PLAIN FOLK

by Les Pearson
Aengus Finnan Begins His Quest for Canadian Folk Fame

They are there by the score. They are the near-greats and undiscovered. The folk singers with minor awards, two CD's, and great prospects. They yearn for a venue. They are in love with their music. And who knows what fantasy or passion drives them down the endless miles of slippery highway for tedious hours in crowded vans. They do it for small change, a grub stake, and one more chance to play for a live audience.

They are music miners in quest of fame and fortune. Canada has an army of them. And like other prospectors I have met, they will tell you it is the quest and not the finding that fuels their fire. What would they actually do if Nashville called? Would they be content to stay in Ontario, on Salt Spring Island, or even in Medicine Hat? Until the call, they have no choice. They must content themselves with forays into our wilderness and with the warmth from our appreciative fire.

You remember "Manitoba Hal"? He is a credible musician and a genuinely nice person. He has earned the right to a mother lode. He has been an itinerant musician for many years now. But an unlucky rock from some BC mountain wrecked his car, forced the cancellation of ten concerts--and quite possibly his folk career with it. Sometimes oblivion is just that close.

Sometimes fame and fortune are as well. Aengus Finnan has the youthful and ambitious look of an up-and-comer! He has the talent, the journeyman's experience, and a host of awards and honours. He has performed from Dawson in the Yukon to the Kennedy Center in Washington. He has sung his original songs in Baffin Island schools, Kingston Penitentiary, and at folk festivals from Texas to both Canadian coasts. And you may not have heard of him...yet. This is Canada. Our nation can be indifferent.

But for the moment there are good signs for Aengus. Two other Ontario folk artists, traveling compadres David Rogers and Trevor Mills, have hooked their star to his touring wagon. He has signed a recording deal with BOREALIS Records and recently released his second CD, "North Wind." It is a complement to his debut CD, ironically titled "Fool's Gold," that was released in 1999. He's still young; on January 31 he turned 31 and began his sixth year as a roots and Celtic artist.

Aengus and friends will appear in a Folk Music Club house concert this Sunday evening at the Moose Lodge. He will play his own tunes and provide the lead for an Irish audience sing-along. It is, after all, St. Patrick's Day!

I'll be there because his songs are gold near the end of Folk Music season's rainbow. And I'll be there to say I met him in the days when.... He has the makings! And all Irish have the luck. You never know who will make it big.

For additional information log onto www.aengusfinnan.com