Young Folk at the Hall event comes to Marystown

MARYSTOWN, N.L. — The Newfoundland Gang, Girls of the Island, and Some Crooked were a few of several bands who took the stage at St. Gabriel’s Hall in Marystown for the showcase concert concluding Young Folks at the Hall.
Hosted Nov. 8-10 by musician Fergus O’Byrne, the three-day program included two mentoring sessions, followed by the showcase performance. It aims to develop an interest in traditional music in the province’s youth.
O’Byrne said he was pleased with the Marystown leg of the event.
“It’s great,” he said. “We’ve got 35 to 36 youngsters ranging from five years old up to 16, and a range of talent. Some of the older ones are really talented — there’s a couple of really good guitar players, there’s a little one in there playing a six-string banjo.”
He feels the young folk project goes beyond the music.
"It’s such a great social gathering and an outlet for children to gain real confidence in themselves because this happens in a weekend. You got two workshops of maybe two and a half hours, so you’re talking about five hours of working on new material, with new people that you probable never worked with before … and you end up with a concert on a Sunday.”
Abby Fiander who, along with Austin Barnes, Emma Fiander and Simon Pittman, performed as The Newfoundland Gang, told The Southern Gazette she got involved after hearing about the event from her mother. She had the choice of voice or piano in which to
“I said 'yes' at first, and then she asked me what instrument I wanted to play," said Fiander, who sings and plays piano.
Together the group performed a number of selections during the show including Sonny’s Dream, Ghost in The Fog, I’ll Sing You Home, and Piece of Baloney.
Other groups to perform in the final show included The Band of Heroes, The Treble Clefs, The Bean B’ys and the Unicorns, Some Crooked and Girls of the Island.
Madison Power, a member of Girls of The Island, has taken part in past young folk events.
“I’ve been coming here for about three or four years now,” she explained, “it’s always fun to come back join a group and perform.”
Power said her interest in the event was initially sparked by her music teacher. “At first I wasn’t too fond of coming here but when I came, got into a group and worked with everybody, it was really fun. So I came back the next year.”