The Slocan Ramblers to Appear November 20th at Abbey Bar in Harrisburg

Susquehanna Folk is thrilled to have award-winning bluegrass band, The Slocan Ramblers, performing in the current concert series. The Slocan Ramblers will be performing at The Abbey Bar (upstairs in Appalachian Brewing Company) in Harrisburg, PA on Sunday, November 20th at 7:30 p.m. More information can be found on the Susquehanna Folk Music Society website. Tickets for the concert are $24 General Admission, $20 for SFMS members, and $10 for students. Tickets for this concert can be purchased on the Susquehanna Folk Music Society website.

The Slocan Ramblers is Canada’s bluegrass band to watch. Rooted in tradition, fearlessly creative and possessing a bold, dynamic sound, The Slocans have become a leading light of today’s acoustic music scene. Members Frank Evans, Adrian Gross, and Darryl Poulsen make up this talented group. With a reputation for energetic live shows, impeccable musicianship and an uncanny ability to convert anyone within earshot into a lifelong fan, The Slocans have been winning over audiences from Merlefest to RockyGrass and everywhere in between. They’re the 2020 IBMA Momentum Band of the Year Award Winner and a 2019 Juno Award Nominee.

SFMS staff writer, Mary-Grace A. Lee, had the opportunity to interview Darryl Poulsen about their latest album Up the Hill and Through the Fog, the hardship of Covid, and touring music.

How did the Slocan Ramblers come about?

Adrian and I (Darryl) were jamming a lot and really getting into playing fiddle tunes. We played a few duo shows together around Toronto. Adrian was roommates with Alastair at the time. The three of us started jamming a little bit and one day Alastair said “my buddy at work plays the banjo” so we had a jam with the four of us and it was great. We played a few gigs in Toronto and eventually got a weekly gig at a pub called “The Cloak and Dagger.”  It all snowballed from there into a full time touring band!

Your sound is bold and dynamic yet heavily rooted in the Bluegrass tradition. How do you balance staying true to the tradition of Bluegrass music while creating a specific sound that makes you the Slocan Ramblers?

Our bluegrass influences are probably the same as most people who love the music. Bill Monroe, Stanley Brothers, Flatt and Scruggs, Tony Rice etc… but we all grew up listening to lots of different music and playing different styles (jazz, blues, rock etc). [I] think that adds a lot to our sound, and our sound has developed a lot over the years as well. I don’t think we could sound like anything but the Slocan ramblers. It’s just what comes out when we play. There is a fine line between honoring the tradition of bluegrass and trying to push the envelope.

You released your latest album Up the Hill and Through the Fog earlier this year. What was it like creating an album during the pandemic? Did the pandemic change the way you approach recording or creating an album? If so, how?

The pandemic made it tricky to get together in person to rehearse (we did get together but it wasn’t easy) so we did a lot of pre-production at our own homes. I would record a guitar part and send it to the bass player. He would add bass and I would send it to the mandolin and then banjo. We would essentially build and arrange the songs that way so everyone knew the songs and had time to work on their own parts. Once we were in the studio, it was pretty smooth sailing.

Up the Hill and Through the Fog encompasses the past two years of pandemic upheaval and personal loss. Yet, you take these sorrows and turn them into a joyous collection of songs on the album. Could you talk about the creative process of this album?

We all went through a lot of change in life during 2020 so there were no shortages of song content. Bluegrass songs can sound joyous but if you listen to the lyrics there are sometimes/most times about loss, heartbreak etc. It also gave us time to sit down and work on writing or finishing off ideas we had. Once a song is written, we send it to each other and start adding parts and think of cool arrangement ideas (could be a tenor vocal part, a cool bass idea, a cool banjo tuning) and the song starts to come to life.

Susquehanna Folk is excited to be a part of your tour! What are some things you are excited to see and experience while traveling?

Every tour we have done is different from the last. You never know who you are going to meet or what any of the shows will be like. You meet a lot of awesome, amazing people too. Last week we played at the station inn and one of our favorite guitar players, David Grier, came up on stage and played a few tunes with us. We always try to find a record store in town and a good spot to eat! 

The Slocan Ramblers will be performing at The Abbey Bar (upstairs in Appalachian Brewing Company) in Harrisburg, PA on Sunday, November 20th at 7:30 p.m. More information can be found on the Susquehanna Folk Music Society website. Tickets for the concert are $24 General Admission, $20 for SFMS members, and $10 for students. Tickets for this concert can be purchased on the Susquehanna Folk Music Society website.

Mary-Grace A. Lee is a Harrisburg area musician. You can find her on Facebook and Instagram @thatdulcimergirl her youtube channel, and her official site. Mary-Grace also plays with the Celtic group, Seasons.

Interview with John McCutcheon: “[A] Long History with Many Lessons.”

Acclaimed multi-instrumentalist and Grammy nominated artist John McCutcheon will be gracing us with his stellar musicianship at the Market Square Presbyterian Church in Harrisburg, PA on Sunday, November 6th at 7:30 p.m. More information and official SFMS Covid Safety Policies can be found on the Susquehanna Folk Music Society website. Tickets for the concert are $24 General Admission, $10 Students, and $20 for Susquehanna Folk Members. Tickets for this concert can be purchased on the Susquehanna Folk website. Prior to the concert, John will be hosting a workshop: Culture & Community – the Arts and Social Movement. Tickets are $15 for General Admission, $10 for Students, and $13 for Susquehanna Folk Members. Tickets for the workshop can also be purchased on the Susquehanna Folk Website. Workshop begins at 4:00 p.m.

