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Sidney to host foot-stompin’ fiddle fun

The Canadian Fiddle Celebration features award-winning duo of Gordon Stobbe and JJ Guy
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JJ Guy and Gordon Stobbe will perform as the Twin Fiddles during Saturday’s Canadian Fiddle Celebration at the Mary Winspear Centre (Photo Courtesy of Nellie Quinn)

When Gordon Stobbe and JJ Guy hit the stage of the Charlie White Theatre at Sidney’s Mary Winspear Centre Saturday night under the name of Twin Fiddles, audiences can expect more than just a top notch musical act as part of the Canadian Fiddle Celebration.

“Gordon and JJ together are like a comedy duo, as well as fiddlers,” said Nellie Quinn, a local fiddler, who will appear in the show Saturday herself. “They have really funny dynamics, so it will be a funny night full of jokes and lots of laughter,” said Quinn, who organized the 2019 Folk’ Fiddle Fest.

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Stobbe, who recently gained appointment to the Order of Canada for his career of more than 40 years, and Guy also have a good hand when it comes calling dances, said Quinn.

“Of course, there isn’t much room in the Charlie White Theatre for dancing, but I wouldn’t be totally surprised if got people up and dancing in the aisles.”

If Stobbe and Guy are the ring masters in the foot-stompin’ show that awaits the audience, they will receive plenty of support from a talented cadre of emerging local musicians with deep roots in fiddle music, starting with Quinn, who can already look back on a long list of gigs inside and outside of Canada.

Trish Horrocks, and Geoff Horrocks, founder of the Nanaimo Fiddle Festival and guitarist Charlie Gannon, a member of Coastline, a Victoria fiddle band directed by Ivonne Hernandez, will be featured guests.

Saturday’s show coincides with a folk music revival that is inspiring memories of a time when folk music shows like Don Messer’s Jubilee drew audiences that rivaled, if not exceeded those of Hockey Night in Canada.

Sidney, along with the rest of the region, has since grown into a hub for folk music. The evening will also underscore the music’s accessibility when Quinn joined by Gannon will perform a song with her students which range from seven to more than 70 years in age.

“Hopefully, they will be inspired to play as well,” she said.

Tickets are $30. Call 250-656-0275 to order over the phone. Tickets will also be available at the door of the Mary Winspear Centre.Doors open at 7 p.m. with the show starting at 7:30 p.m.



nick.murray@peninsulanewsreview.com

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wolfgang.depner@peninsulanewsreview.com



Wolf Depner

About the Author: Wolf Depner

I joined the national team with Black Press Media in 2023 from the Peninsula News Review, where I had reported on Vancouver Island's Saanich Peninsula since 2019.
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