Jamie's fiddle comes alive with the bold spirit of this now-classic Métis tune. Jamie Fox & Philip Aaberg perform "Louis Riel Reel" during the "Bridging the 49th" show at the 35th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Jamie Fox
Harlem, MT
Jamie Fox is a fiddler of the Métis tradition, which grew out of a mixture of Celtic, French, and Native American cultures. The Michif fiddle tradition on the Fort Belknap Reservation was on its last legs just as Jamie fell in love with the tunes. Jamie, through her love of the Michif tunes, brought new healing to an old discord between cultural sectors of the tribal society. As word got out, others on the reservation and along the Montana Hi-Line were incredibly enthused to see her taking on the music that was in jeopardy of vanishing. While she no longer lives the Montana country life, she grew up in a ranching family and still feels at home to that lifestyle. She represents the continuance of this generation maintaining a style and repertoire that dates back to the fur trade era and the first generation of European and Aboriginal mixing in the upper reaches of North America.

Philip Aaberg
Chester, MT
Philip Aaberg is known worldwide for his compositions that evoke the spaciousness and beauty of the Western landscape. A Harvard graduate, courtesy of a Leonard Bernstein Scholarship, he has performed with the Boston Pops, Peter Gabriel, Elvin Bishop, and at the Marlboro Chamber Music Festival. He has toured solo in Europe and Japan and released eleven solo albums… “Live From Montana” was nominated for a Grammy. He is also an Emmy nominee for “All-American Jazz” and for his score for “Class C:The Only Game in Town.” Recipient of a Montana Governor’s Award for the Arts, 2011 Artist’s Innovation Award, an honorary doctorate in music from Montana State University in 2013, and 2015 Montana Governor’s Humanities Award. As a composer, Philip is inspired by Montana's landscapes, from the Smith River Canyon to the Makoshika "badlands," from the Big Sky to the shortgrass prairie. He says "our history and our culture, they are a deep and un-ending well of inspiration for me: The mixed heritage culture of the Metis, the pow wow songs of the tribes, the African-American jazz musicians of the Ozark Club and Silver City Club, the high school bands and choruses, the classical tradition of our university system, the garage bands from little towns, the folksongs of the cowboys and the Butte miners....I am forever grateful for these and all the artistic treasures, historical and contemporary, of the Treasure State."

"Louis Riel Reel" music by Andy DeJarlis.

.....

Filmed in front of a live audience at the Elko Convention Center's Laurena Moren Theater on Feb. 2, 2019.

Made possible by Barrick and by the multitude of staff, artists, volunteers, and community members working behind the scenes to make this show happen.

Brought to you by the Western Folklife Center, using story and cultural expression to connect the American West to the world.
www.westernfolklife.org

.....