Established in 1980, the Downeast Bluegrass & Oldtime Music Society is an incorporated not for profit organization, registered with Joint Stock Companies of Nova Scotia, registration #1253983.
The Society seeks to promote and preserve Bluegrass music in Eastern Canada, and does so in part by presenting the Annual Nova Scotia Bluegrass & Oldtime Music Festival - the oldest Bluegrass music festival in Canada.
“It is our duty, not only as musicians, but as participants of this music form that it be like any other music form in history. It’s our duty to allow bluegrass music to grow and flourish and at the same time retain the most important part of it, and that is the essence of the sound of real bluegrass music.” -Tony Rice (2013)
2024-2025 Board of Directors
- President - Jeffrey McRae
- Vice President - Victoria Higgins
- Treasurer - Dawn-Marie Giles
- Secretary - Charlotte Paul-McRae
- Director - Gary Giles
- Director - Isabelle Pitre
The Society Memorandum of Association and By-Laws can be found here.
To join the Society, you can email the following information to membership@downeastgrass.com and pay $10/member by e-transfer to the same address. Our membership chairperson will get back to you with confirmation.
- First name
- Last name
- Phone number
- Mailing address
- Indicate if youth (<18 yo)
You can also join by purchasing your membership online through Eventbrite below.