For the first time in over 40 years, music fans, friends and families will not be gathering at the Fiddle Grounds near Souris, P.E.I., on the third weekend in July for the Rollo Bay Fiddle Festival. Instead, the 44th version of the annual event will be hosted entirely online in a unique way.
From 7 p.m. ADT on Friday, July 17, to 7 p.m. ADT on Saturday, July 18, the festival will host a live-streamed 24-hour jam featuring performances from the Chaisson Family, Lennie Gallant, Inn Echo, Emmanuelle LeBlanc and Pascal Miousse (from Vishtèn), Rowen Gallant and Jesse Périard (from Ten Strings and a Goat Skin) and many more.
Tickets for the Rollo Bay Fiddle Festival Live-Stream 24 Hour Jam are available online. Individual, date night and household tickets are available. Ticket holders will be emailed a private viewing link 24 hours before the festival starts.
WATCH: Rollo Bay Fiddle Festival video:
Welcome to the Rollo Bay Fiddle Festival! Bienvenue au Rollo Bay Fiddle Festival! It's a family affair this year and we're putting the whole gang to work. Tickets are on sale now for the first-ever online 24-hour live-stream version of the festival featuring the Chaisson family and very special guests. Tickets are available at https://www.ticketscene.ca/events/29884/ #RolloBay #RolloBayFiddleFestival #3rdWeekendInJuly #PEI #PrinceEdwardIsland #FiddleFest
Posted by Rollo Bay Fiddle Festival on Monday, 13 July 2020
Proceeds from ticket sales will be split between the not-for-profit Big Field Traditions, for maintenance of the field and help the Souris Food Bank, so attendees are encouraged to purchase the appropriate number of tickets for the people who will be enjoying the festival.
"These are difficult times for our industry, our peers and the attendees of this festival, and we wanted to make sure we were able to gather together as we do each summer and create something special on Prince Edward Island," says Tim Chaisson, spokesman for the Big Field Traditions board.
"There will be non-stop music and dancing for 24 hours, and you can enjoy all of it from the safety of your home. There's no place like home and Rollo Bay is truly where it all began for us. Stay home with your family and spend 24 hours with our family."
- Tim Chaisson
"There will be non-stop music and dancing for 24 hours, and you can enjoy all of it from the safety of your home. There's no place like home and Rollo Bay is truly where it all began for us. Stay home with your family and spend 24 hours with our family."
Founded in 1976, the Rollo Bay Fiddle Festival began from visions and musings of local fiddlers Bishop Faber MacDonald and Joe Pete Chaisson.
Joe-Pete Chaisson, front, appears with fiddlers at the first annual Rollo Bay Fiddle Festival in 1976. Chaisson, along with then Father Faber MacDonald, founded the festival. Their vision was to preserve, celebrate and grow the culture of traditional P.E.I. fiddle music and provide free lessons for anyone interested in learning.
- Contributed
Years later, the outdoor festival is a great mix of relaxed family atmosphere, local food and drink – including an outpost of Copperbottom Brewery – and onsite camping in the beautiful P.E.I. landscape.
Pulling in acts from all over the world, including Australia, New Zealand, Scotland and more, Rollo Bay Fiddle Festival has become a highly sought-out destination for fiddle fans from all over Canada and the world.
Due to social distancing guidelines on P.E.I., the Rollo Bay Music Camp has been cancelled for 2020. Rollo Bay Fiddle Festival is offering refunds for any camp passes already purchased. Those already registered can also hang on to their music camp registration, and it will be honoured in 2021.
