The Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival is winding down for another year and many musicians are heading elsewhere for their next gig.
The beat goes on in Fredericton, however, at the New Brunswick Musicians Emerge festival (NB-ME) held at the Charlotte Street Arts Center.
NB-ME began on Sept. 8 with a show by Owen Dacombe Steel and Isaac & Blewett. It offers live, local music and runs until late November.
Richard Gloade is one of the artists that will be showcased in this series. Gloade started playing live music about 15 years ago and has since then made a name for himself in Fredericton by starting the Richard Gloade Esq. three years ago, which often plays in local festivals and events.
The Richard Gloade Esq. can often be found performing at The Capital Complex in downtown Fredericton. Their music has a Caribbean, reggae feel.
“The music I grew up with influenced me a lot,” Gloade said. “Jack Johnson, Bob Marley, and just a lot of different reggae stuff. I chose to go with reggae because I think people like something calm to listen to.”
But reggae isn’t the only type of music that you’ll find at NB-ME. The festival reflects the different types of music that New Brunswick has to offer.
Erica Sullivan is the arts development coordinator at Fredericton Arts and Learning (FAL), the organization
that is putting on NB-ME. She said there’s something for everyone at the festival.
“There’s reggae, folk, classical, a little bit of rockin’ tunes in there and there’s children’s entertainment as well.”
FAL decided to put on this festival to support local musicians by giving them exposure.
“We have such prolific talent in this province and this is a festival that is meant to celebrate that talent, promote that talent and support that talent,” Sullivan said.
Gloade said New Brunswick’s music scene is not only talented, but full of musicians who are driven to improve and get noticed.
“The scene in New Brunswick is rampant right now. There are a lot of musicians that are striving for it right now which is good. There’s a lot of friendly competition.”
Gloade said festivals like NB-ME are an important experience for artists who continue to improve as musicians.
“When you’re getting recognized, it’s a point where you just have to get better,” he said. “Festivals like these help people get used to being recognized and then they can move forward from there.”
Sullivan said local musicians aren’t the only ones benefiting from NB-ME. The festival is meant to offer live music for those who normally cannot afford it.
“All of our programming at FAL is geared towards marginalized communities. So we’re keeping it open to the public by donation so we don’t turn anyone anyway. If you come with a quarter, you’ll get in. If you come with a 20 dollar bill, you’ll get in. It’s whatever you can afford,” she said. “The goal of the festival is to make live music accessible to everyone regardless of socio-economic background.”
The next NB-ME concert will be on Thursday. Richard Gloade Esq. will open for the main show featuring Aeron Georgina & Tibor, a harp and piano duet. The show will also feature Joel Leblanc who is brand new on the music scene. The show starts at 8 p.m.
