With hundreds of locals making it out to enjoy local music, the Branches and Roots Music Festival called attention to the abundance of talent in the community.
Celebrating its 13th year, the Branches and Roots Music Festival changed its format this fall, moving from a weekend jubilee to an eight-day event. The venues were spread across the Chateauguay Valley, with shows in Ormstown, Huntingdon and Saint-Chrysostome.
Artistic director Stewart Burrows, who worked alongside fellow director Isabelle Coulombe, was pleased with the festival’s new format. “I think it was an all around success. We had people out at every event—it was really well attended,” said the long-time Dundee resident of his experience. The majority of spectators were locals, which was a something that festival organizers were thrilled about.
This year, Branches and Roots coordinators held the majority of their Huntingdon-based events at Grove Hall, forging a future partnership with the artistic hub. Saturday, September 26th (hosted by the hall) was designated as the festival’s family day, with children being offered the opportunity to build ukuleles while enjoying live music by Christopher Pennington. The afternoon rolled into an evening of local music, with the talented Jesse Speed taking the stage. He was followed by his father, St-Anicet resident John Speed (of the John Speed Band). Festival headliners Sultans of String closed the show. The Montreal band, which was nominated for a JUNO award in 2015, was blown away by both the energy of the event and the kindness of the locals.
Every day held an artistic treat for the community. On Tuesday, September 22nd, banjo player Rik Palieri spent the afternoon at Ormstown Elementary School and ended the evening at Les Residences in Ormstown. His mobility made for a musical evening that some locals may not have had the ability to enjoy, which is really what the festival is all about—fostering a love of music and art for the local population. Throughout the week, spectators were also able to enjoy a play put on at Grove Hall, as well as cabaret by Francis Jodoin.
A longer festival did present more challenges for the organizers. “More nights means more marketing, more logistics. We’ve never had so many sub-committees and it was very challenging making sure that everyone was on the same page,” said Burrows. “But everyone worked really well, a great team. There was a lot of energy pumped into the whole thing. The festival was met with great weather—everything went as smoothly as it could have.” In fact, the festival did so well with its new format that locals should be able to look forward to an expanded schedule next year. With a roster already lined up for 2016, planning will begin in January.
