Don Shorock's Newfoundland portal

Shortly after our 2007 trip to Newfoundland, I got a new camera capable of making nice videos. In 2008, I hope to use it to make some of my own Newfoundland music videos. Meanwhile, though, I've gathered a collection of other people's videos that will give you a pretty good taste of what we like. It's at the bottom of this page. The playlist has 30 clips totaling just under an hour and a half. These are my personal notes on these videos by others. You can start the video and then scroll through the notes while the video continues to play. The links open in another window, so you should be able to follow them without interrupting the videos.

Dancing at the Folk Festival

1. I took this short clip in 2007 with my old camera. I was mainly taking these stills. I plan to do better videos in August, 2008.

   Gulliver's Spree

2. Dave Panting (the bass player) was a member Rawlins Cross, the band that started our interest in Newfoundland music. Gulliver's Spree is his newest band.
3. Tom Boland (guitar) is the other member of this band. Graham Wells (accordion) isn't technically a member of this band but he does join them whenever his own busy schedule permits.

   Shanneyganock

4.  The Pink, White & Green (note the flag on stage) Read about the flag and this song.
5.  4 Poster Bed We've always seen this band in an outdoor setting, but these lives videos are indoors and the crowd is a bit more subdued.
6.  Great Big Sea Hove in Long Beach This is the song which gave its name to the final band in the playlist.
7.  Grey Foggy Day
8.  Old Maid in the Garrett
9.  I Had a Hat If a string breaks during a show, some bands use this one to keep the show going while the string is replaced.
10.  Me Old Raggadoo at least that's the Newfoundland name for this traditional tune.
11.  Sonny's Dream by Ron Hynes has become a "traditional" favourite.
12.  Aunt Martha's Sheep not an old song yet but already a classic than many Newfoundland musicians do.
13.  Peggy Gordon
14.  Mummer's Song This song by Simani was used in the original in the sound track for a Christmas video on the Land and Sea television show twenty years ago. The show re-airs that video every December, so everybody knows it.

    Masterless Men

15.  A Nation Once Again We first heard this group live in 2003 at the Southern Shore Shamrock Festival. This video was at that festival but I think it was a different year.
16.  Big Strong Man This video was shot at O'Reilly's Irish Pub on George Street and that's the most likely place to see this band. Unfortunately, the night we went, John Curran was sick, so the pub had a substitute band. (The darkness of the video reflects the darkness of the pub.)
17.  Meet Me Tonight in the Moonlight We were in the audience when this video was shot! Nora was by our chairs. I was up front taking these photos.

    Tarahan

18.  Sail the Salt Sea We had not seen this band on our first 3 visits, but in 2007, we caught them twice the same weekend at different festivals: on Saturday at the Blueberry Festival in Brigus and on Sunday at the Festival of Friends in Outer Cove-Middle Cove-Logy Bay.

    Fergus O'Bryne & Jim Payne

19.  Rocky Road to Dublin We've seen these two as solo artists, as a duo, and as part of the band A Crowd of Bold Sharemen. I wish I could find more videos of them that would better capture their "feel". That's on my "to do" list for 2008.

    KelticKnots & friends at Erin's Pub

20. This video was included because of the venue. We've never seen this band, but we've spent many an evening at Erin's Pub. If we're not at a festival or concert, this is the most likely place to find us any evening. If we do go to a concert, this is where you'll probably find us afterwards (but only until 3 a.m. when they close). On our way to the airport in 2007, we stopped at Erin's and ran into Chris Andrews.

    Síochána

21. Dirty Old Town We've seen this band on stage in Newfoundland. They are a group of local Newfoundland policemen who play for some festivals and for lots of benefit concerts. This video doesn't show them on stage but instead they are jamming at a pub in Ireland.

    Dale Jarvis

22. Dale is a professional storyteller and not a musician. Nevertheless, with his folklore, he's an integral part of the Newfoundland folk community. We've seen him at the NL Folk Festival, the Storytelling Circles, and on his own Haunted Hike. No compendium of the folk scene in Newfoundland would be complete without him.

    The Ennis Sisters

23.  Patty McGinty's Goat The only time we've caught a live performance by this Newfoundland group was four months before our first trip (in 2003) and it was in (of all places) Pratt, Kansas.

    Great Big Sea
    We've seen them often but never in Newfoundland.

24.  General Taylor a 150-year-old acapella sea shanty!
25.  Excursion 'Round the Bay
26.  (an unusual medley) done in London
27.  Scolding Wife
28.  Old Brown's Daughter not only acapella but out in front of the microphones. They closed their show at the Paramount in Denver the same way. How many bands could fill that enormous auditorium with 5 unmicrophoned voices?
29.  Old Black Rum Someone posted this produced video from one of their DVD's. More than the fan videos above, it captures the audience response they consistently evoke.