THE NEWS FROM BRUNER’S BROOD SASKATCHEWAN FIDDLE EDITION WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2025

Hello, everyone!I trust all is well where you are and that each of you have had a good summer. For those of you who have recently liked and followed my artist page since March 2025, I thank you publicly again for your interest and kind support as well as welcome the new followers who have come onboard. A warm welcome to you all! Please share this page with others, tell those you know that this page and website exists, and let them know that activities and events are lining up for summer 2025. Here’s the latest for my Facebook pages and www.trentbruner.com. After landing in Saskatchewan on Wednesday, August 13th, it has been a busy time in preparations for two performances featuring the Saskatchewan representatives competing at the 35^th Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Competition, held this year in Kamloops, B.C.. The Sunday afternoon show took place in Meadow Lake August 17^th (through the efforts of Lucas Welsh) and the Monday night show and dry dance took place in Canwood August 18^th (with assistance from the Canwood Public Library Board). The Saskatchewan fiddlers are Austin Castle of Swift Current and Emily Dubois of Regina. Lucas Welsh (guitar) and Yours truly (piano) were accompanying these musicians for both events, along with other guests to mention later in this article. I will be returning as one of the house accompanists for our national fiddle championship alongside fellow accompanist Melika Lemelin from Sudbury, Ontario. The City of Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, has just opened a brand new multi purpose facility called The Coop Centre this past July. This building has a large meeting/dance hall, field house, offices for the City of Meadow Lake and a hockey arena with installed seating...at least what I saw of it. Locals informed us that we were the second concert event to take place in this new facility, and with an enthusiastic audience, the two hour concert went well with all the musicians, along with past Saskatchewan CGM representative Booker Blakley of Saskatoon, who made a guest appearance. Many thanks to Lucas and his local group for organizing the show and post concert supper for us. Upon return to Canwood, it was time for two performances on Monday. I was at our local seniors’ home, Whispering Pine Place for an arranged junior music concert with the Canwood Library Board on Monday morning with nine year old fiddler Brynlee Aiken and 17 year old country singer Erik Weberg for a one hour show for the residents and relatives. Music was well received during the morning by all present. After lunch, it was time to set up at the Canwood Elks Hall for the evening show and dance. When the musicians showed up, Austin Castle brought a bass player from his Swift Current band, Magnus Braun, to sit in with Lucas Welsh and Yours truly. After sound check and rehearsals with all the entertainers, we had a supper break (provided by the Library Board) and prepared for the evening performance. Those in attendance came from as far away as Meadow Lake, Stony Plain, Alberta, Winkler, Manitoba and Seattle, Washington, USA. Many in the audience were attending this fiddle show for the first time. After “O’Canada”, a welcome from the Canwood Library Board and sponsor acknowledgements to Affinity Credit Union and the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority for sponsorships with local library programs, the two hour show started in earnest. Erik Weberg opened with his guitar in hand and sang traditional country songs from Hank Williams, Buck Owens and old country gospel songs. Past Canadian Grand Masters contest judge John Kushneryk of Prince Albert (92 years young) was the first fiddler up, performing various tunes by Andy DeJarlis, John Durocher, Germain Leduc and Don Messer. Austin Castle then followed up with bluegrass tunes by Kenny Baker and some old time tunes by Calvin Vollrath. Yours truly then played an original piano solo, “And a Little Child Shall Lead Them,” followed by Lucas playing some Chet Atkins guitar tunes in a short medley. Emily Dubois from Regina then performed a blend of old time fiddle tunes and original fiddle compositions that she will record on an EV release later this fall. The show portion closed with 2013 Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Champion James Steele of Saskatoon performing many old time favourites, followed by all the fiddlers in a closing medley. A 50/50 draw was then made, along with a feather painting from artist Lucille Scott.  An old time dance then took place until the end of the evening with performers providing the dance music.  My next report will come from Kamloops, B.C. for the 35^th Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Competition Saturday, August 23^rd in the Sagebrush Theatre. Those who wish to purchase tickets can do so through cgm2025kamloops.com. The competition can be seen live on Facebook through the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Association’s Facebook page. Please find this page and share with all you know! Preliminaries start at 12:00 Noon Pacific Time with the finals at 7:00 pm Pacific Time. The B.C. Fiddle Orchestra, a junior fiddle group led by competition M.C. Daniel Lapp of Victoria, will be the guest performers during the afternoon and evening sessions. Inductions for the Canadian Fiddle Hall of Honour will take place during the Saturday Night Finals as well before the award presentations. For those unable to view the competition live, you can check the same page for the replay of both sessions afterwards. But the more who view it live, the better! Set up a watch party and invite your family, friends and neighbours to tune in! Until next time, see you somewhere down the musical trail! Musically yours, Trent