Joe Loutchan, Yukon's beloved 'fiddler on the loose,' has died

Joe Loutchan, a Manitoba-born fiddler who became a local legend in Yukon playing a long-standing weekly gig at a Whitehorse bar, has died. He was 82.

Loutchan's family confirmed his death on Thursday.

Besides his regular Thursday night gig at the 98 Hotel in Whitehorse, Loutchan often served as a kind of musical ambassador for the territory. He rosined up his bow in Mexico, the United States and across Canada, including on Parliament Hill. He's played for a prime minister, and a governor general, when they visited Whitehorse years ago.

A short biography about Loutchan on Facebook tells about his early life in Manitoba, and how he became a musician. It says his father bought him his first fiddle for $10 at a second-hand store when Loutchan was 14 years old.

His family was living in Winnipeg and Loutchan soon had a band playing weekend dances around the city. He then began travelling further afield, throughout Manitoba with a bluegrass band.

Eventually, Loutchan hungered for a new scene.

Speaking to CBC-TV in the 1990s, he recalled how he was lured North by the mountains.

"I had never seen anything bigger than a gopher hill 'til I was about 27 years old. Went out, finally left Manitoba, saw the mountains — that did it, right there on the spot I said, 'I want to go hunting, I want to go live in the mountains,'" he recalled.

"So, back in 1963, I guess it was, decided to come up and give it a whirl."

He came to Yukon and never left. 

He was soon playing regular gigs — Red River Jig was a perennial favourite — and winning local fiddling contests. He made several records with the CBC and was dubbed Yukon's "fiddler on the loose."

"You get going, and things are coming to you, bang — you're doing things like you've never done before," he told CBC-TV in the 1990s, describing what it's like to lose himself in his playing. 

"That's when you have to be into it. If you stop for even a split second, even just to blow a fart, you've lost it."

In a written statement on Friday, Yukon MP Larry Bagnell called Loutchan "a gentleman legend" and a national treasure who could have gone anywhere with his talent, but chose to stay in Yukon.

"What inspired me most about Joe was his humility. I was so moved that he would refuse to enter fiddle contests that he would obviously win, so that others could reap the trophies and prizes," Bagnell's statement reads.

"This is truly a sad day for the Yukon."

In 2018, Loutchan celebrated his 80th birthday with a celebratory show on stage at the 98 Hotel in Whitehorse. 

Speaking to CBC at the celebration, he was asked how it felt to be called a "living legend."

"To me, it's just a normal life, I don't think much different than anybody else. To them it's a legend, to me it's just a day's work," he said.

When the birthday cake came out, the interview was wrapped up so Loutchan could go enjoy a piece.

"I don't need cake, but I'm going to go have a beer," he said.