Bringing music to the people

Thanks to a dedicated music-loving Jasperite and his new board members, the Jasper Heritage Folk Festival has a new name, a new mandate and is charged to continue bringing live music to Jasper.

For now, the large scale, bi-annual festival has been replaced by a series of smaller, monthly concerts.

Scott Crabbe, artistic director, faced a challenge after his executive board all left town. Not willing to give up on the much-loved Folk Festival of the eighties, the Jasperite has worked tirelessly to ensure its presence is still felt in Jasper.

Under the name the Jasper Heritage Folk and Blues Society, instead of holding a bi-annual large-scale festival, Crabbe and his new executive board are aiming to bring live music to Jasper at least once a month.

The board has decided to “re-vamp” the society and try a new angle, said Tony Mastrianni, the new vice-president of the society.

With the aim of building a strong base for the festival prior to attempting a large-scale festival again, Mastrianni said the new angle would mean “providing music throughout the year on various occasions that are not as large as the festival was, but to try and provide an institution that’s going to help bring music to Jasper with the ultimate goal of having some permanent yearly events.”

“We decided that we would broaden the aspects of the festival, not to change the demographic, but to add to it,” he said, adding that the society would bring “music to Jasper in whatever form on whatever occasion, to provide a musical base so that... when the time comes to do a large event, we have a lot of people interested.”

Aiming for a large base of support from Jasperites of all ages, the society is keeping an open mind when it comes to music they bring to town, where they put events on and the audience they’re targeting.

The new focus of the society is clearly exemplified by the first two events in June, which showcase a variety of music and aim to satisfy the tastes of an array of Jasperites.

The first event will play host to Annie Lou, from Whitehorse, along with Jasperite Kaity Zozula and will be a ticket-only show for an intimate crowd of about 60 people at the Bushfire Gallery on June 1.

For Crabbe, the event demonstrates that the society hopes to continue combining both touring bands with local musicians for an eclectic music choice.

The second show will feature The Long Weekends, with Brian McMillian at the Whistle Stop on June 12 who will be passing through Jasper between festivals in Mount Robson and Hinton - which is something the society hopes to do regularly as well.

Crabbe and Mastrianni said the society will aim to draw in acts that are performing on either side of Jasper, in Hinton or Valemount, or even from larger cities such as Edmonton and Calgary.

Prior to both these events, the new society will hold a membership meeting to try and start building support for the re-vamped society.