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Presenting underground music

Black and white photograph of four men wearing vests and ties holding guitars, mandolins and a standup bass with a fifth man wearing a black turtleneck sweater standing in the centre.

Date: January 1965
Credit: Ron Petronko (photographer), copyright 1965. Courtesy of Harriet Eisenkraft

This photo is of Gary Eisenkraft and the members of the Greenbriar Boys bluegrass band. Gary had made them come all the way from New York to play live at the Fifth Amendment.

Above all else, Gary Eisenkraft was intent on enriching the musical culture of young Montrealers. He hosted underground bands, blues and folk music legends, even if it meant having them travel from the United States or elsewhere. 

At that time, there were a only a few Montrealers interested in these styles. Gary’s programming of this music at the time was a gamble.