Fiddling, step-dancing sisters steal the show in Glendower
By Craig Bakay, Frontenac EMC

Ella and Tessa Bangs, along with Dad Robert, were a huge hit at the 4th Annual Frontenac Old Time Music Championship Sunday at Bedford Hall.

For sisters Tessa and Ella Bangs, along with Dad Robert, the Frontenac Old Time Music Championship was a welcome gig.

The Ottawa family band is glad to be back home after 14 months in Brazil, another five weeks in Argentina and a few more in Chile, Peru and Columbia. The tour also included stints in Portugal, Spain, Belguim, the UK and Ireland.

Younger sister Ella (14) landed a gig in Cirque du Soleil's Quidam as a singer. Older sister Tessa (16) and Mom Lauree got jobs with the entourage and Dad Robert went along as a chaperone.

The girls sing, play fiddle and other instruments and step dance. Their stop in Glendower as guest artists at the Championship this year was on the way home from the Bobcaygeon Fiddle and Step Dance Contest.

They're happy to be back home, but the Cirque du Soleil tour was a once in a lifetime thing, and like most musicians they found music everywhere they went.

"We always tried to find an Irish pub wherever we went," said Ella.

"There are Irish pubs everywhere around the world," said Tessa, finishing her sister's sentence. "We went there in our free time and could always find a jam going on."

The girls were a bit surprised to find how well their music was accepted in these places, and how universal a language music is.

"In some places, they wanted to do their own stuff and we'd just sit in," said Ella.

"But in a lot of places, they wanted to hear our music," said Tessa.

The girls were schooled by the likes of Ottawa Valley legend Brian Hebert, April Verch and Louis Schryer, and their music is a blend of traditional country jigs, reels, roots, traditional and classical, with some tango and South American influences tossed in.

The girls play mostly fiddle and sing while Dad plays guitar, but the crowd favourite is when the girls bring their fiddles out on to the dance floor and tap out the rhythms in unison step dancing.