HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SUMMER OF 2009 

We kicked off with a show in June at Ottawa's Westfest, a 3 day event that was attended by thousands of music lovers. They treated us very well and the audience was fantastic!
  
   
       
Then we moved on to pure 100% bluegrass at the Valley Bluegrass Festival in July.
 
   Many thanks to Bob, Julie and the other organizers for being so hospitable and providing us with great sound.

Celebrating River Valley's 30th Anniversary, 2009!!  See Dickson in the back?  He's on his new baby, upright bass.  Man, we had fun,  and met a great group of new folks and caught up with old acquaintances from way back!

This was at the fastest growing small town festival in Quebec, The Poltimore Fair. Great folks, fabulous food.
                                                                                                                         
                                 SUMMER OF 2008

This gorgeous scene is from our trip down east where we went fly fishing before the New Richmond  Festival in the Gaspe.

Nothin' like a little fishing to get you in the mood for playing!

And here we are in New Richmond at a late night jam. Check out the bass player here; none other than  our talented sound man John Cameron.

And here's Jan lovin' playing with Charlie Louvin on stage at the Palmer Rapids festival in July.

     Orno  Bluegrass and Old Tyme Country Jamboree, May of 2008.

   

                               2007

This is us havin' a blast at River Valley in northern Ontario in 2007. We were pretending to be in the tropics...

Looking back to 2006...

Exerpt from 'Grass Clippings 

The Year 2006 will likely be remembered by Jan Purcell and Pine Road as one of excitement and major acomplishments. During the winter months, the Band spent countless hours at Pine Road Music Studios recording their first album, including learning to do their own mixing, mastering, etc.  Then in the spring, they entered the Ottawa Folk Festival’s “One Fret Less Award” contest for up-and-coming artists.  Of the 20 acts that auditioned at Rasputin’s in Ottawa, they were selected as one of the top three, earning them a performance at the Fourth Stage of the NAC.  To everyone’s delight, Jan Purcell and Pine Road were declared the winners. 

The $1000 Award prize was donated by long-standing Ottawa music supporters, Louise and Harvey Glatt, and was presented to them in August 2006, at the Ottawa Folk Festival’s main stage in front of thousands of Festival-goers.  It also gave the group the opportunity to perform at a couple of the Folk Festival venues, a tribute both to the Band and the Bluegrass community.
During the summer Jan Purcell and Pine Road had plenty of work and the chance to promote their new CD while performing at a variety of Bluegrass Festivals in Ontario and Western Quebec. One of their frequent requests, and the first song on the album, was "You've Crossed The Line" (a song that all couples can probably relate to!).  Penned by Jan Purcell, it features Jan on lead vocals and fiddle.
Yes, 2006 has been a banner year; but with the prospect of another album featuring more of their original material 2007 promises to be even better!
Grass Clippings
A By Gayle Dumsday
Publication of the Ottawa Valley Bluegrass Music Association

Our latest album, 2008

                                                                                                                                                      

Bluegrass Gypsy

This second album includes a variety of bluegrass songs; standards such as Blue Kentucky Girl, The Old Home Place, Bile’ Em Cabbage Down, a French Bluegrass song, Coeur Glace, new bluegrass sounds in Sweetheart of the Pines and Kentucky Borderline, and two originals written by Jon, Last Night and the title track Bluegrass Gypsy. It was recorded and mixed at Pine Road Studios, Wakefield, Quebec, by Jon Purcell, produced by Jon and Jan, and mastered at Ottawa’s Soundmasters by David Cain.  This record was released in May, 2008. Jan  Purcell and Pine Road have worked toward bringing forth the energy of their live performances to this latest album, Bluegrass Gypsy.

Jan Purcell and Pine Road can be contacted at pineroadbluegrass@gmail.com

or at 819-459-3362.

 

 

Jan Purcell and Pine Road Band Bios

Jan Purcell

Jan has played violin and sung with various groups since she was a teenager, and enjoyed many genres of music. She has performed in classical ensembles, country bands, and folk groups. Her first appearance on the bluegrass stage was in 1982 at the Pinnacle Hill Bluegrass Festival.  From then on Jan was hooked on sweet and soulful harmonies, and gripped by the rhythm and spirit in bluegrass. A unique dimension of the group is Jan's ability to perform in either English or French.  Track #5 on their first album, "Les Ravages Du Temps", and Track #9 “Coeur Glace” on their second, are two of Jan’s favorite French bluegrass songs.  A musical highlight for Jan occurred a few of years ago at a Bluegrass Jam while singing "Roses in the Snow".  Joining her on harmony vocals was none other than Rhonda Vincent!

 

Jon Purcell

Jon has been playing guitar and singing since 1970 and was introduced to bluegrass music in 1975.  He spent ten years with the Lylo Family Band and has been playing on Friday afternoons at the Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield, Quebec since 2001.  Jon has always been a writer and lately has been focusing on performing his own material and recording his work at his Pine Road  Studio.

Bryan Higgins    

Bryan is no newcomer to the stage.  He began performing regularly for square dances in dance halls at the age of 14 on tenor banjo and guitar. He learned the bass and played semi-professionally with numerous groups for the following twenty five years.  In 2002 Bryan bought a banjo and began playing the music he had always been so interested in – bluegrass.

 

Dickson Raynard   

    

Dickson has been playing bass for the last 25 years. He found the missing link in his music endeavors when he joined the bluegrass band McCormick in 2001. Dickson has played many festivals and theatres, been involved in doing sound and  promotion, spent countless hours in recording studios and had successful recording with McCormick,  North To Ontario CDs and twice on Fred Eaglesmith’s compilation CD.  In 2009 Dickson made the switch from acoustic custom bass to the upright.

                                  

Thank you to all of you who have viewed our site.  We'd love to hear from you and certainly hope to meet up with you sometime soon.

Take care,

Jan