by Anna Dreyer
Canadian singer songwriter Old Man Luedecker has once again graced the Woodford Folk Festival with his unique blend of unusual and poetic songs performed with only a five string banjo and a rare and gentle old world allure.
A two-time JUNO Canadian music award winner, he’s been in Australia for the past 2 months performing at the Festival of Small Halls, the Mulum Festival and is this week at the Woodford Folk Festival for the third time.
A solo banjo player who sings songs about his life he talks quietly but avidly about folk music and the it’s direction in the modern world.
“It tends to be fairly lyrically based and fairly acoustic,” Chris says.
“At this moment in time we’re at the very far end of a series of waves that have been going on all through history.
“Starting in the 50’s with New York City socialists singing songs for the people and then becoming a movement.
“It went on to a brief moment of commercialism in the early 60’s and continued into the 70’s when people where singing their own personal songs but selling lots of records doing it.
“Into the 90’s and up until now when people are continuing to rediscover this music and are adding things to it.”
He says the style of folk music is lyrical and acoustic, people singing songs for people.
“It’s the possibility of freshness and of saying something meaningful lyrically,”
“People are generally smarter than we give them credit for and there’s room for really engaging lyrics.”
A great fan of Woodford and visiting with his family, he describes it as an immersive, engaged and a spiritually positive environment.
“It’s a feelgood place,” he says.
Old Man Luedecke has a new album coming out in 2019 and will tour the UK and the west coast of Canada.