Day 1: Deer Lake to Corner Brook with Rawlins Cross

I was up at 8 am for bacon and eggs. I enjoyed a good chat with the owners of the Birchview bed & breakfast. They’ve been running it for 9 years, and told tales of many visitors - actors to doctors, from places as far and diverse as Africa, Australia and Russia. But they swore I was the first rapper to stay with them. They got me to rap for them, but I didn’t have time to get them to show me their accordion and banjo skills. I got them to pose for a picture.


Then Fred picked me up in his Star Taxi, and I headed back to Deer Lake Airport to catch the shuttle. I had an hour wait, giving me time to take in the ECMA fanfare posted by the baggage pickup.


At 11 am, Fred arrived again, this time as the "shuttle" driver. He picked up 4 of us destined for the ECMAs. Fred regailed us with stories of his years, including having to pick up a guy from Russia named "Kunt" last week. I also found out who I was sharing the drive with: Editor of the Newfoundland Herald, Kevin Kelly, and none other than 2 members the infamous Rawlins Cross.

Rawlins Cross, an Atlantic Canadian celtic rock legendary band, is reuniting for an awards show performance on Sunday night. In the van were founding members Ian McKinnon (pipes & whistle) and Dave Panting (guitar & mandolin). They took time to pose for a picture:


It's now almost 2 pm. Check-in time at my bed & breakfast isn't until 3 pm, so I'm stuck hauling my luggage around. I'm hoping to stash it somewhere so I can go see media-only performances from Damhnait Doyle, Duane Andrews, Ennis and Hey Rosetta! from 2-4 pm.