ARTS: Kettle Valley Brakemen stop at the Midway station
By Contributor
The Kettle Valley Brakemen return to the Kettle River Museum in Midway on Saturday, Aug. 7 for their sixth annual afternoon concert of original railway tales and toe tapping tunes. Head Brakemen Jack Godwin says they’ll be playing many familiar favourites as well as introducing several new songs from their upcoming album “Take the Train”.
The Brakemen’s 2010 season also includes venues like Peach Fest in Penticton, Lake Country’s Open Air Music program and Princeton’s 150th birthday celebration, but Midway continues to be a favourite. As Godwin puts it, “performing at the Kettle River Museum remains one of our favourite gigs of the year. The warmth of the people in the audience and the coolness of the museum interior with its wonderful exhibits create the perfect setting for a heritage music concert.” Since last performing in Midway, the overall clad Brakemen have been featured in two magazines that target an older audience, North of 50 and Beyond 50, with articles about the rise of heritage music among adult audiences who appreciate the value of combining history with music. Jack likes to quote the Roman writer Cicero who observed that: “To be ignorant of one’s heritage is to remain forever a child”. No wonder the Brakemen’s music has such strong appeal.
Joining Jack Godwin and his resophonic guitar on stage are Bill Phillips on stand-up bass, Jerry Van Dale on 12-string guitar and “Fiddlin’ Phil” Wiebe on violin.
The show gets underway at 2:00 p.m. with doors open at 1:30 p.m. Tickets are $10, or $9 for Museum members. Seating is limited, with advance sales recommended, either in person at the Kettle River Museum on Highway 3 in Midway, or by calling 250-449-2614.
