A Great Day at Westfield Heritage Village

We had a great time playing for an ever-changing and enthusiastic audience at Westfield on August 28 for British Isles Day. Here are some shots of us in action  (thanks to our roadie and official photographer, Paul Stock!).

Singing "Soldier Boy" in the tavern

Hard to tell, but there really is an audience inside, listening...

We're Performing at Westfield Heritage Centre, August 28

Yup. That's us! Angie and Jean.

You can see us performing in the Tavern (1:30) and, in a real change of pace, in the Church (3:30) at the Westfield Heritage Centre on Sunday, August 28. It's British Isles Day, so come and hear us perform traditional music that lives in, lived in, or emigrated from Britain, Scotland and Ireland. Lots of dulcimer, we promise!

Check out the details here: Westfield Heritage Centre

Dulcimers in action: Step Back and Miss Casey

Just over a year ago, we performed at the Mill Race Preview Concert in Galt.  Here’s a glimpse of our dulcimers (and us!) in action.

We’re playing a set of two tunes.  The first is called “Step Back”, and Jean first heard it played – exquisitely on melodeon - by the amazing Richard Arrowsmith (of Crucible and other musical configurations) at the Mill Race Festival of Traditional Music. The festival’s artistic director, Brad McEwen, subsequently found the dots for us, and Robin Harrison – a musician with the Toronto Morris Men – played it for Jean at the regular English session at the Golden Kiwi in Galt.  The second tune, “Miss Casey” was learned from Crucible too, from their first CD.  We’ve adapted them a bit for dulcimer to create one of our favourite sets.  Thanks to Justin Burnett for filming the concert and sending us the link. (And just so you know: Angie’s on the left, playing her Robin Jones dulcimer; Jean’s on the right playing her Celtic Heart dulcimer made by Terry Warbey of Saltspring Island).

Live at the Galt Room, Cafe 13 on April 9

An enthusiastic crowd turned out to see Robin Harrison & Robin Aggus (pipes, whistles, concertina and accordion) and us (dulcimers, dulcimers, dulcimers) play and sing our traditional tunes and songs at the regular Friday night Folk at the Cafe on April 9 in Cambridge.

Ok, so maybe my voice wasn’t quite as sweet as I would have liked, and maybe there were a couple of glitches on the odd note or two, but hey, that’s live performance, right?  We had a lot of fun playing our favourite instruments and repertoire in front of a friendly, sing-along/hum-along audience who clearly love traditional music (and musicians!) as much as we do.  A great night, and thanks again to Brad McEwen of the Mill Race Folk Society for his ongoing efforts to keep traditional music alive – and traditional musicians performing. 

And hey – we even sold a few CDs!  It’s called Southwind, Dulcimer Tunes to Drift Away On… and you  can contact me at  jrmills (at) rogers (dot) com  if you’re interested in buying one.  Stay tuned – we’ll put up some samples for you to hear, soon.

Mill Race Festival of Traditional Music 2009

We had a fantastic time sharing our tunes and songs with audiences at the Mill Race Festival of Traditional Music on the weekend of August 1 and 2. 

The winds blew and a few clouds threatened, but  the sun bravely shone for the whole weekend.  Above, we perform on the Civic Centre stage. 

The Mill Race stage was windy – but so exciting!  A full audience seemed to enjoy our music.

We ran into lots of friends and colleagues throughout the weekend.  Angie visits with friend Robin Jones after our performance on Sunday.

Here’s Jean singing…

…and Angie talking about dulcimers to some interested audience members after Sunday’s performance on the Civic Centre Stage…

We even sold some CDs (Southwind)!  A great weekend of music.  Thanks for inviting us, Mill Race!

Sunday, June 28: A Rainy Day at Westfield Heritage Centre

It rained, but we played our sticky, tuning-challenged dulcimers anyway!

We performed - without a sound system - in the church (here it is, looking lovely and pristine surrounded by fall colours with not a raindrop in sight!) and played our set to a small audience of fellow musicians, Westfield people, and a few visitors. Of course it started to clear up as Tethera took to the stage. We noticed that the Morris dancers (Cambridge Splinters) had some enthusiastic recruits joining in despite the iffy weather. Oh well. It was U.K. Day, after all! The weather was just doing its part.

Next stop the Mill Race Festival of Traditional Music on Saturday and Sunday, August 1 and 2, in Cambridge, Ontario.

Mountain dulcimer duo Jean Mills and Angie Stock perform an eclectic repertoire that includes the tunes and folksongs of Appalachia, the British Isles and Canada.

Their delicate harmonies and driving dance rhythms are played on 3-string and bass dulcimers, with a touch of vocals, recorder and whistle to create a sound that marries traditional with original.

As founding members of the Grand River Dulcimer Club, Jean and Angie have been exploring the music of the mountain dulcimer together for over ten years.