Photo by Irene Young

John McCutcheon is one of our country’s most honored and loved folk musicians, delighting our audiences every time he’s come to our stage. For 50 years, John has been touring and creating records. Earlier this year, he released his 43rd album Leap! He’s a multi-instrumental master, a powerful songwriter and singer, and a prolific recording artist with seven Grammy nominations. He’s a respected record producer, a book writer and teacher, and as Pete Seeger observed, a champion of social justice and causes that matter.

SFMS Staff Writer Mary-Grace Autumn Lee had the chance to chat with John McCutcheon about his music career and life on the road.

You recently released your 43rd record, “Leap!” That’s an impressive catalog of music. How has your approach to recording and arranging songs and tunes changed throughout your music career? 

I’ve always loved time in the studio.  As a soloist, it’s great fun to play with other musicians, especially the ones as good as I’m fortunate enough to record with.  Plus, it’s exciting to hear the songs I compose on my own take on a life as others bring them to life.  I’ve done so many different kinds of projects (children’s albums, songs that lean more into rock than folk, purely traditional stuff, hammer dulcimer music, etc.) that I’ve tried on lots of different hats.  Keeps me creative and interested in the process of arranging in new and different ways.  I feel as though, in the past ten years or so, that I’ve settled into what feels like “my sound.”  It’s rooted in acoustic music, has room to rock if it needs to, and the fiddle is a melodic and emotional thread through it all.  And, last but not least, after a hiatus of 5-6 years after I moved to the Atlanta area and tried lots of different studio configurations, I’ve settled back “home” ay Bias Studios up in Springfield, VA with my trusty engineer and co-producer Bob Dawson.  He’s the best.

You are a multi-instrumentalist and a master at the instruments you play. Your hammered dulcimer playing has really shaped what the hammered dulcimer is today in folk music. Can you explain how your approach to the hammered dulcimer has not only inspired many hammered dulcimer players but has also shaped how the instrument is approached in today’s folk music? 

Oh, I don’t know that I shaped how it’s used today.  I certainly used it in more different ways than others who started out back when I did (very early 70’s).  For the first 5 years or so of my playing I didn’t, for the first time, have a traditional player that was guiding me in how to play a new instrument.  So I experimented with lots of different music: fiddle tunes, of course, but also classical music, ragtime piano, Irish harp compositions, vocal accompaniment, etc.  I was also invited into unexpected situations, as with Johnny Cash, Paul Simon, and others that simply heard the instrument as a sound to be utilized, whereas I treated it as a part of a tradition.  So, I got dragged into playing country and rock and new age stuff.  It stretched me and also fired up my imagination.

You are celebrating 50 years of music! I’m sure you have a lot of amazing stories from creating music to traveling on the road performing your music.  Can you share one of your favorite memories on tour?

I was doing a tour in the USSR in 1991, just before everything changed over there (I don’t think I had anything to do with that, but…) and I had my two young sons, ages 7 and 9, with me.  My first visit to Red Square, we emerged from the subway and you have to walk up a bit of a hill to get to the Square.  I remember thinking, when I was young I was taught to fear and hate Soviets.  We did hide-under-the-desk air raid drills.  I may never be very famous, never have the type of careers that so many musicians do, but I’m introducing my sons to real, live human beings and they’re going to grow up with a very different world view than I was given, all thanks to this wacky work that I do.  So, if that ain’t success, I don’t know what is.

You have had the honor of collaborating with many amazing artists. Who are some of the artists that have influenced you or played an impact on your life? 

I was lucky enough to have Pete Seeger as a friend and mentor.  He was invaluable in teaching how to be a performer without being a “star.”  Jean Ritchie taught me the power of quiet focus and form.  Utah Phillips showed us all how story and song amplify one another.  Tom Paxton is a dear friend with whom I’m writing on a weekly basis.  He’s an example of someone who rode a wave of tremendous popularity and, when that all calmed down, still retained the joy that is central to our work.  Lots more folks and lots more lessons, but those are some high points.

Susquehanna Folk is honored to have you as a part of our concert series. Not only will you be performing a concert, but you will also be hosting a workshop before the concert called “Culture & Community – the Arts and Social Movements.” What can people expect from this workshop? 

I was introduced to folk music at 11 years old watching the March on Washington on our little Zenith black and white television.  It was part of a social movement greater than itself.  It strove to unite, inspire, and motivate people.  That mission has been central to how I approach music.  This is part of a long history with many lessons and informative examples of using music in thoughtful, strategic ways.  That’s the starting point…

John McCutcheon will be gracing us with his stellar musicianship, to the Market Square Presbyterian Church in Harrisburg, PA on Sunday, November 6th at 7:30 p.m. More information and official SFMS Covid Safety Policies can be found on the Susquehanna Folk Music Society website. Tickets for the concert are $24 General Admission, $10 Students, and $20 for Susquehanna Folk Members. This includes new members. Tickets for this concert can be purchased on the Susquehanna Folk website. Prior to the concert, John will be hosting a workshop: Culture & Community – the Arts and Social Movement. explore the connection between art and social movements. It is both an historical and a practical guide to the use of cultural tools in unleashing the potential for change in individuals and in communities. Tickets are $15 for General Admission, $10 for Students, and $13 for Susquehanna Folk Members. Tickets for the workshop can also be purchased on the Susquehanna Folk Website.

Mary-Grace Autumn Lee is a Harrisburg area musician. You can find her on instagram @thatdulcimergirl, her youtube channel, and her official site. Mary-Grace also plays with the Celtic/Americana band Seasons.