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Dan McKinnon

Venue: Bothy Folk Song Club
Town: Southport
Date: 25th November
Website: http://www.danmckinnon.ca/

Tonight, the Bothy played host to the superb Canadian singer-songwriter- storyteller Dan McKinnon. Dan is from Halifax, Nova Scotia and last played at the Bothy three years ago. His return on a wet, blustery night was most welcome for he is a fine performer who really engages the audience with his eloquent songs [and those of his main inspiration, the late, great fellow-Canadian, Stan Rogers].

Dan grew up listening to his grandmother's songs and stories.His first instrument was the French horn but he borrowed his sister's seldom played acoustic guitar and this became his instrument of choice. By chance, he happened to hear the music of Stan Rogers whilst hitching a ride to a folk festival in 1979 and he was immediately hooked. Rogers became his biggest influence, although he only met him once. Tragically, Stan Rogers died in 1983, aged 33, when fire broke out on Air Canada Flight 797 en route from Dallas to Toronto. Although the airliner made an emergency landing, Rogers was one of 23 passengers to die in the fire.

This evening, Dan performed three of Stan's best known songs, namely, " White Squall" [about a young sailor being swept overboard from his ship in a sudden gale on the Great Lakes], "Mary Ellen Carter" [ a happy song about a shipwreck !] and "The Field Behind The Plow", all of which demonstrated what a great songwriter Stan Rogers was.

There is, however, much more to Dan McKinnon than being an interpreter of Stan Rogers' songs. He is a fine songwriter in his own right, particularly when writing about historical events [well, he did study history!].Notable examples are "Pier 21" which relates the story of the war brides who emigrated to Canada from war-torn Europe to be with their Canadian husbands [ "To Follow Him Who Won My Heart"]. Another excellent song was "Yukon Trail", a song based on actual letters from prospectors for gold to their families, which start off full of optimism and gradually become more and more despondent as time goes by and no gold is found.

As well as historical themes, Dan also writes about his own family. "Aesop's Fables" recalls his grandfather telling him the fables whilst they were fishing and how he passed them on to his own son. Another song about Dan's grandparents is "The Man Of Her Dreams " in which his grandmother dreams about her grandfather after he had died.

Dan McKinnon has a gift for storytelling and writes true, honest songs.He is a gentle man in every sense and a performance by him is always a life-affirming event, and tonight was no exception.

Peter Cowley