Music with great taste at Shadow Lawn Inn.

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Situated in a tawny neighbourhood just outside Saint John, Rothesay's Shadow Lawn Inn has long held a reputation as one of southern New Brunswick's finer dining establishments. Now in efforts to reach out to more and more members of the community, it's building itself a reputation as a very pleasant venue in which one could enjoy fine music and some fine dining.

Andrew Fischer and his wife Nancy operate the kitchen services at Shadow Lawn. While the Inn is renowned for featuring fresh local fare, Shadow Lawn held a certain perception among the public and he saw music as a way to bring a broader cross section of guests to the storied restaurant and inn.

"People have a certain impression about the place," Fischer tells [here] over the phone while ducking out of the kitchen for a quick interview. "I think they see it as a place to bring Mom for Mother's Day or for weddings, anniversaries and special events. Perhaps they don't realize we're there for them after work on a Friday night for a nice meal and glass of wine or Picaroon's."

Fischer approached the inn's management and presented them with an idea to boost business by pairing Shadow Lawn's highly regarded kitchen with live entertainment that fits with the unique aspects of the venue. The response so far has been very encouraging.

"For the kitchen to be profitable we need people in the restaurant, so we started looking at new ways to do that. We do cooking classes and we're looking at wine tastings but music seemed to be an opportunity to explore and it's working out great. The room seats 60, we bring in acoustic acts with minimal amplification and it creates a great experience for the artists and for the people who come to the shows. It's a great room for people who want to sit and really listen to the music. There's no loud people talking or clanking beer mugs and I think the performers appreciate that as well. We sold out a lot of our shows and been near capacity for the rest. It seems to be working."

The list of performers scheduled to entertain over the coming months is impressive. It's a mix of traditional folk, roots and even a bit of indie thrown in to help Shadow Lawn earn a few "cool" points. Fischer jokes that he knows what will work in the room and doesn't plan to stray far from the genres that suit the venue.

"We're not looking for punk or death metal," he adds with a laugh. "There's 20,000 people in this area (the Kennebecasis Valley) Why do they have to go to town to have a fine meal and be entertained? We're not trying to re-invent Shadow Lawn, we just want people to know that we're open and have great local food and some entertainment."

Entertainment scheduled to appear over the next few months includes Portland, Maine's Laurie Jones on July 2. On July 3 South African guitar sensation Tony Cox visits. July 18 Bob Lanois (yes Dan's brother) plays Shadow Lawn and on the 30th Montreal's Snailhouse (aka Mike Feuerstack) visits. Snailhouse has collaborated with the likes of the Arcade Fire, Julie Doiron and is a founding member of the Wooden Stars. Joining Snailhouse is New Brunswick dream-folk unit the Olympic Symphonium. August 14, Fredericton bluesman Ross Neilsen pops in to play Shadow Lawn.

While the musical lineup is impressive, the ticket prices have been kept reasonable. Shows run from 8-10 p.m. and music lovers are offered two dining options. They can enjoy the Inn's full menu from 6-8 p.m. or a bar menu during the show time with fresh nibbles to be washed down with a nice glass of wine or Picaroon's beer. With finer restaurants focusing on sourcing locally produced ingredients Shadow Lawn take things one step further by ding not only that but supporting New Brunswick musicians whenever possible. "It's all local!" Fischer exclaims. "Local ingredients, local beer and local music, what more could you ask for?"

For music fans it's an opportunity to enjoy a feast of good food, good drink and most of all, good music. For more information you can check the Inn's website www.shadowlawninn.com (Fischer sayst we can expect an updated site soon).

If your NB based musical act, event or venue would like to be featured in this column please contact the columnist at oneyearofnbmusic@yahoo.ca and yes, he does accept free drinks!