The last concert in Kinnaird Park will be Wednesday, August 26 and features Castlegar’s own Motes and Oats.
Motes and Oats consists of Melissa McCready (Motes) on guitar and vocals and Shannon Moldenhauer (Oats) on flute and vocals. The name of the band comes from the nick-names they had before they became a performing duo. “As we were getting on stage for our first open mic performance we were asked what we call ourselves. We gave them our nick-names, and it stuck.”
Shannon grew up in Regina where she played flute for the Regina Lion’s Band and the South Saskatchewan Youth Orchestra. While in high school she played the french horn, and sang in the school, jazz and church choirs. After high school she attended the University of Victoria and became a music teacher.
Melissa grew up in London, Ontario where she was influenced by her musical family and her Aunt Sharon, a recording artist. She learned to play the guitar, wrote songs and formed a band with her brother. After high school she moved to BC where she continued to play in bars, restaurants, and festivals.
Motes and Oats teamed up four years ago and have been performing throughout western Canada and Ontario since. Through the assistance of Columbia Basic Trust, they collaborated on a CD entitled “Simple Things.” The song “Saskatchewan” from the CD depicts Shannon’s childhood on her grandfather’s farm and won Kootenay’s Best Country/Folk Award in 2013.
During the summer of 2013 they performed at the Hill’s Garlic Festival and Castlegar’s Kootenay Festival. Almeda Glen Miller, poet and Selkirk College Creative Writing instructor, heard them and proposed a collaboration of music and poetry. The result was a five-song MP3 insert for Miller’s poetry book, “Begin with the Corners.”
Melissa and Shannon got married in 2014. They live in Castlegar with Jimi the dog and Snargwars the cat and have spent the past year composing their next EP, “Five,” set to be released this fall.
Seasoned attendees of the Concerts in the Park series might remember Motes and Oates from their 2013 appearance.
“From original love songs like “With You” to covers of George Michael’s “Faith” to songs with a message about the environment like “Wondrous Wonder,” the beautiful harmony from the distinctive voices of McCready and Moldenhauer was a great way to end up the seasonal concerts.” –Marvin Beatty, Castlegar News, August 13, 2013.
The concert will begin at 7 pm.
