Sheesham & Lotus & Son at the Grace Centre

Jeff Green | Apr 22, 2015

The new kings of old-time music.

The Grace Centre in Sydenham is presenting the olde tyme music and modern showmanship of Sheesham and Lotus and Son this Saturday.

The trio are just back from touring Denmark and the UK to rave reviews. They are described as “dynamic and entertaining, a surprise and a delight; one of the most popular old-time and roots acts in North America”. They began as a fiddle and banjo duo, but soon added a variety of instruments and touches of vaudeville and old-time music hall to their performances.

The core duo of the band, Teilhard Frost (Sheesham), and Sam Allison (Lotus), first got together as part of a band called Flapjack. During tours with Flapjack they found they had a common love of Appalachian tunes and vaudeville, and by the time the band was winding down, they were ready to form Sheesham and Lotus. They have played all across Canada, including at the Blues Skies Music Festival, Millrace Festival of Traditional Folk Music, Summerfolk, Mariposa, Northern Lights Festival Boreal, Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival, Barrie Folk, Little Slocan Valley Fest, Cree Fest (Kasheshawan, On), Champlain Valley Folk Fest, (V.T.), Shelter Valley Folk Fest, and the Winnipeg Folk Fest. They have acted as host to the main stage at both Peterborough Folk festival and Shelter Valley. In January 2010 they held a two-week residence at Queens University Faculty of Education, teaching harmonica, step dance, and square dance to teacher candidates. They have played theatres and concert venues all across Canada, coast to coast.

The newcomer to the band is Son Sanderson, who fills out the banjo and fiddle sound with the sousaphone and occasionally the French Horn.

This is a show not to be missed by lovers of music in the Sydenham area and beyond.

The show will take place on Saturday April 25, 7:30 pm at the Grace Hall, Stagecoach Road, Sydenham; $12 advance, $15 at door. For information call the Grace Centre at 613-376-6477. Grace Centre is a fully accessible venue.