Barra MacNeils at
Spring Gulch Folk Festival
It all began last May. The Spring Gulch Folk Festival had on its band listing – The Barra MacNeils! Nancy and I had seen them once all the way up in Northern New Jersey, opening for the Saw Doctors, just 10 tunes. It had been a Saw Doctors’ crowd and we were two of three people who knew the words to the songs. Jane had never seen them in all the times they had been through Cape Breton.

So when we told Jane that the Barras were on the Folk Festival list, she made arrangements to come up and visit. It wasn’t listed on the Barras site and we couldn’t get an email reply from their manager so we went on blind faith. We had a great pre-festival jam at Nancy’s, recording Auntie Mary, Captain Wedderburn, Lukey and the Seven Joys of Great Big Sea. We were still a little leery and called the venue on Saturday night, asking when the Barras would be on. The person who answered the phone told us 1 PM so we arranged to be there at 12:30. We paid our money - $22 per person for 7 of us and got a piece of grass near the front. Boy were we surprised when some South African band came out and began singing! The emcee announced a bit later that the Barras had some trouble with their “paperwork” and didn’t make it across the border at all. We were mad especially because Jane had come all the way up from Virginia, we had called the night before, plus the South African band sucked. Tried to drown our sorrows at the Miniature Golf range but it really didn’t work.

This Spring, when the Festival announced its line-up, the Barras were there again. But this time it was listed on their website! SO once again we set out to enjoy them and this time were joined by Andi from Buffalo. Jane came up with the kids again and we jammed again before the show, but this time Jane had brought us a poem she had put to music. It was pretty good! We had fun singing and playing together again. We always do!

The morning weather forecast had said “sunny and pleasant, highs in the low 70’s.” They lied. It rained on and off all day after they said that. But it was rain or shine Barras time. Nancy and her kids needed some time to shake off the sadness of an extended family member dying the day before. We arrived in ponchos and a huge tarp, which we put to good use.
Karen and Chris went searching for sticks to hold up the tarp but we had to use Nancy’s son, Kyle instead. By the time Karen and Chris got back it had stopped raining!   Sort of.

This time the Barras WERE there but first we were treated to the acapella group, Four Shadow, from Minnesota, before their set. What a treat that was! They were really good and the bass even did a tenor solo. The lead tenor dressed like Alan Doyle, in his “baked potato” shirt. We enjoyed them a lot.
Then the skies began to clear and the Barras came out and opened with the Clumsy Lover Set. Andi sat right down in front! There were not too many people there because of the rain. We were joined by Howard from the GBS messageboard, and found out the people behind us knew who Great Big Sea was! They told us because a bunch of us were wearing GBS paraphernalia. Kyle and I were the best advertisements for the Barras, though. He was wearing a Cape Breton hat and sweatshirt and I was wearing a Barras hat. Karen made a comment before they came on that it was a good day for Lucy to sing “Caledonia.” Well, we heard Coaltown Road, Caledonia, Rattlin’ Roarin’ Willie, Don’t Call Me Early in the Morning, Mouth Music, another Gaelic song, Racket in the Attic, and a whole slew more. I was too busy taking pictures to take notes. The only thing we didn’t hear that I really wanted to hear was Queen of Argyle. But I suppose I should be satisfied they played that in February.
Jane in the background and Nancy, her kids and some of Jane's under the tarp.
Pictures of the Barras
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