"The Fields" were alive with the sound of music in Lucknow
BY SCOTT STEPHENSON
The weekend of Aug. 24-26 was the 15th Music in the Fields (MitF) - the annual end-of-summer celebration that transforms the pastoral landscape of a field in Lucknow into a heady three-day melange of camping, country culture and music.
Visitors arriving by car, on foot or by shuttle were almost certain to cross paths with a yellow bus practising its route for the upcoming year and phalanxes of green trees were already having their ranks broken by pops of red, orange and brown. As each perfectly warm afternoon came to an end, the half moon hung low in the sky, surveying revellers unphased by the quickly cooling air.
It seems that interest in the lively event grows exponentially each year. The first-ever MitF attracted just over 1,200 people, whereas these days it’s not unusual for the fest to bring in over 8,000 fans - only 2,000 short of having 10 times as many fans in the field as there are citizens living in Lucknow. Each year’s line-up boasts both tried and true acts and must-see up-and-comers. Previous years have seen the stages at Graceland visited by acts like Blue Rodeo, The Reklaws, Eric Ethridge, and Tom Cochrane, just to name a few of the notable acts. This year, a long line of trailers, RVs and other sleep-worthy vehicles waiting to enter the grounds as early as Wednesday afternoon kicked off the fest’s distinctive “Country-Western Woodstock” vibes.
Which is not to say that the festival has some kind of militant mandate towards country music - a great deal of buzz surrounded Saturday’s performance by The Trews - a decidedly rock-oriented act from Antigonish, Nova Scotia that has been spending this year celebrating 20 years of successfully doing their thing. Lead guitarist John-Angus MacDonald felt a little bit of trepidation about being a potential fish out of water, but his concerns were quickly put to rest when he and the band arrived. MacDonald spoke candidly to the media about his pleasant experience. “As one of only a few rock bands on the bill, we expected to feel like the odd men out, but nothing was further from the truth. The audience welcomed us with open arms and made us feel right at home… it was nice to revisit the area and to be a part of a festival that gives back so much to the local community.” An important thing to remember about MitF is that its only mandate is entertaining locals and visitors while raising money for a good cause - a task at which the festival’s organizers are very good. Last year’s stellar set by rock group The Sheepdogs was another out-of-this-world performance in the not-quite-country category.
One of the hottest tickets of the weekend was undoubtedly Mildmay’s own Owen Riegling. The young gentleman did his afternoon sound check to a small group of devoted fans, and secured many more new fans throughout his set. The young phenom has been moving up through the MitF ranks for almost as long as he’s been singing and playing guitar, and while his Friday performance may have been his first on the main stage, longtime “Fielders” in the know have probably seen him before. “I’ve kind of been making my way - first at the campground. I’ve been coming here for eight years, I was a fan of the music, and then I transitioned to doing my thing at the beer gardens,” he said. “It was one of those things where you bring your own equipment and just gotta figure it out, so I played covers there - and also stuff that I wrote. Now I’m doing the thing for real this time.” While no longer at the beginning of his humble beginnings, Riegling seems to have elected to keep the humble part. “I’m driving home to Mildmay tonight,” he admitted. When a fan from Sarnia yelled up to him that she’d come all this way to see him, he jumped down from the stage to snap a pic with her, which snowballed into several more pics with several more fans.
Now that he finds himself in high demand, Riegling has had to adjust to a busier schedule. One of the things put on pause, for now at least, is playing hockey. “I would love to be in a men’s league,” he admitted, “but I feel like they always meet on Friday nights, and Friday nights are gigging nights!”
His participation in the Emerging Artist Showdown last year has really helped raise his profile, and seeing the young artist stir up so much excitement since then has certainly offered this year’s competitors a tantalizing glimpse of their own possible futures. Over 28,000 people voted for their favourite Emerging Artist during this year’s Showdown, and the winners were Brothers Wilde, of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation. Their distinctive take on country music obviously impressed both voters and Saturday night’s crowd. Brothers Wilde were a perfect lead-in for headliners Jade Eagleson and Chris Young - don’t be surprised if you see them on the main stage next year!
