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Fall Fiddle Frolic runs Nov. 1-3 with musicians, dancers and storytellers from across North America
When Calvin Vollrath draws his bow across the fiddle, no one is shushed. In fact, people’s feet just itch to get up and dance.
A leading traditional folk fiddler, he has established himself as a gem on the music scene among fans and fellow musicians. No fiddle music is beyond his reach and he is about to release two albums of new material.
Vollrath, a North American champion fiddler raised in the Morinville area, once again hosts Fall Fiddle Frolic from Nov. 1-3 at St. Albert Inn. His annual three-day get-together is more than a sit-down concert for fans, musicians, dancers and storytellers. It’s a modern-day version of a country hoedown.
Among the grandmaster’s planned events are a classic country corral with special guests, a film premiere, jam session, album releases and fiddle gala.
The weekend extravaganza kicks off Friday, Nov. 1 with a new show titled Calvin’s Classic Country Corral. It’s an opportunity to showcase Vollrath’s seven-piece country swing band, as well as special guest appearances by musician Jess Lee and Acadian-Cajun vocalist Crystal Plamondon.
“We start at 7:30 p.m. and we’ll keep going as long as people keep dancing,” Vollrath said.
Saturday starts on a more sedate note with an afternoon premiere presentation of The Mystery of the Ookpik. The 55-minute documentary by producer Joe Weed, explores Frankie Rodgers’ famous waltz. Although the Ookpik Waltz developed a cult following across North American, the Canadian composer was almost lost to history.
“This tune was so popular in the United States, fiddlers brought it to concerts, but didn’t know who wrote it. Every fiddler today knows it,” said Vollrath.
Immediately following the film presentation is a rollicking jam session hosted by the Wild Rose Old Time Fiddlers Association.
“There’s about 50 players from all from across North America and they’re bringing their fiddles. They also play accordion, banjo, guitar and piano. This is going to be an instrumental jam. We’re just going to pass the mic around and everybody takes a turn.”
Following a dinner break, Vollrath will release his two albums: Stockyard Shuffle as well as Métis Fiddle, the Tradition Continues. Stockyard Shuffle is a tribute to Danny Hooper’s Stockyard, an exclusive country music showroom and steakhouse in the early 1980s.
“I used to play there and so I wrote a tune called Danny Hooper’s Stockyard Shuffle. The rest is all fiddle music I grew up with like Don Messer style music, Celtic, country, big band, and swing. It’s a variety of everything Calvin,” said Vollrath.
Meanwhile, the folk musician’s Métis Fiddle, The Tradition Continues, is his third album of Indigenous music.
“I collected some of the oldest fiddle tunes I could find. It’s the oldest form of fiddling in Canada and I’m doing my part to keep the music alive,” said Vollrath. He added all his music is sent to the National Library of Canada music division for posterity.
Although both albums are fiddle music, they differ immensely in structure.
“With Métis music there’s a lot of clogging. You have the rhythm of clogging feet. Stockyard Shuffle music instead has different genres underneath one umbrella being played to a standard count of four bars. The pulse is always there. Métis music is not as structured. It makes you want to dance and jig. It’s so alive, so infectious.”
The three-day party ends Sunday as Vollrath and a series of special guests from across Canada get onstage for an emotional finale.
Tickets are $30 per day or $80 for a three-day pass. Visit calvinvollrath.com to purchase.
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