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Concert
series blasts off with Searsons
By Jake Davies
- Staff Writer
August 2003
FITZROY
PROVINCIAL PARK- The rain held off and more than 400 people flooded the
park for an early evening of great Canadian Celtic music as the Concerts
in the Park series officially kicked off on Thursday, Aug. 7. What
started out as an evening threatening rained turned into the perfect
setting for a summer concert and the West Carleton community took
advantage of it. The early start, 6:00 p.m., meant people had to hustle
to the park but that paid off for the Constance Bay youth who were
manning the barbecue. The enthusiastic group sold out of hamburgers with
all the funds raised going to support youth activities.
The Searsons hit the stage around 6:30 p.m. and their self-described
"Canadian Celtic music," had the young and old tapping their
feet. The crowd was spread out thick on lawn chairs, picnic tables and
blankets while many young fans stuck close to the stage to dance, laugh
and have a good time. "We like playing outside in the park,"
bass player Heather Searson said. "The turn out was very good. I'm
sure everyone thought it was going to rain but all the kids were up and
dancing."
The kids weren't the only ones. Part of the Searsons live show includes
step dancing which combined perfectly with their toe-stomping,
fiddle-playing music. This is the third time the Searsons have played at
the concert series; but this is the first time they've been here in two
years. Many of the fans in attendance who are concert series regulars
remember their previous performances and stated that was one of the
reasons the came out.
The Searsons include father Mike on guitar and three of his daughters;
Erin on the keyboard, Colleen on fiddle and Heather. Close family friend
Jamie Gardner also plays fiddle for the band. The Searsons have
"played everywhere in the Ottawa Valley," and far beyond.
"We do have quite a following in the area," Heather said.
Many of the original sons were from their one-year old album "Houseparty."
The band does a little over 100 concerts in a year with most of them
performed in the summer. They do tour on a limited basis in the winter,
but as three of the five members attending college while Erin just
graduated from the University of Ottawa, it leaves little time for their
musical passions. In fact they have precious little time for anything.
"All we do when we have time off is write music," Heather
said. This upcoming fall and spring the Searsons will be in the studio
putting together their third album. The hope is the album will be ready
by summer but Heather says there is no rush because she wants to make
sure the album is perfect. For more information on the Searsons or to
buy any of their music you can find them on the web at www.thesearsons.org
For an unbiased review of the performers and their music just listen to
Carp residents Noreen and Larry Kimbell - the last fans to leave the
park after the concert. "The music was great, very good," they
told the West Carleton Review. The Kimbell's remember seeing the
Searsons at the park a few years ago and say the come to the series,
"every now and then, we try to get to a couple every summer.
Tonight was a fantastic night."
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