(TEE Ah-kah-DEE)
Ti' Acadie is a dance band and folk trio from Maine, part of the region including the Canadian maritime provinces known as Acadia (Ti' Acadie means "a little Acadia"). This versatile group is equally at home playing for concerts, contradances, or Cajun dances. Band members are Pam Weeks on fiddle, mountain dulcimer, guitar, singing; Jim Joseph on button accordion, 5-string banjo, mandolin, fiddle, jaw harp, percussion, feet, singing; Bill Olson on guitar, bass, singing, calling. They play a variety of music including traditional French Canadian and New England dance tunes; Cajun waltzes, two steps, Cajun blues and Zydeco tunes; old time southern tunes and songs often sung a capella in 3 part harmony; original tunes written by band "tunesmith", Pam Weeks, which range from sizzling reels and jigs to mesmerizing aires and sweet waltzes. In a contradance setting, they will get everyone moving to the beat with Quebecois reels and old timey southern "hoedowns", but the evening will often be punctuated by Pam singing a Cajun waltz, or by a contradance done to a set of old time Cajun reels started off with just fiddle and ti' fer (triangle); and when these guys REALLY get going, with fiddle howling, guitar pulsing, accordion pumping, feet tapping.... LOOK OUT!!!
Pam Weeks is a talented multi-instrumentalist as well as a tunesmith.In Ti' Acadie Pam focuses on Cajun, Old Time, and Quebecois fiddle, and mountain dulcimer in an amazing flat-picking style all her own, but occasionally plays piano, mandolin, guitar, viola, cello, Celtic harp, flute,or saxophone. Her solid, rhythmic fiddle and dulcimer playing, often trading off harmony and melody with Jim, is the backbone of the Ti' Acadie sound.
Jim Joseph normally plays three button accordions (a 3 row Castignari A,D,G; a single row Acadian Cajun accordion in C; and a single row Martin Cajun accordion in D). These, along with everything else he plays,make it hard to see him on the stage through all the instruments. But he is back there,having a blast with all his toys!
Bill Olson takes care of the "bottom end" usually on guitar,
but occasionally on upright bass. His driving guitar "chunk" can be
heard
on most clearly on the band's Cajun and French Canadian tunes.For old
timey
tunes he uses the traditional "bass run" flat picking style. Bill also
calls contradances with Ti' Acadie (while playing! - how does he DO
THAT??)and
other bands, and has written scores of dances that are popular with
other
callers and dancers worldwide.
For
Ti'
Acadie "promo" info click
here.
and
2008 Schedule