1994

Daniel Fontaine

Daniel Fontaine was born in a small community near the village of Balmoral. At 10 years of age he started playing the fiddle and by the age of 13 he was a familiar face at house parties and dances.

 

At the age of 22 he was married to a lovely woman named Lauretta who accompanied him on the piano, together they played music for weddings, dances and many other community events.

 

Daniel’s musical talent was passed on to his 12 children, who all performed in the family band at one time or another.

 

He played at the local radio station in the 1950’s and in the early 1960’s performed weekly on a television show which was aired from Quebec to parts of New Brunswick.

 

In 1964, Daniel was awarded his first lace trophy in Bathurst NB. His fiddling brought him many other trophies as well. A memorable moment for him was when he was asked personally to perform for the well known fiddler, Don Messer.

 

At the age of 69, his fiddling continues to entertain country music lovers.

 

 

Roger Lanteigne

Roger Lanteigne was born on July 25, 1957 in Allardville, New Brunswick. Because of his love for Acadian “folk” music, Roger started playing the button accordion in 1965. After having practiced this instrument he began playing at family and social gatherings. In 1969, he began playing this music on special occasions such as weddings and anniversaries as well as for many organizations seniors homes and dance halls.

 

Like many Acadians, Roger interprets the folk music in a very special way. Gifted with a very particular traditional style, he plays the accordion with remarkable ease and dexterity, captivating spectators young and old. He also plays other instruments and does adaptations of certain musical arrangements.

 

Since 1973, Roger has performed in many television and radio broadcasts. He participated in fourteen different accordion contests in which he always placed first. In 1987 he received a high distinction when he was awarded the laureate of the accordion champion at the Musical Gala of the Cultural Society of Kent South in Bouctouche, NB. He then won 1st place at an accordion contest Expo South in Shediac, NB. In 1993, during the New Brunswick French Gala in Grand Falls, he was awarded the trophy “Player of the Year ’93-94’.

 

In 1986, Roger represented New Brunswick Acadians and their traditional music at Expo in Vancouver, BC. He also had the honour of playing onstage at the official opening for the KC Irving lumber mill in St. Leonard NB.

 

Roger, along with other artists, participated in recording an album entitled “Up Home Tonight”. He also recorded two cassettes.

 

 

Norman G "Sonny" Weyman

Sonny began his romance with music before he could walk or talk, watching brass bands parade the troops past his parents’ house on St. James Street, to the waiting ships at Pugsley Terminal in Saint John.

 

At a very early age, Sonny received a tin or cardboard drum from his Dad for birthday or Christmas presents each year. At night his Dad would play Al Jolson material on the piano in his only key – F#.  A strong influence on him at that time was the Smokey Mokes Minstrel Show performing the same kind of material. Jeanie Haycock hooked him on British music-hall comedy with her rendition of “Oh! I Never Cried So Much In All My Life.”

 

At the age of 14 he received a guitar for Christmas and a 5-minute instruction book. Six months later he was playing in a jazz group “Ozzie’s Comets.” After Lionel Poirier, the fiddler with the Maritimes Farmers, moved into his house, the incentive to play Country was immense.

 

Throughout Sonny’s teens and early 20’s he supplied amps, guitars and drums to young bands just starting out and helped them develop the organizing skills necessary to work together as a team. He has also been interested in the ‘behind the scenes’ working. He has produced and/or directed several school variety shows. He ghost-produced the Ned Landry television show, helped organize Grand Bay Days in the 1980’s and the Ned Landry Tribute Concert in 1991.

 

Sonny played the drums with Jimmy Le’s Country group at the age of 19, in St. Martins with Ned Landry as the guest fiddler.  He worked with Jimmy for several more years as the Purple Haze country rock group.

 

 

 

Susan Butler

Susan Butler is from the Miramichi, in the northern part of New Brunswick. Susan is a singer and songwriter with seven recordings to her credit. She has been featured on many CBC programs throughout the Maritimes. She has been awarded the Paul Harris Medal by the Rotary Club for her contributions to the arts, and has been recognized by the National Folklore Society of Canada.

 

She is director of the longest standing Folk Festival in North America, the 37 year old Miramichi Folksong Festival.

 

Susan has sung in many parts of Canada and the USA. Susan has sung for such noted people as Pope John Paul and the Prime Minister of Canada. She has performed with singers: Frank Patterson, John Allen Cameron, Valdy, John McNulty, The Rankin Family, Barra MacNeils and fiddlers, Graham and Eleanor Townsend.

 

She is involved with promoting of local, provincial and national performers in presenting concerts in New Brunswick.

 

This past year Susan performed and organized over 40 concerts throughout New Brunswick, featuring: fiddlers, singers and dancers.

 

 

 

Randy Vail

Randy Vail started playing in his own band while in Belleisle Regional High School in the mid-fifties. During the late fifties, he also performed several times on the “Bud Brown’s Capital Co-op Jamboree”. During this time some of the notable performers on the show were Fred McKenna, Earl Mitton plus many more.

 

Since that time, he has played with numerous bands and has been fortunate to have performed with some entertainers such as Johnny Forrest and Marg Osborne. He has also had several bands of his own.

 

At a very young age he had the opportunity to accompany Eddie Poirier in what he believes was the first fiddling contest in which he won. Randy was one of the founding members of the original Country Clover Band and also played bass for George Hector for a number of years.

 

He presently has a band called “Lost Highway”. They perform at dances, shows and some private functions each year. They usually play on weekends and during the later years have taken the winter off.

 

“Lost Highway” has a lot of top quality, experienced musicians in it. They are: John Somerville, Mike McNamara, Steve Lyons and Joyce Boone.