Skip to content

My Take on Snow Lake - Feb. 24, 2017

Week of entertainment
Mary Beth Carty
Mary Beth Carty

Down East musical marvel Mary Beth Carty brought her show to the Snow Lake Motor Inn on the evening of Friday, Feb. 10 and the 60 or so in attendance were not disappointed. Right from the opening salvos of her sound test, the toes were tapping and heads were bobbing, and this continued till the close of her second set around 11 p.m.

An accomplished accordionist, Carty hails from Antigonish, Nova Scotia. She brings many of the songs from her Irish and Acadian roots to her show, and on this night, those songs along with her eastern brogue and wit endeared her to the numerous transplanted east-coasters in the audience. Not to say the same wasn’t true for the flat-landers in the venue … there is something about a pretty girl who keeps time like Stompin’ Tom and squeezes an accordion like Katie McConnell that captivates everyone.

Carty has a tremulous voice that lends well to her repertoire of Scottish, Irish and Quebecois tunes. In addition to playing the accordion, she plays the guitar, piano and is masterful with the “bones,” which are a musical folk instrument consisting of a pair of animal bones, or pieces of wood that are placed in the hand and have a sound reminiscent of someone playing the spoons.

The young singer songwriter went through her two sets of mostly original songs, but interspersed these with several polkas and an amazing version of Melanie’s 1971 classic, “Brand New Key,” all the while bantering with the audience and giving in-depth summaries and many times humorous background to her catalogue.

The concert was brought to the Motor Inn via the Manitoba Home Routes concert series and others planned for the coming months are on March 11 when the performer will be Scott Nolan, who is an alt-country, contemporary folk, roots, singer-songwriter and storyteller, as well April 9 when Snow Lake will welcome Daniel Gervais, a master fiddler playing Canadiana. All shows have a $20 cover charge, which goes in its entirety to the musician.

In other arts news, the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre’s “Last Train to Nibroc” pulled into Snow Lake on Feb. 16, unloaded at the Lawrie Marsh Hall and its passengers took to their craft on a platform known as the Centennial Stage. Sixty-three people gathered in the hall to observe the highly touted performance; they all left agreeing the production’s praise had been warranted.

The three-act, two-character play covers three tumultuous meetings between protagonists May – a young religious lady from Corbin, Kentucky and Raleigh – a young soldier from nearby Woodbine, Kentucky. May is just coming back from L.A. after breaking up with her “Flyer” fiancé, who she says has changed! She has plans to eventually become a missionary. Raleigh has just received a medical discharge from the service for what he describes as “fits.” He is unsure of his future, whether it is at home in Kentucky, in New York, or perhaps Detroit. 

The production is set in the 1940s and in the first act the two are travelling by train from Los Angeles to Kentucky/New York. With the only seat left on the train situated next to May, Raleigh asks to take it and strikes up a conversation with May. Thus begins a three-year, on-again, off-again relationship between the two.

“Last Train to Nibroc” featured some witty dialogue, a few twists and a healthy helping of humour … the story of two people meant for each other shucking away their reasons for not being together, so that they eventually can.

Once again, many thanks and much appreciation must go to the hardworking folks of the Aurora Borealis Arts Council for bringing the exceptional entertainment provided by the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre to our community!

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks