Etienne Larocque

Etienne Larocque was born in 1933 in the small fishing village of Cap Bateau on the island of Lamèque in northern New Brunswick. He has been playing fiddle since the age of 5 and by the time he was 11, he was playing for community dances most Saturdays. He worked most of his life around the fisheries on the Acadian Peninsula. Starting in the 1980's, he entered and won many fiddle contests, winning more than 40 awards. He was four times New Brunswick champion and in 1983 won the famous maritime championship in Dartmouth. In 1990, he was chosen to represent New Brunswick at the Grand Masters Fiddling Contest in Nepean, Ontario. In 1993 he was inducted into the New Brunswick Country Music Hall of Fame.  Etienne to this day is still fiddling up a storm and gives lessons to young promising fiddlers. He still lives in Cap Bateau in a beautiful house that he built himself.

La Jigue de la pointe d'hirondelles 🎼

Reel du rocher de la baleine 🎼

Reel du pont de l'étang 🎼

Hedar Bulger

Hedar Bulger is the owner (retired) of Au Marché du Poisson Bulger Ltee. - the fish market in Le Goulet NB. His son mostly runs the business now but Hedar still drops in to check on things. In his younger years he was one of the main fiddlers, along with André à Toto Savoie to play for dances in the Shippagan region of the Acadian Peninsula. He says he doesn't play much anymore, but when we put a fiddle in his hands, he started playing all the old tunes and it was hard to get him to stop.

Gerry Robichaud

Gerry Robichaud comes from Saint Paul New Brunswick. He started learning the fiddle when he was quite young, thanks to the influence of his family and a fiddler called Oscar Melanson. Oscar was bedridden and would whistle the tunes for Gerry to learn. Here's how Gerry tells it: “When we were kids, all we had in the house was the fiddle. My mother used to play and that’s where we picked it up. She had a very good bowing arm. I started when I was eight years old and I had a hard time reaching the floor to tap my feet when I was sitting down. And my fingers were so small I had a hard time to reach the finger board, too. So my mother would tell me, “I think you should wait another year or two,” but I’d say to myself, “I think I can learn those tunes that she plays.” So every time she’d go out of the house and I got a chance, I’d pick up that fiddle. The first thing she knew, I could playa few tunes. And then I got a lot of help from her – she used to come over and tell me, “Hey, do this or do that a certain way.” And in no time I could pick a number of tunes. I got as many tunes as I could from my mother and even more from my brother Fred. And other old time fiddlers used to come and play in the kitchen and I picked up a lot from them, too. I’d sit down and listen, and as soon as they left, I’d pick up the fiddle and try to do the same thing as they did. Later on, Harvey and Bobby got a guitar and we’d put the guitar with the fiddle and it would sound a lot better. Pretty soon they started coming to get us to play for parties – what we called ‘kitchen rackets." 

http://www.backtothesugarcamp.com/R.htm

Other fiddlers who influenced his playing were Don Messer, Tommy Linkletter, and Tommy Doucet. He was soon playing for kitchen parties and made his first radio appearance at the age of 10. He left New Brunswick and moved to Boston in 1995 and spent the rest of his life in Waltham, Massachusetts. He died there on January 31, 2013 aged 81 years. His first recording was Down East Fiddling from Voyager records in 1973, followed by Maritime Dance Party in 1978 on Alcazar. He also made some recordings for the Canadian label Banff Rodeo thanks to a deal worked out by his friend Winston Scotty Fitzgerald.

Gerry was also featured in a 1983 documentary called New England Fiddles and shared an album with his brother Bobby called The Slippery Stick. You can also listen to his playing on More Down East Fiddling on Bandcamp.

Moccasin Shuffle 🎼

Reel Bouctouche 🎼

The Atlantic Polka 🎼

Gerry Robichaud recordings: 

Gerry Robichaud, Gerry Robichaud and his New England Downeasters, Banff/Rodeo RBS-1067, (1961)

-Gerry Robichaud, Fancy Fiddlin’ with Gerry Robichaud, Banff/Rodeo RBS 1212, (1970)

-Gerry Robichaud, Down East Fiddling, Voyager Records VRCS 3105, (1973)

-Gerry Robichaud, Maritime Dance Party with Gerry Robichaud, Fretless FR201, Alcazar Dance Series, (1978)

-Gerry Robichaud, More Down East Fiddling with Gerry Robichaud, Self Produced / Recorded, (1992)

-Gerry Robichaud, The Slippery Stick - Traditional Fiddling from New Brunswick, Rounder Records Corp., Cambridge, MA, CD 7016 (1996)

-Gerry Robichaud, The Robichaud Brothers, (Gerry and Bobby), Rounder Records CD 7016 (1996)

-Gerry Robichaud, The Country Masters, Patio Records CD PR003, Engineered and  Produced by Angy Pinkham, Matt Leavenworth and Terry Eagan, (2002)

