Pierre Cyr
Fort-Coulonge April 6, 2023
A tribute show in honour of Merle Haggard was held last Thursday evening, April 6, at the Cinema Lyn in Fort-Coulonge. Fortunately for the spectators, the power was restored in Fort-Coulonge in time for the show, which started around 7:30 p.m.
Two of the perfomers in the band paying tribute to Haggard, Neville Wells and Frank Koller, know Fort-Coulonge well, having played together at the Labine Hotel for the first time in 1972.
Don Marcotte, currently a resident of Edmonton, still has a daughter who lives in the village. Maureen Young, a seasoned classical pianist, is a resident of Carleton Place and teaches piano.
Wells is also a member of the Ottawa Valley Country Music Hall of Fame.
Haggard happened to both be born and die on April 6 (1937-2016), making the timing of the show appropriate.
Haggard was one of the singers identified along with Johnny Cash as part of the Outlaw Country movement in the United States in the sixities and seventies. He was famous for starting his career when he was released from prison in 1960.
A good crowd of 80 people were on hand despite the inconvenience of the power outages that affected the Pontiac last Thursday; a great success under the circumstances.
The small venue of the Cinema Lyn lends itself well to this kind of intimate show, as the sound travels well and the smaller space brings a good proximity to the stage.
It is likely that other musical shows of this kind will be part of the Cinema Lyn’s offer to its clientele, in addition to the regular movies.
