NOVEMBER 2009 CD-REVIEWS
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
SEARSON Live
The Ottawa Valley, Pontiac and Gatineau Counties on the Ontario-Quebec border are a hotbed of Celtic musicians with fabulous fiddle players and step-dancers. Many learning their talents at house parties in the area and watching and learning from family members and neighbours.
So, when I saw the Searson Live album and read that they were from the Ottawa Valley, I knew that I was in for some not only great music but some great memories of house parties that took place at our home in Martindale, Quebec.
My father was a fiddle player and some of our family were step-dancers. My sisters Faye and Myrna were the singers. Everyone had a party piece.
The Searson sisters are Colleen on fiddle, Erin on piano, and Heather on bass to create a showcase full OF talents as musicians, singers, songwriters and some of their amazing step dancing can be heard on the album.
Searson’s great grandfather played the fiddle, and their father plays the guitar so it was natural for the girls to follow in their footsteps. When they were very young, Searsons would perform at local events and house parties in the summer, and throughout high school and university the girls performed almost every weekend.
Over the years, the Searsons have expanded the musical culture from where they grew up in the Ottawa Valley to create a contemporary sound based on their heritage – the musical traditions of the first groups who immigrated there: the English, Irish, and Scots.
Although they have recorded four CDs, Live is the band’s first national release in the U.S. and was recorded at the Central Canada Exhibition in Ottawa.
Erin Searson said, “Our fans demanded an album that is our live show, so we spent three days recording three live shows a day. Recording this album in Ottawa was a great way to get back to our roots, where we began performing.”
What began initially as a summer job has turned into a full time career for Searson as they now perform throughout Canada, the United States, and Europe, doing over 150 dates a year.
The Searsons don’t disappoint and as long as we still have their kind of musical talent around, the Ottawa Valley legacy of fiddle players and step dancers is indeed in very good hands.
For more information, or to order Searson Live go to their website at: www.searson.org.
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