While the 8th annual Trails Tales Tunes (TTT) Festival, held from May 16th – 25th 2014, is being put to bed, the 9th annual Festival is waking up and is scheduled for May 15th – 24th 2015.
2014 was a leap year in a sense, as TTT took a giant leap in terms of guest artists from outside the Province. As a result of contacts made at Folk Alliance International in 2013, out-going Artistic Director, Shirley Montague, successfully enticed some world class entertainers to TTT 2014. Thanks Creative Gros Morne for helping with this initiative!! Though the Festival is largely built on a strong local artistic foundation, it is always healthy and exciting to bring fresh new sounds into the fold.
A new stage and lighting for the Town Hall raised the bar literally and figuratively giving the concerts a totally professional look. It also raised a few eyebrows from visiting performers who probably expected less in such a small town.
With ideal weather for the opening weekend which included Celebrate the Sea Day, the festive mood was high and crowds were out in full force.
The Young Performers Showcase, formerly called the Youth Concert, was a much talked about event featuring young performers from all over the Island who wowed the audience with their diverse talents. The stage was alive with blues, traditional, classical and singer/songwriters, all instilling confidence that the entertainment future is in good hands.
Word had been trickling out regarding a new Artistic Director for the TTT Festival and it became official when Daniel Payne joined Shirley Montague on stage at the Closing Concert to formally accept that position for TTT 2015. Shirley announced that she would be staying with the Festival in an administrative role and that she and Daniel would be working closely together to build another exciting TTT Festival for 2015. The committee is confident that Daniel will slip into the AD role with ease as he has been with the Festival since day one in 2007. This new chapter and important step towards sustainability and succession planning bodes well for the future of Trails Tales and Tunes.
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