Rick Fines , Suzie Vinnick , and Miche Pouliot wow Massachusetts audiences !
During the week of January 19th - January 25th, Ontario musicians Rick Fines, Suzie Vinnick, and Miche Pouliot teamed up to display their exceptional talents to a wide range of appreciative audiences. Suzie and Rick kicked off the week with a well-received Sunday afternoon in-store set at Overall Music in Lexington, MA. I recommend dropping in to Overall Music when you're in the area, as proprietor Ellen Epstein (of Kallet, Epstein, & Ciccone) is a gracious host to musicians and offers great service to her customers.
Suzie and Rick broadcast live from radio stations WATD 95.9 FM in Marshfield, WUMB 91.9 FM in Boston, and WBRS 100.1 FM in Waltham. Joan Orr, a twenty+ year folk music DJ in the area, let Suzie and Rick introduce themselves to the south shore area with a thirty-five minute set on her five-nights-a-week WATD show that offers more folk music after WUMB switches over from its 5:00 AM to 7:00 PM Monday-Friday Folk Music format. Marilyn Rae Beyer coaxed a wonderful forty minutes of information and music from the pair for a lunchtime music treat on WUMB. (WUMB also features an eclectic collection of weekend formats from its relay transmissions in Boston , Worcester, and Cape Cod).
Wrapped around the Tuesday noontime radio appearance were a 'cultural exchange' concert at an area elementary school (all-right, the one all my children have attended), and a special late-afternoon performance at the Canadian Consulate in Boston. This was the first live performance at the Consulate, according to a 25-year staff member. In addition to ensuring a great welcome and setting, Consulate agent Christine Sarkisian worked into the weekend to assist in bringing the musicians into the U.S.
After volunteering their playing, singing, and conversing skills to residents at an area Senior Citizens Apartment Complex, Rick and Suzie were joined by drummer and wit extraordinaire Miche Pouliot for three nights of full tilt playing. On the first, Brandeis University radio station WBRS 100.1 FM proved a lively avenue for two hours of airplay. On Thursday, the band was officially welcomed to the Great City of Waltham, MA by the honorable mayor William Stanley hours before co-headlining the first Mary Eagan Cancer Patient Patio Fund Benefit Concert.
The audience at the Benefit Concert was treated to an incredible
evening of music. John Lincoln Wright and The Sourmash Boys played
a hot set of straight-ahead country, folk, and ballads. John Lincoln's
powerful voice and right-on lyrics shone through the enveloping
drums, fiddle, and bass & electric guitars.
Master of Ceremonies Bob Cannon, host of Acoustic Sunrise on Sunday
mornings at WUMB FM, set the tone for a warm night of music in
welcoming and thanking the musicians and crowd to the event geared
towards constructing a place of outdoor solace to patients otherwise
confined to their rooms during times of treatment. Rick, Suzie,
and Miche were joined for most of their show by the virtuoso Sourmash
fiddler Matt Leavenworth. Matt switched off between fiddle and
guitar to twirl complementing riffs with Rick to set the stage
soaring. Already treated to an electrifying evening of music,
the audience was overjoyed to hear both bands enjoined in rousing
five-part-harmonies to cap the concert.
A continual refrain through the week, (which also included a room-shaking show at the MainSail Lounge and an intimate coffeehouse concert to complete the tour) was 'Wow, they are great ! Suzie's singing, Rick's guitar playing, Miche's drumming; all tremendous !'. One indication of their performing genius was the immediate and lasting impact that their original songs had on the audiences. Before the completion of songs being heard for the first time, folks had already placed them into their memories for enjoyable recollection.
My family was fortunate to welcome and host Rick, Suzie, and Miche for their trip stateside. Not only did their warmth brighten the days and nights musically, we were treated to unseasonably comfortable temperatures (up to 50 degrees Fahrenheit) during their tour. From Folk to Blues, original to traditional, solo to full band, recorded to in-person, all three of these professionals come through in shining colors every time out.
Gratefully pleased with their spirited swing southwards, - T -
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