Sharbot Lake Beach Bash Finds Its Groove in Year 3

Jul 31, 2024

Sam Arraj, the owner of Seeds & Company, an accounting firm based in Sharbot Lake, is a big country music fan. So much so that, he is the former Board Chair and current member of the Advisory Council of CMAOntario (Country Music Association of Canada – Ontario)

In late 2021 as the COVID restrictions were easing, he developed the idea of bringing the CMA Ontario and Sharbot Lake together to celebrate country music and the iconic Sharbot Lake beachfront.

The first two editions of the Bash, in 2022 and 2023, took place in August, but for the third event in 2024, the last weekend of July was chosen.

And while the 2022 bash took place on a sweltering afternoon and evening, and the second on a rainy evening, the weather was pitch perfect when the gates opened for the 2024 beach bash late last Saturday afternoon

A crowd of 400 people settled in after 6pm for some local food, picking up chicken and ribs from Mike Mckenzie of Seed to Sausage (no relation to Seeds & Company) and butter chicken, somosas and butter tarts from Rimpy Kaillon (and sister Sukhi) from The Corner Grocery, beer from K&P Brewing and the Local Brewer and Ontario wine.

There was a buzz in the air when the show got underway just after 7. The lineup included some of the top up and coming talent that CMA Ontario has identified in their promotion of country music artists from across Ontario; including Alexa Goldie, Spencer Burns, Charissa, and Listowel's own country star, Karli June.

The headline act, The Abrams, are no strangers to Sharbot Lake. As older brother John pointed out, the boys played at a cottage on the far side of the lake when they were teenagers, and got their start when they were 11 and 9 at the Thomson Hall (the one in Snow Road not the one in Toronto) That was over 20 years ago just after the turn of the millennium, when they performed gospel and bluegrass with their father and grandparents

The Abrams are a full on, 6-piece country rock band now, including drums, bass, keyboards and lead guitar. John plays guitar and sings most of the lead vocals, and James on fiddle and banjo.

Their show is full of energy, building on the bluegrass and gospel traditions from 4 generations of Abrams performers going back to their great-grandparents in the 1930's, but not being bound by them. In their live show, even more than in their recording, the same joy that informed their playing as kids is still there, no matter what genre they happen to be slipping into from song to song.

They took the stage as the sun was finally setting over the lake and played the audience into the night, mixing their own songs with a couple of well chosen covers, including a rollicking rendition of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” from Charlie Daniels.

The show was a homecoming for the Abrams, with lots of family members in the audience, including grandparents Wayne and Mary, who still play church shows across the region.

And it was also a homecoming for the Beach Bash as well.

The organisation, timing, and setup of the event was flawless in year 3, much to the credit of volunteers led by the dynamic team of Verle Mobbs from CMAOntario and crackerjack local organiser Lesley Merrigan

Mark your calendars, Beach Bash 4 is just 51 weeks away.