Regina’s Hummingbird Crossing is slated to appear at MerleFest this April. Held each year in North Carolina, MerleFest is one of the largest and most prestigious events of its kind.
The quartet, comprised of Tim Mrazek, Helen Chang, Jennifer Petriew and Vance Petriew are a tight-knit family band that play traditional and modern bluegrass, bluegrass gospel and acoustic folk. All members have musical training and have performed in a variety of ensembles over their careers. Mrazek has a classical music performance and education degree and Chang has her ARCT (Royal Conservatory) in piano is former violinist with the RSO. Their original compositions range from traditional sounding songs, to more eclectic sounds drawing from folk, bluegrass, jazz and classical genres. Their lyrics are compelling with vivid imagery with tight vocal harmonies.
While Vance holds the rhythm section steady with his double bass playing, the others are all multi-instrumentalists, capable of presenting a variety textures that include 5-string banjo, guitar, mandolin & dobro (Tim), fiddle, mandolin & guitar (Helen), and guitar, claw-hammer banjo and bodhran (Jenn).
The members of the group describe themselves as part-time musicians, with Jenn & Vance in IT, and Vance also being a well-known amateur astronomer. Helen is family doc and Tim, a Naturopath. They’re all involved with their kids activities and community volunteerism, but make time to enjoy music together. Mrazek explains, “We started with a casual throw-together for a Gospel Night at church one year. It was so fun we started making music every Sunday when our families got together for dinner. We stopped watching TV, started practicing more and more and we started to sound better! (laughs) Funny how if you make time for something how that can work!”
MerleFest is held in North Carolina each spring and is one of the world’s largest and most prestigious bluegrass festivals. Founded by the late great guitarist, Doc Watson, in honour of his son, Merle Watson, this huge festival draws fans from around the world and has showcased stellar acts that include Dolly Parton, Willy Nelson, The Kruger Brothers, Jerry Douglas, Alison Kraus & Union Station, Natalie McMaster, Alan Jackson, Vince Gill, David Grisman, Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Tony Rice, the Steep Canyon Rangers, the Zac Brown Band and many others.
Each year, by invitation only, the folks at MerleFest hand-pick twelve upcoming artists to showcase in their Band Competition. Hummingbird Crossing is the only Canadian group in this year’s lineup. Mrazek adds, “Here we are, a little band from Regina...who’d have thought? It’s a great honour and very exciting!”
The band performs Saturday April 28 on the Plaza Stage where they’ll debut a selection of original songs and instrumentals. You can find Hummingbird Crossing on Facebook or at hbcrossing.wixsite.com/band.
