Kingston Life
Local artist headlining prestigious Canadian Guitar Festival
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By Justin Smith
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Published on: July 22, 2013 | Last Updated: July 22, 2013 9:51 AM EDT
The ninth annual Canadian Guitar Festival is set to rock the Holiday Park on Loughborough Lake from Aug. 2-4.
Featuring renowned and talented artists from across the globe, the festival promises attendees a weekend of great music and great fun.
The festival began at the Odessa Fairgrounds in 2004, founded by Del Brazeau, who had been a part of the fingerstyle guitar scene for a while as a performer and promoter. The idea came about after he attended a guitar weekend at the home of acclaimed Canadian guitar artist Don Ross in Sept. 2001, which featured about 15 artists from across the globe.
He was struck by the fact that although many of the artists and invitees were flying in to Ross' home in Cannington, Ontario from other countries, they didn't cancel after the events of 9/11 occurred despite the apprehension of many to fly at that time.
"I realized that people are really passionate about this type of music, and will travel to the other side of the planet in search of it," he explained. "I was struck by the fact that I'm not alone here, there are potentially thousands of us with hundreds of thousands of hours of practice that may not get out much or network a lot."
Brazeau wanted to expand so he purchased the Holiday Park campground on Loughborough Lake in 2007.
The campground setting allows for an immersive family experience, with 48 acres to explore. Brazeau says the family element is crucial to the success of the festival and one of the highlights of the weekend.
"We promoted the family aspect right from day one," he explained. "As a performer and family man, I recognize that not all family members are as enthusiastic about an event like this as the player. Even though Dad is uber enthusiastic about three days of intricate guitar music, the kids and spouse maybe aren't as much. The main impetus for buying the campground was this festival."
One of the headliners of this year's festival is Mauricio Montecinos, an expert in Flamenco and Latin Fusion guitar styles and native Chilean who moved to Sudbury in 1993 before settling in Kingston in 2006. He was here for March break in 2006 when he picked up a guitar at Renaissance music and began playing. It turned out to be more than he expected.
"I didn't know they had a school," he said of Renaissance. "But thanks to them I am here. I took a guitar off the shelf and began playing, and the owner tapped me on the shoulder and said 'who are you and where did you learn to play like that?' He offered me a job on the spot. They were expanding their school and wanted me to be a part of that."
After having a more serious conversation about the role he would play in the expansion of the Renaissance School of Music, Montecinos wanted to experience Kingston and see if it was a place for him, so he took a tour around town and fell in love.
"I decided to walk around Kingston, and walk on Lake Ontario," he said. "Where I am from in Chile has many lakes, and I grew up near lakes. I cannot live without water. There are many performers here. It is wonderful."
He began playing in Chile when he was only seven years old, surrounded by a family of folk musicians and also learning unique and intricate picking styles from the Gypsies that frequented his village. Growing up during the dictatorial reign of General Pinochet helped shape and guide Montecinos' musical stylings, as he was often a part of peaceful rallies and protests in favour of democracy in his homeland.
"Growing up in Chile, the dictatorship affects you in many ways," he explained. "Emotionally, philosophically, spiritually. I started protesting against the regime by writing songs and through playing shows with other university students."
"Performing has always been a joy for me, even in Chile despite the risks playing pro-democratic concerts," he explained. "Playing for an artist is one of the deepest moments of relation between the musician, the instruments we play, and the soul of the song or composition."
That is exactly the kind of vibe Brazeau tries to cultivate for artist and audience alike during the weekend. With an international mix of musicians and audience members many interesting stories and ideas are shared throughout the weekend.
"The energy of the artists and the symbiotic back and forth with the audience, there's so much diversity with the artists and their instruments with different world influences, scales, tempos, the whole bit," he explained. "It's expanding musical horizons, and the great thing is that there are new friendships being made."
If you are going: The festival takes place at the Holiday Park Campground on Loughborough Lake from Friday, August 2 through Sunday, August 4. Camping passes for the weekend are $125 per person for the entire weekend. A weekend pass for the festival only is $75. Day passes are available and vary in price from $30 to $35. Children under 12 are free. Tickets are best purchased via PayPal – your receipt is your ticket. Further information, including performance lineup and schedule, is available at http://comevisit.com/vezco/festival/. For more information on Mauricio Montencinos visit http://www.mauricio.ca/.
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