-Gerry Robichaud, The North Atlantic Strings, Patio Records CD PR004, Engineered and  Produced by Angy Pinkham, Matt Leavenworth and Terry Eagan, (2004)

-Gerry Robichaud, The Best Darn Fiddling in the World (cassette), BDFM 5-7008

Sources:

http://www.backtothesugarcamp.com/R.htm#robichaud

Dominique Dupuis

Dominique Dupuis is an Acadian fiddler, born 1987 in Memramcook NB. Her playing style is a blend of Acadian and Celtic influences and she often plays at Celtic festivals in Europe as well as festivals in North America. She began studying the violin when she was nine and by the time she was 12 she played at the opening of the International Festival in Lafayette, Louisiana. She has performed at the Pays de la Sagouine park in Bouctouche, as well as the Festival Interceltique i Lorient, France. She recorded her first album, Le bonheur des coups d'archet in 2000, followed by Sans relâche in 2002 and Bourrasque in 2008. Her most recent album is title Dominique Dupuis and came out in 2012.

Eddie (Eddy) Poirier

Eddie (or Eddie) Poirier is a New Brunswick fiddler, born in Rogersville in 1943. He is equally gifted on many instruments, including mandolin and guitar and quite at ease playing either Bluegrass, Acadian, Maritimes, or Irish styles. To learn more about Eddy, there's a great interview with him by Paul Stewart Cranford in the August 2011 issue of Fiddler Magazine. He also has several videos posted on Youtube. When not busy fiddling, he drives an 18 wheeler.

Discography:

-Eddie Poirier and Bluegrass 4, Banjo Bluegrass, Heritage Music, Scarborough, Ontario, Cassette (1968)

-Eddie Poirier, The Maritime Fiddler, Heritage Music, Scarborough, Ontario, L.P. and 8 Track, (1968); later released on “Fiddler Extraordinaire” C.D. Album, (1997)

-Eddie Poirier, Banjo, Banjo, Banjo, Heritage Music, Scarborough, Ontario, Cassette, 1970

-Eddie Poirier, I’m Going Back to Old Kentucky, Heritage Music, Scarborough, Ontario, Cassette, 1972

-Eddie Poirier, Eddie Poirier - Fiddler Extraordinaire, Condor Label, Heritage Music, Scarborough, Ontario, L.P. and 8 Track, 1973; later released on C.D., (1997).

-Eddie Poirier, The Best of Bluegrass, Smiley Bates, Rose Poirier, Eddie Poirier, Condor Label, Heritage Music, Scarborough, Ontario, (1973) L.P. and 8 Track, (later released on C.D. Circa, HCD 4425, 1997)

-Eddie Poirier (with Graham Townsend), Eddie Poirier Plays Scottish and Irish Style, Heritage Music, Scarborough, Ontario, (1993)

-Eddie Poirier and Bluegrass 4, Love Please Come Home, BOOT Records, Cassette, (1978).

-Eddie Poirier and Bluegrass 4, Eddie Poirier and Bluegrass 4, Country Records, Bowmanville, Ontario, (1981).

-Eddie Poirier, Eddie Poirier - Fiddle, Country Records, Bowmanville, Ontario, (1982).

-Eddie Poirier, Love of the Mountains, HUED Productions, Moncton, N.B., Cassette, (1987).

-Eddie Poirier, Candlelight Hornpipe, HUED Productions, WRC 4-6184 CAS 024, (1990).

- Eddie Poirier and Sons, Eddie Poirier and Sons - Fiddle, HUED Productions CMS Studio, Moncton, N.B., Cassette 104, HP004, (1990).

-Eddie Poirier, The Lost Dreams, by Eddy Poirier, DJP Studio, Moncton, N.B., (2004).

-Eddie Poirier, I’m On My Way Back to the Old Home, by the Poirier Family and Friends, DJP Studio, Moncton, N.B., (2004).

-Eddie Poirier, Red Hot Fiddle

-Eddie Poirier, Eddie Poirier et son violon

- Eddie Poirier & Fils, Eddie Poirier & Fils, Violon (cassette), HP-004

Sources:

http://www.backtothesugarcamp.com/P.htm#poirier

Camille Thébeau

Photo of Camille Thébeau from Fiddling in New Brunswick by Gary Copeland

Camille Thébeau is a well known fiddler from Rogersville in Kent County New Brunswick. He organized many bluegrass festivals, fiddle contests, and antique car rallies around "Little Nashville" in Rogersville. He was born in a family of 16 children and was a self-taught fiddler. One of his favorite fiddlers was Eddie Arsenault, as well as Eddy Poirier. He owned an antique museum as well as running the Ultramar Service Station. He also collected fiddles as well as the many awards and trophies that he won. His children are carrying on the tradition of dancing and fiddling.

