Young fiddler drops debut album at Eagle Eye

Fiddle player Jocelyn Pettit, 15, is celebrating her debut album with a release concert tonight (Feb. 5) at the Eagle Eye Theatre. Tickets are available in advance at Gelato Carina or at the door. Cost is $10 for adults and $8 for students and seniors.

Jocelyn Pettit is looking to fill the Eagle Eye Theatre tonight (Feb. 5) after a jubilant performance at Deep Cove Shaw Theatre drew a sold out crowd of about 130 people to celebrate her first album’s release on Saturday (Jan. 30).

The 15-year-old fiddle player shared the stage with more than a dozen fellow musicians, including The Jocelyn Pettit Band, to bring her new self-titled album to life.

“The place was pretty packed and once the energy got going it was amazing,” said Pettit, adding that she expects the local release concert to build on that energy.

Pettit has been a core part of Squamish’s music scene for years, bringing original, contemporary and traditional sounds to the corridor solo and together with friends and family like father Joel Pettit, who co-produced and performs on the album.

The album, which Pettit describes as New-Trad Celtic, features two tracks she recently composed along with others from about 20 composers representing folk traditions of British Columbia, Cape Breton, Scotland, Ireland, Scandinavia, France, and the United States.

Pettit said the musicians contributing to the album have all been important to her musical development.

“All those people I’ve played with over the years, it was really special to include everyone on the CD,” she said.

The result is an upbeat blend of old and new, mixing sweet melodies with foot-stomping dance tunes and groovy rhythms that are enhanced by Pettit’s vocals on select tracks.

She’s excited about the entire album but is most proud of her own songs, she said. The album opens with Late for the Feast, a three-piece track Pettit wrote partly while relaxing in the sun and partly while riding out a long plane ride. She also wrote Shades of Mist, a song that evolved over time.

“It started off as a small groove and then kept building as I played it in different venues and for different people,” she said.

Pettit spent more than three months in a Vancouver recording studio during the 18 months it took to produce the album. Although she had already recorded demos, she feels she developed immensely through creating a complete album.

“It was definitely a fantastic learning experience for the future because I’m sure I’ll be doing many more albums,” she said, adding that it will be a useful tool for getting her music out to festivals and radio stations.

Tickets for the tonight’s 7:30 p.m. show can be purchased in advance at Gelato Carina or at the door. Tickets cost $10 for adults and $8 for students and seniors.

Having already carried the Olympic Torch in Furry Creek on Thursday (Feb. 4), Pettit is hitting the main stage in front of 22,000 people at BC Place for the first Winter Games medal night on Feb. 14.

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