Spirit of Rasputin's

Kate Greenland

Saturday, November 28 at 8:00 pm
Westboro Masonic Hall,
430 Churchill Ave.N., Ottawa

Tickets: $25

The love of music and performing often runs deep in families and that is certainly the case for Kate Greenland. Kate gets that love from both sides of her family. She’s the daughter of Pat Moore and Garry Greenland, both well loved and respected members of the Ottawa roots / folk / Bluegrass scene. Pat is known for her powerful singing voice and poignant songwriting as well as for being one of the fixtures in the roots and Bluegrass communities in the Valley. Garry is the pre-eminent teacher of banjo and has often been called “the godfather of Bluegrass music in Ottawa”.

As you can imagine, Kate lived in a full-immersion artistic environment as she grew up. She was initially drawn to the visual arts and is known for her work as a pearl inlay artist. It wasn’t until Kate was 26 that she began to learn the mandolin and started to seriously consider musical performance as a career. After playing traditional Country and Bluegrass music for the better part of a decade, she picked up the guitar for the first time and began to explore songwriting.

Now let’s take a look at Kate’s band mates, Nathan and Chris.

Nathan Smith is ‘the fiddle player that everyone calls’. If you see a poster for bluegrass, old-time or country music around Ottawa, Gatineau, or Wakefield, the fiddle player is likely Nathan. He’s an in-demand session side-man skilled both in fiddling and vocals.

Chris Breitner is a ‘low-end specialist’. In the Ottawa valley, he’s considered by many to be the ‘first call’ bass player. While Chris primarily plays bass, he’s also a vocalist and can often be found playing electric guitar at the Irene’s Blues sessions.

Kate, Nathan, and Chris will be performing together at Rasputin’s November 28 concert. This is what Kate refers to as the small band. When they team up with Stuart Rutherford, Brent Weatherall and Matt Aston they become Kate Greenland and The Concrete Cowboys.

Tune in next week. We’ll learn more about the players and have a look at and a listen to some of Kate’s songs, including one that was recently nominated for the prestigious Song of the Year at the Ontario Folk Music Awards.

Tin Constellations review

by Bob Gernon

The excitement and anticipation were palpable at the Westboro Masonic Hall as the audience members filed in on the evening of Saturday, October 24. There were people of all ages and everyone was eager to experience the Tin Constellations concert. The band was to perform tunes from past, present and future albums and recordings. This was an extra-special night because they were including the full “Cobden” experience.

As we settled in, Kate Whitely, our Producer, warmly and humorously welcomed the audience and asked for a show of hands as to how many attendees had been to a Rasputins’ concert or event before. Surprisingly and gratifyingly, nearly half of those in attendance raised their hands. With this concert, we were reaching out to new audiences.

When Tin Constellations took the stage, they sang songs about birds, water diviners, train stations, a lady going over Niagara Falls in a wooden barrel, beavers and lovers torn apart in times of great turmoil.

Lyricist, lead singer and rhythm guitarist Brent Smith was effusive in his delivery and leadership. With a huge smile, energy to burn and lots of humorous quips, Brent and his friends held the crowd transfixed. Christine Graves was right beside Brent contributing gorgeous vocal harmonies and rhythmic support on numerous instruments. Rob Snasdell-Taylor filled in the bottom-end with his acoustic bass, electric bass and vocals. The talented multi-instrumentalist, Andrew Robertson, plucked and played a mandolin, a fiddle, and a mandobird while adding precision harmonies. James Leahy (key boards and vocals) and Sally Robertson (cello) added colour, atmosphere, youth, character and a great love of live music.

Bravo to Tin Constellations for a wonderful performance and thank you to the army of volunteers who make these concerts possible. Rasputins is a totally volunteer organization. If you’d like to get involved and invest some time in supporting folk music in the Ottawa area, please contact us at comms@rasputins.org.

Next up in our Featured Artists Series is Kate Greenland on Saturday, November 28. It’s going to be another good one.

2026 – 2027 Concert Lineup

Rasputin’s Featured Artists Series concerts return for the 2026-2027 season with the following lineup. We’re excited to present these artists for your enjoyment.