Dicography:

"Camille Thébeau and Friends" Vol.2 Recorded live at "Little Nashville" in Rogersville, Cassette 74 (1988)

"Camille Thébeau & Friends" Cassette WRCA-6332, Recorded by CMS Studio, Moncton N.B. HUED Productions (1989)

Amand Savoie

Amand Savoie was born in St. Wilfred on June 18th, 1933. He and his brother Simon, as well as his father were musicians and lumberjacks. Amand started playing fiddle when he was 12 years old and quickly took to playing for parties and competitions. When not busy fiddling, Amand worked as a heavy equipment operator, a mechanic, and a welder. He won more than 50 trophies during his lifetime and made an LP called "A New Brunswick Lumberjack", Musk Mel-85-1-1985, recorded at Musk Sound Studios, Bathurst N.B. March 1985. 

Amand's brother Simon tells a great story that really shows what life was like for these early Acadian fiddlers: " My father, Germaine, was a foreman at a logging camp with a crew of 15 to 20 men. Father would work all week in the woods and come out on Saturday. He had two teams of horses the he used in the woods operation. When I was 11 or 12 years old, I decided that I wanted to play the fiddle. I went into my father's bedroom, and locked the door. It would really bother my mother because she could not get in but she could hear what I was up to. After two weeks of this my mother looked at the bow and there were only four or five horsehairs left on it. My mother said, "Your father's going to kill you when he comes home on Saturday". I decided I had better make another bow. I went to the barn with a pair of scissors and cut some horsehair as big as my little finger. I made a knot at the end and then I took some rabbit wire and I tied that up. I did the same thing at the other end. I tied it really tight and it looked like an Indian's bow. The horsehair was black and since I didn't have any rosin I took my father's snowshoes and went into the woods and got a piece of spruce wood gum as big as an egg. I rubbed that on the horsehair. My mother looked at it and said "Your father will not be happy". My father came home on Saturday, ate supper, showered, and shaved. The suspense grew. Finally he headed for his bedroom and took his violin out of the pillowcase. My father was a man that very seldom laughed but we heard a booming laugh coming from the bedroom. He came out of the bedroom and still laughing, pointed his finger at me and said, "You, my son, will never be stuck in life". Today, anyone that knows me will tell you the exact same thing."

Sources:

http://greatcanadianfiddle.blogspot.com/2015/01/amand-germaine-savoie-new-brunswick.html

http://www.backtothesugarcamp.com/S.htm

http://tradotronik.tumblr.com/page/24

Elmo LeBlanc

Elmo LeBlanc was born at Saint-Anne-de-Kent on June 17, 1954. He started playing fiddle at the age of 7 and was inspired by his father, Johnny LeBlanc, as well as both his grandfathers, Tuis LeBlanc and Stanley Chiasson who were Acadian fiddlers. He formed a band called "Elmo LeBlanc and His Musicians" and they performed for 16 years. He has played for kitchen parties and dances, as well as radio and television. He has also performed at Le Pays de la Sagouine. He composed the tune "The Arcadian Reel". When not busy fiddling, he works for B.A.Richards Fish Plant where he has been employed for 20 years.

Discography: 1. "Fiddler Elmo LeBlanc - Son of Acadian Pioneer". Recorded at Rite Track Productions, Leominister, Ma. LP and cassette. (1984) 2. "Elmo LeBlanc-Acadian Fiddler" produced by Raymond Legere, cassette (1994)

Thérèse Albert

"La musique, c'est toute my vie": that pretty much sums up Thérèse (Landry) Albert's love of music and life. She was born April 24, 1926 in St. Anne de Bocage, New Brunswick. Her family was musical and her father played the fiddle at musical events and weddings to supplement the family income. When she was 13, Thérèse borrowed her father's fiddle and learned to play a few tunes. When her father found out, he was overjoyed and Thérèse went on to celebrate a lifetime of music. She married Gilles Albert  in 1947 and put away the fiddle for almost 30 years while her kids were growing up. In 1979 under the encouragement of her husband (who played harmonica) and with the fiddle her father had left her when he died, she entered a fiddle competition in Lamèque. Despite the fact that it was mostly men who played fiddle publicly, she won the competition and went on to play concerts and festivals all over the Acadian peninsula, where she was often the only female fiddler. In 1991 she took part in a television program "Le Temps de Vivre" that was recorded at the Le Village Acadien. She continued to perform at the Acadian village for a number of years.

Abel Cormier

Abel Cormier was born 1954 in Cap Pelé, New Bruswick. His father, Nazaire Cormier was also an Acadian fiddler and fiddle maker. Abel started playing fiddle when he was 9 years old and quickly became part of various musical groups that promoted Acadian music. In 1997 he played with Broucayen and Les Inconnus. He joined up with Richard Bourque in 1981 to from the Abel and Richard duo then in 1986 joined the group Déja Vu and they released an albu called Le Chemin du Reveil. In 1994 Abel started performing at Le Pays de la Sagouine in Bouctouche  and also played with two popular groups: Bois France (1995) and Les Turluteux (1997).