The grounds where MitF takes place was once owned by Grace Hopf, a transplant to Lucknow who was known by all who met her to be a true fan of music of all kinds. Her old piano once stood at the festival’s main entry gate, and, while it is no longer there, the celebration grounds are forever known as “Graceland” as a tribute to her.
With most multi-day festivals, a sort of strange micro-culture can evolve within the campgrounds themselves, and MitF is no exception. A highly competitive campsite-decorating contest inspired a lot of unique designs and created an over-the-top sense of community. While many people took inspiration from the festival’s country roots to create corrals, saloons and other cowboy staples, there were also anachronisms in the Old West - an all-orange-juice bar on one street, a fine-dining bistro, complete with detailed menus and life-sized paper waiter on another. As the weekend progressed, camaraderie between the sites progressed along with it. Barbecue parties broke out across the campsite, fuelled by collective good cheer and meat from Gilchrist Farms, which cleverly had a booth within the festival grounds.
Those not interested in cooking their own food were welcome to sample wares from favourite local eateries and festival mainstays. Goderich’s Part II Bistro experts were on hand all weekend with their delicious maple bacon perogies, Grassroots Pizza makers made the short trip from their farm just a few minutes away to serve up their iconic thin crust farm pizza, and the Cheesy Monkii truck chefs (whose vehicle may or may not be known as the Monkii Mobile) came over from Kincardine to serve up locally-sourced beef burgers, sweet merch, and other festival fare. The folks from Sub and Sandwich Factory and the Gator Grub bus served sandwiches to all those in need of sustenance, and Kilties Mini Donuts handled the sweeter side of things.
This year’s side stage played host to some top-notch tribute acts and up-and-coming artists. On Thursday, Quebec’s best AC/DC tribute band, 21 Gun Salute, impressed crowds with their stage presence, and Mystic Highway’s songs from throughout CCR’s catalogue drew in audiences from across the grounds on Friday afternoon. The Orange Man Band made their distinctively hued side stage presence known early on Saturday, and Emerging Artist Showdown’s second- and third-place acts Feral Minks and Sarina Haggarty both quickly built up a whole new group of fans during their respective sets.
The side stage also saw a standout set from Toronto’s Elyse Saunders, whose dynamic stage performance was accented by a Parton-ian white fringe jacket that seemed to fuel her enthusiasm and heighten her already soaring voice.
On Friday, Meghan Patrick on the main stage got crowds worked up, setting the stage for certified silly-boys Locash to keep revellers dancing with their countrified take on radio classics. For those looking for more on Saturday night, headliners Jade Eagleton and Chris Young delivered solid sets of songs to all the festival-goers who made it all the way to the end of the festival.
It can be a bit surreal to traipse through the woods of Lucknow to find a musical event of the magnitude and quality of MitF. It takes hundreds of volunteers, led by the Kinsmen Club of Lucknow and District, to pull off the giant festival in the field, and the charitable event has raised well over a million dollars since the very first one in 2009. This year, special attention was given to the Tanner Steffler Foundation, which offers youth mental health and addiction support. Beyond the obvious charitable benefits generated by MitF, there is also a significant cultural benefit to be gained in this old Lucknow cow pasture. A talent like Owen Reigling isn’t just discovered, like a diamond laying in a field. His natural abilities have been fostered at MitF, his drive has been sharpened and his skills have been honed, all just a short drive from his hometown of Mildmay. His success, in turn, is driving the area’s next new artists to see how much is possible in their own backyards.
Certainly, Reigling isn’t going to be the last hometown hero whose career is launched by MitF, even if he might be the nicest. Come check out the festival next year if you want to dress up your RV, meet the future stars of country music or just have a nice time with your friends.