2009 has been a massive year for Nova Scotia’s Joel Plaskett. After releasing the critically acclaimed triple album Three (MapleMusic), he opened for Paul McCartney on the Halifax Commons and toured through most of Canada’s finest theatres. Even with a record eight East Coast Music Award nominations announced earlier this month, this multi-talented singer, songwriter, and producer found time for an intimate acoustic performance at the Pearl Theatre in Lunenburg NS right before the holiday season on December 12, 2009.

^{Joel and Bill Plaskett. Photo credit: Ingram Barss}

Signs of Joel Plaskett’s increasingly packed schedule slipped onto the stage as he stepped under the flood lights of Lunenburg’s Pearl Theatre. After a corrected word in the first verse of ‘True Partriot Love’ and a few shaky notes, the lanky troubadour got into his groove during his opening tune and spun the crowd into one of many rousing rounds of applause.

Plaskett introduced the second song with one of his famous preambles recounting his extended plane trip earlier that day from Arizona where he completed production on Halifax-based David Myles’ new album. "Maybe it’s all that recycled air" he joked, "It’s hazardous to your vocal cords, you know." After a few swigs of bottled water and a few more choruses, no excuses were needed. A performer who has spent the last fifteen years connecting with audiences around the world, Plaskett readily relies on the 'passion over perfection' model, earning more fans with every show.

Armed with an arsenal of vintage guitars that included the four, six, and twelve stringed variety, plus a very tiny Casio keyboard, Mr. Plaskett delivered two full sets and two encores that ran at least two and a half hours. No stranger to the stripped down approach to music, Plaskett weaved back and forth through his back catalogue of post-Thrush Hermit material much to the delight of the hometown audience. Even his newest tune ‘On The Rail’, a tribute to the Cabot Trail commissioned by the CBC, received a huge response.

Joel’s father Bill Plaskett also joined in on guitar for several numbers and complimented the sound while anchoring the rhythm on songs like ‘Wishful Thinking’ (below). Bill, a veteran of the Maritime folk music scene, has had an extensive musical career, notably in the band Starb’ard Side, and is also hailed as being one of the co-founders of the Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival.

The musical ebb and flow of upbeat and laid back, the old and new came to a head during the first encore when Joel returned to the stage as the crowed stood, clapped, and pounded the floor with their feet. Taking no less than three spontaneous requests from the crowd he energetically covered the span of his solo career and injected ‘She Made A Wreck Out Of Me’ from the first Emergency album as well as the campy ‘Fashionable People’ into the final part of the stellar show. Closing with his father again on guitar, it was clear that this might be one of that few chances to see one of Canada’s finest singer-songwriters in such an intimate setting.

Opening the show was the soulful Irish Mythen, a transplanted young Irish singer currently based outside of Canso NS. Her acoustic folk-pop ranged from heartfelt ballads to up-tempo rousers that echoed the Indigo Girls and Melissa Ethridge and she proved that she is a force to be reckoned with on the folk music scene.

Plaskett appears to be on top of his game, both as a performer and as a rising star in the production world, having completed his own album at his home studio in Dartmouth. Pictured on the liner notes of Three, the exposed beams and vintage analogue gear of his home studio have been a source of inspiration and creativity not least for himself, but for numerous east coast bands including New Brunswick’s In Flight Safety.

After the show, Joel and Irish took the time to chat with the crowd and handle autographs. Armed with two questions, I took the opportunity to conduct ECC's shortest interview ever:

Ian Finley: Did you feel any nervousness plying in front of a home town audience? (Joel spent his elementary school days growing up in Lunenburg)

Joel Plaskett: Oh yeah, I mean my mom’s here as well as my aunt Sherrill, so there was a bit of nerves, especially with so many other familiar faces.

IF: At East Coast Connected, we make contact with our membership in many ways. When you’re on the road, how do you connect with home?

JP: Well, I try not to connect to anyone while I’m on the road or when I’m producing. I usually call home or text if I’m in the states, but when I get back from a project or tour I usually face a hundred emails, so it comes in waves.

As for the new year, it seems that Plaskett’s recently launched label New Scotland Records will be consistently releasing new music and plans for a reunion tour with his former band Thrush Hermit (!) should also sustain his schedule for the foreseeable future.

^{Editor's note: Special thanks must be given to Julie Lohnes at the Lunenburg Folk Harbour Society for making this article possible.}