The upcoming show hosted by the Osoyoos District and Arts Council on Oct. 23 features an otherworldly duo with Tim Readman and Prairie Wolfe who hope to entrance the audience with their Celtic, folk music. With Readman on guitar and vocals and Wolfe on the fiddle, the performance will bring an upbeat, richness to the traditional genre.
Readman has been playing Celtic music all his life. He started when he was a teenager back in his hometown of Durham in the north of England—which sits close to the Scottish border and is rich in folk traditions and songs. This tapestry of culture influenced Readman greatly, particularly in his own music.
Wolfe on the other hand got into the world of fiddling much later in her life, but still dove into it head-first. As a kid, she watched Road to Avonlea on CBC Television where one of the main characters played the fiddle, and she was enamoured by the music. Her interest in fiddle music started then, but it wasn’t until she was in university when she pursued this fully by taking classes and connecting with other fiddle players in Canada.
Readman met Wolfe in the early 2000s in Vancouver where they both lived at the time. Wolfe was trying out different types of fiddle music including Scottish fiddling—and her teacher coincidentally was someone that Readman played with back then. Through this connection they met and got to know each other within the small folk/Celtic music scene in Vancouver.
“Everybody gets to know everybody when you’re in that music world,” said Readman. In those days, they would hop around to different music sessions held in Irish pubs around Vancouver.
Wolfe later moved away to Cape Breton Island, then Boston, and mostly lost contact with Readman. It was only 15 years after when they ran into each other at the Mission Folk Music Festival in Mission, B.C where Readman performed in July 2019.
The two musicians reconnected after this, as Wolfe had moved back to Vancouver. They “picked up where they left off,” as Readman said, and started to perform together. Though they did play together previously, they never had shows together.
Wolfe is a traditional Celtic fiddler who primarily plays Acadian, Cape Breton, Scottish, Irish and French Canadian style music. She explained that her and Readman jive particularly well in terms of their approach to music on top of their obvious cultural sound.
“I think [Readman’s] songs have always been remarkable and memorable for me because of his sense of humour,” said Wolfe, adding that their taste also intersects in both their interest for groove-driven stories of mystery and intrigue.
“We have those things sort of in common that we can both gravitate towards similar sort of arrangement and appreciation for what really creates an emotional response and tells a story as opposed to being a very specific musical concept,” she said.
Wolfe also mentioned notably that neither of them know how to read music and lean towards a sound-driven, rather than an intellectually-driven approach to playing.
Soon after the two reconnected, they booked gigs together, played their first gig, and then COVID-19 hit.
All their shows were cancelled and they couldn’t even rehearse due to physical distancing measures and personal bubbles.
“As things relaxed, we were able to get together and we eventually started rehearsing outside. And so we found a local park near the Fraser River in Vancouver that we both really like,” said Readman.
They would meet up and sit on different sides of the park and just play their songs.
Though they didn’t get a chance to play any gigs during the time, impromptu audiences and applause from passersby made up for it, as well as having the opportunity to learn new songs and tunes.
“It was actually really therapeutic because we were both missing playing, and it was really great to have something new and positive to do,” said Readman, adding that, “we were learning to play together and learning repertoire because she didn’t know my songs and I didn’t know her fiddle tunes,”
“I think the thing that we have in common as musicians is that we both are very rhythmic. So a lot of the music is very foot tapping, has a very strong beat, it’s very driving,” said Readman who explains that the origins of the type of music they play was written with the intent to be something for people to dance to.
At the same time, they also play a variety. This includes gentle and melodic music and folk tales with rich storytelling. They tell stories with mystical elements rooted in folk traditions that work to transport the audience to different worlds.
Currently, Wolfe works full-time as a clinical social worker supporting the B.C. government’s provincial overdose response. She describes the musical aspect of her life as a “wonderful blessing” which she has seen as an additional bonus.
“I’m just wanting to explore some specific kinds of musical projects, and my collaboration with Tim is definitely something that I’m prioritizing right now,” said Wolfe.
There will be both an afternoon matinee on Saturday, Oct. 23 starting at 2 p.m. and an evening performance starting at 7:30 p.m. Doors for both shows will open one hour before the start time. There will only be 60 tickets available for each show, which can be purchased for $25 by emailing [email protected].
