By J Bruce Parker
London has a rich musical heritage with an abundance of musical venues hosting live bands as well as a variety of annual music events. Sunfest, now in its thirty-second year, and the Home County Music & Art Festival in its fiftieth year, helped put us on the musical map, as has the Aeolian Hall, an historic music venue which presents both national and international talent. In 2021, London was designated as Canada’s first UNESCO City of Music.
In the late 1980s, a musical genre dubbed Celtic punk crept into London bars. It was a blend of Irish traditional music, beefed up by electric guitars, bass and drums. Nationally, we had Great Big Sea and in London, we had Uisce Beatha, fronted by brothers John and Alan Glen. Back in the 1990s, I was thirty-something and faithfully followed them about town, always getting a front seat when they performed at places like the Electric Banana and the Brunswick. The band would cover the likes of the Irish band, The Pogues, as well as their own compositions, which honored their Irish heritage. Paul Meadows, fiddler for this band, still performs locally.
There was an indelible stamp of Irish heritage and culture in the music of bands such as Uisce Beatha, as well as The Gurriers and many others but you had to seek it out.
The inaugural Forest City Irish Fest, inspired by the 90,000 Londoners claiming Irish ethnic or cultural ancestry, takes place on Friday, September 18 and Saturday, September 19 on the Village Green in Wortley Village, as well as other local venues.
I had the opportunity to talk with Rachel Genders Boyd, co-artistic director of the event.
(Pictured: Forest City Irish Fest co-artistic directors Rachel Genders Boyd and Johnny Hewerdine.)
Q. Can you tell me a bit about yourself?
I’m actually from England but my father is Irish, so as a kid I went to Ireland every single summer. I have a great love of Ireland and Irish culture. I am also an Irish traditional musician. I am a singer and play the concertina. We have a regular Irish seisiun in London which I attend most weeks. We are starting an Irish comhaltas (pronounced cultus) which is a community coming together to nurture Irish culture.
Q. Did the idea of an Irish festival come from that?
Yes, definitely. This festival is part of that. It fits into the overall puzzle of us trying to promote Irish culture in London and the surrounding area of Southwestern Ontario.
Q. The music of our East Coast has a strong influence from Ireland. Will that be included?
At the festival, we will have East Coast style music and Ontario style which has been very influenced by the music of Ireland.
Q. How difficult was it to put the event together?
We have a small committee, so I wear many hats. Getting the bands together took about an afternoon but everything else took much longer in the organizing.
Q. Why is an Irish festival important for London right now?
There is already a lot of Irish culture here in London, but not out in the open. The seisiuns happen every Tuesday at Scott’s Corners and have been going on for decades. There is so much Irish music and dance in London, but much of it is under the radar, so we thought it was time to get it out in the open and get people excited about it. London and the local region has had a major influence from the culture of Ireland. This includes the Lucan Area Heritage and Donnelly Museum as well as London’s Irish Benevolent Society.
Q. Can you tell me about the various venues incorporated for the event?
The festival itself is taking place on the Village Green in Wortley Village. That is the main event but there are lots of performances happening elsewhere in the village. On Friday, September 18, we will have a local history talk about the Irish at Landon Public Library. In the evening, we will have a ticketed event at the Hyland Cinema featuring a Q&A with well-known London author, Emma Donoghue. On Saturday, the opening ceremonies begin on the green at 10:00 am, with a variety of bands performing throughout the day. This will be a licensed event. From 6:00 to 8:00 pm, various bands will perform at four of the local pubs. In the evening, there is an event which I am excited about as a musician. It is a traditional Irish seisiun, which is a jam or sort of improvisational event, combining many of the musicians from the day’s performances. It will be held at the German Canadian Club.
Q. So, it is not just a musical event?
Definitely. Along with the music, there will be storytelling and dance, demonstrations of the Irish sports of hurling and Gaelic football as well as a Kids Zone. We will even have Irish Wolfhounds demonstrating their talents. We are very ambitious with our ideas and hopefully the Forest City Irish Festival will become an annual event.
More information can be found on the Forest City Irish Fest website www.forestcityirishfest.com Check out their Facebook and Instagram pages for updates.
Be ready when Wortley Village’s Village Green becomes Kelly green on September 18 and 19.
Slainte!
By J Bruce Parker
J Bruce Parker is a retired oncology nurse. As an avid cyclist, he crossed the country by bicycle in 1991 and still explores Ontario’s north via canoe trips. He has published a short story based on his camping experiences.
For over 20 years, as a citizen scientist, he was involved with Monarch Watch, an organization that monitors the annual migration of the Monarch butterfly. He has written about this species and other articles on nature for The Cardinal, Nature London’s quarterly magazine.
For more information about Nature London and The Cardinal, visit https://www.naturelondon.com/the-cardinal/
He is documenting his ongoing friendship with Canadian poet bill bissett, which he hopes to eventually publish.
Bruce has been writing articles for Villager Publications since 2022. To read samples of Bruce’s writing, visit https://www.villagerpublications.com/
The Beat Magazine 2025 