Eldon Ostrom started playing in his family’s band at the age of nine. That was a while ago: “2021 marks my 50th year of playing traditional country music, and calling square dances in the Pontiac, Quebec & Ontario regions.”

Ostrom is announcing the release of a CD called “Me And My Boys.” Ostrom described the . . .

impetus behind the effort: “I always wanted to make a CD, but now that I’ve been playing in the band for 50 years, it seemed like I’d waited long enough.”

Ostrom is a local fixture of the music community in the Pontiac. He plays guitar and sings, and is active with his band, the BrysonAires. The CD includes an impressive list of songs, including 33 traditional country songs and four sets of square dances, (First Changes & Breakdowns) which are perfectly timed out.

After decades spent playing and entertaining people with live music, Ostrom has been feeling constrained by COVID restrictions, and knows others are frustrated too. “People, especially our seniors crowd, enjoy square dancing,” he said.

Due to COVID restrictions there were Christmas parties and New Years gatherings were prohibited. Ostrom is hopeful his music will help people get through the challenging winter months. “I would like to let people know about this CD so people can have parties in their own homes, and enjoy the art of square dancing at home with their family and friends.”

The CD aims to give people a chance to entertain themselves over the holidays, by giving people everything they need to continue local dance traditions, despite being restricted from gathering publicly.

The BrysonAires are part of local culture. The band has been performing iconic ‘fiddle music’ and square dance staples at “The Saturday Night Old Time Dances” at the Lions Club Hall in Bryson, every Saturday night for over 30 years.

Over the decades, the band has changed personnel quite a bit, as the passage of time does. “We still continue playing with the third & fourth generations of Ostroms” said Ostrom. The CD has inserts — pictures of the band and the Ostrom family, showing the connectivity and deep history of these musicians. The CD is dedicated to Sheldon Hermas, Ostrom’s first son, who passed away in 2017 at the age of 27.

The CD can be purchased at several venues in the Pontiac region, including The Equity, Joanne’s Valu Mart, Bryson Mart, Julie Jones Pharmacy (Campbell’s Bay) and by calling Eldon Olstrom at (613) 602-0079.

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