By Adam Prudhomme
Staff Reporter
Lotus Wight promises guests will be in for plenty of surprises when he opens Lennox and Addington County’s Live at the Museum autumn season with an acoustic performance on Sept. 28.
Equipped with a banjo and a contrabass harmoniphoneum (a device he created to amplify his acoustic instruments), he possess a one-of-a-kind sound. This will mark his second trip to Napanee, having played for the county in August 2016.
“It’ll be a little bit different,” Wight says of his Sept. 28 show. “I’ve actually been working on a body of original work right now so I may introduce some of those songs. Mostly the music I do is kind of a revival of old popular songs from the turn of the century. The music I make is kind of a revival of old popular songs from the turn of the century, called old time music. You could call it American folk music, you could call it ragtime, also pre-war blues.”
For those who attended last year’s show, they’ll notice his contrabass harmoniphoneum has shrunk. That’s because he’s tinkered with the device to make it smaller and compact for when he travels overseas. He’s currently using his fourth prototype of his creation, which he built to be for easier storage on a plane ahead of his European tour, which he recently completed with his band Sheesham and Lotus and Son. The tour included stops in the U.K., Norway and the Netherlands.
“The contrabass harmoniphoneum, that thing adds bass,” said Wight. “First and foremost it affects the sound of the music I play. Secondly and I would say almost as importantly, it looks beautiful. It’s a curious object.”
Essentially it’s a horn that he plays or sings into which not only projects the sound, but alters it as well. It’s just one of a handful of musical inventions he’ll show off during his set.
“I also like to pull something out that will surprise people,” added Wight. “Often it’s a jaw-harp or some kind of horn contraphoneum or African thumb piano.”
Unique instruments are just part of what makes his show so memorable, as is the fact he assumes a persona of a banjo player from the turn of the century. He also likes to add in a bit of a history lesson with his show, delving into the stories behind some of the songs and the genre itself.
Other musical credits to his name include producing music for children’s television, animation projects and for Juno award winner Jenny Whiteley.
Admission to the show is $3 and will be available at the Museum and Archives door. The show gets underway at 7 p.m.