We all know quiet souls who come in and out of our life. Always there with a smile, willing to help, loaded with some interesting facts or thoughts. On top of all that, Meghan Balogh is talented fiddler with a gentle mix of sensibility and intensity. Her musical styles preferred usually lend themselves to the traditional/trad ways but she is an open book and melds into form when called upon. She has a true depth of presence. You can hear her with Eric Uren on Sundays and Tuesdays at The Cove and supporting comedian Tom Green in his new band, in Kingston folk super group The Gertrudes and alongside JUNO Award-winning folk artist, David Francey. She is an integral part of Seventh Town, a Prince Edward County group who channel Celtic sounds and who will be playing the annual Robbie Burns Supper at The Cove on Saturday, January 25 from 6-10 pm. Details and reservations here: web link

Seamus Cowan: The fiddle is clearly a big part of you and your personality. It seems effortless and subtly always a part of you. Did you pick it up at a traditionally young age like so many fiddlers?

Meghan Balogh: The fiddle snuck up on me. I started classical piano lessons at 7, but my parents decided I should take up the violin—which my younger sister had already been playing for four years—when I was 12, and we had moved to the US without our piano. When we came back, I returned to finish the Royal Conservatory program on piano, but also kept playing the violin. It was in the Kingston Youth Orchestra that I discovered what a joy it is to play music with other people. The Kingston Irish traditional session then became my fiddle learning space, where I picked up hundreds of traditional Irish tunes and got to play with some really amazing trad musicians.

When I met Martin Smit, the lead singer of Seventh Town, 17 years ago and began performing Celtic and folk songs with him, I was hooked. The delight that I feel playing music with others in a supporting role is the main reason I’m involved in music today.

Q: Folk fiddle is such a regional thing in these parts. Can you maybe tell us a little about the Ottawa Valley sound and history and how it pertains to your playing?

Meghan: Despite growing up in the Sharbot Lake area, adjacent to that recognizable Ottawa Valley sound, I’ve never explored this style of fiddling. I fell in love with traditional Irish music in my late teens and I’ve spent the last 20-plus years studying the various “dialects” that Irish fiddlers play in, as well as the Irish tunes that have both been around for 200 years and ones that have come from modern composers. I’ve also spent some time in the Cape Breton and Scottish traditions. A dear friend of mine is introducing me to some Newfoundland tunes which often cross over into the Irish and French traditions.

Ottawa Valley-style fiddle playing definitely finds its roots in Ireland and Scotland, so I’m sure I’ll find some common ground if I dip my toes in there!

Q: Since I’ve known you, I have seen in you a strong, determined, hard-working individual. Your family has a farm in the country. I am so interested to know how you have been influenced by those ideals and if you think it comes out in your music.

Meghan: Music education for both of their daughters was really important to my parents. Their dogged insistence is definitely the reason I stuck with music and that helped to build the chops needed to be able to enjoy playing. I’m lucky to be able to use those skills in a semi-professional way in my adulthood and I credit my parents for fostering that interest and prodding it along when I didn’t necessarily feel like continuing. It’s a path I’m traveling with my own kids today. And yes, farm labour sure helps develop resilience, determination and work ethic in all areas of life!

Q: You started to perform regularly with Eric Uren after meeting him around the start of the pandemic and now you continue to play together as a duo on Sundays during the cold months and Tuesdays during the warmer ones. What brought you two together and where do you see your sound developing? Songwriting?

Meghan: I was immediately struck by Eric’s incredible voice and his delivery of music that hadn’t really interested me much in the past— Neil Young, Steve Earle, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and lots more—music that was pretty far removed from my traditional Irish and folk song influences and interest. To this day, Eric can cover a song I thought that I disliked and change my mind about it. While he can do just fine performing without me, I think we both enjoy the element of surprise and divergence that a fiddle creates in some of these really well-known songs. I like to think I’ve contributed to him settling into a “folky” vibe, which suits both of us.
We’re also easing into some songwriting together. As a journalist in my day job, I’ve got lots of words. He’s a “new melody a day” kind of guy, so it could shape up to be a really fun and rewarding joint endeavour.

Q: In terms of collaboration, being a long time member of Seventh Town and The Gertrudes has been fulfilling for you. But a couple of other amazing opportunities have arisen for you in the last few years working with some stars in the entertainment industry. What’s it been like playing as a sideman to acts like MTV/Hollywood comedian Tom Green and JUNO-winning folk legend David Francey? You have to bring another level but you have to stay grounded, right?

Meghan: I feel privileged to have been chosen by both of these people to contribute to their different artistic visions! Working with Tom for the past couple of years has been so much fun and a little different than anything I’ve worked on in the past. But it also draws on my musical strengths. I’m proud of my ability to musically support whomever has asked me along on their journeys, and Tom is no exception. Both Eric and I have had the chance to try out some pretty cool, non-traditional musical things with Tom, both live and in the Bathouse Studio, where we helped to shape the soundtracks for three Amazon Prime shows coming out at the end of this month.

And David Francey… wow! What else can I say but that I won the musical lottery to be asked to share the stage with him on a recent tour in Manitoba and the northeastern US. I was struck at every show by his absolute grace, humility, musicianship and incredible songwriting and storytelling. Supporting him and Chris Murphy at those shows was a highlight of my musical life experiences to date. Posted: Jan 22, 2025 Originally Published: Jan 19, 2025