a few spots.
The album contains many tunes that are very personal to Vautour, like “Grandpa’s Waltz,” which is the first tune she wrote at age 15 to honour her maternal grandfather’s memory. “Lament for the Boys in Red” was co-written by Louise and her father, Daniel Vautour, in memory of the seven basketball players from Bathurst High School who lost their lives as a result of a terrible highway accident in January of 2008. She also co-wrote the tune “Pas perdu” with her fiancé, singer-songwriter Christian Kit Goguen, who also wrote “Cowboy Tune.”
Throughout her young career as a fiddler, Vautour has played with many groups including Vilajoie, which hosted a series of musical diner theater shows at the Historical Acadian Village in Caraquet. She also played with the Adelaide Ensemble, la Belle Amanchure, Bourasque and la Famille Basque. In 2004, she joined Ode a l’Acadie, a show which pays tribute to Acadian songwriters.
“Gibraltar (Gibraltar Jig/Queen Ysabel Reel)” is the first single off the album to be released on the radio. It was written by Vautour upon her return from a trip to Spain.
Traces is distributed by Distributions Plages.
Songwriters hit the road together
Four of Nova Scotia’s most accomplished young songwriters will hit the road together this week, for a 10-stop “songwriters circle” tour throughout Nova Scotia.
The Whisky Hymnal Tour, featuring Steven Bowers, Christina Martin, Norma MacDonald and Kev Corbett, kicks off Friday, March 20 at The Evergreen Theatre in Margaretsville.
It lands in Petite Riviere on Saturday, March 21 (part of Little River Folk series) at Petite Firehall, and will touch down in New Glasgow (Mar. 28), Truro (Mar. 29), Halifax (Apr. 1), Chester (Apr. 3), Liverpool (Apr. 4), Glace Bay (Apr.9), Amherst (Apr. 10) and Antigonish (Apr.11).
The line up will include violinist/singer Fleur Mainville for Saturday’s show (March 21) in Petite Riviere, while songwriter Thom Swift will take a seat in the circle (replacing Christina Martin) for the Amherst show only, on April 10.
