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En route to a hootGood vibes, great music and extreme laughter
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The Owl’s Head ski hill in the Eastern Townships, site of the inaugural, free-to-get-in Owl’s Head Festival this coming weekend, has a certain wistful significance for event producer Paget Williams, a co-founder of Greenland and a longstanding figure in concert production in Montreal and Quebec. “I spent years there skiing and running around—my parents have a place across the lake—and it really is a special place,” says Williams of the idyllic mountain site. “I’ve done several events there during the spring. They have the Owl’s Head Hoot, which is a charity fundraiser for the Canadian Ski Patrol. I’ve produced that the last few years and we’ve talked about getting something happening there in the summertime. This year, we were finally able to act on it, through the help of Sennheiser Canada.” Williams calls the Owl’s Head Festival an “event-driven event,” which means he isn’t banking on a big-draw headliner to bring in a crowd (and risk losing it if said headliner cancels). “I want it to be a place where people that might not have heard of these bands have an opportunity to discover some great music. “There’s nothing heavy on the bill. We have lots of close neighbours. I want to make sure it’s fun for the kids and cool enough for the young people and yet not loud and obnoxious enough to piss off their parents.” What’s lacking in sheer volume and distortion is made up for in quality and variety—Toronto-based roots rockers the Sadies, erstwhile Bullfrogger Robertson, savvy piano-popper Mike Evin, NYC-based singer Kristen Bussandri (a former Montrealer—and former Brill Building intern!) and Portland, Maine’s reggae-rockers East Wave Radio, who’ve previously backed Montreal reggae icon Jah Cutta (also on the Owl’s head bill) across Canada. Williams singles out for special note Seville, Spain’s Dani Llamas, a solo folk-rocker who Williams had met when he was fronting the band GAS Drummers 11 years ago.“It’s funny, the influences for GAS Drummers were strongly Montreal-based. The Doughboys, the Nils, the Asexuals. He does an amazing version of ‘Young Man in Transit’ by the Nils. He’s definitely a diamond in the rough.” There’s also a rare return to the stage by NDG’s hip hop heroes, Shades of Culture. “I desperately wanted a band that played Sunnymead,” says Williams, referring to the outdoor (and out-of-town) fest of the late ’90s that in a way set the stage for Osheaga. “We ran it for three years and then it sort of petered away, but I wanted somebody who’d been there—and it just worked out that it was Shades!” Further Owl’s Head activities include a daytime DJ stage at the mountain’s summit, with Poirier, John Lee and SOC’s DJ Storm, and an art gallery in the site’s chalet. Last but not least, “Albert Nerenberg and his Extreme Laughter competition will be taking part in all this nonsense,” says Williams. “Put two people in a ring and get them to laugh at each other. Whoever laughs the hardest wins. In a world where UFC is reigning strong, to have something like this, which is so tongue in cheek, is important.” Williams hopes the Owl’s Head Festival will become an annual destination. “This year is the 40-year anniversary of the Owl’s Head Hoot, and I’d like to create a summer event that has the same kind of longevity.” AT OWL’S HEAD (40 CHEMIN DU |
