On this episode of Folk Roots Radio, we talk to Guelph folk and roots musician Lewis Melville about the new compilation album “Songs Of The Future” and banjo player Lotus Wight from Sheesham, Lotus and ‘Son, joins us to chat about his new solo album “Ode To The Banjo”.
If you’re a budding musician between the ages of 14-22 you definitely need to pay attention to this announcement… How would you like to play Summerfolk this year? Summerfolk Music & Crafts Festival are inviting up and coming young performers to register to participate in the Road To Summerfolk 2016. Showcases will be held on Sundays in April ( April 3, 10, 17, 24) in Owen Sound, Paisley and Kitchener to select artists who will advance to the grand final in Owen Sound, where five acts will be selected to play the Friday night Discoveries concert and also participate in workshop sessions during the weekend. We caught up with Tara MacKenzie from the MacKenzie Blues Band, coordinator of the program in Owen Sound. Learn more about the Youth Discoveries program HERE. To learn more about Summerfolk visit summerfolk.org. Music: Ben Turcotte, “Orange Elephant” from In These Notes” (2013, Self), Jojo Worthington “Amadeus” from “7” (2015, Self).
“Down the Horseshoe Valley Road” is the latest release from Toronto-based singer-songwriter Anne Walker. The album, produced by Paul Mills, takes Anne back to her roots in the rural community of Coulson, a small hamlet located in the gentle rolling hills of central Ontario – the fourteen songs telling stories of the beauty of the area, her family roots, rural life and some of the characters she met along the way. The CD release show for the album takes place at the Acoustic Harvest Folk Club, Robinson Hall, St. Nicholas Anglican Church 1512 Kingston Rd., Toronto (one block east of Warden Ave.) on Saturday, March 5 at 8:00 p.m. (doors 7:30 p.m.). Tickets: $22 Advance/$25 Door. For more information about the CD release show, call 416-264-2235 or visit acousticharvest.ca. For more information about Anne Walker, visit annewalker.ca. Music: Anne Walker “Horseshoe Valley Road”, “Grandma Harris In Her Own Words” and “Cullybackey” from “Down the Horseshoe Valley Road” (2015, Self).
Songs of the Future is the latest collection of music curated for Guelph’s Bar Code Free Music by folk and roots musician Lewis Melville. Released under the name of the Tomorrow Collective, the album features 33 songs by 31 different artists and groups (there are two songs each from Tannis Slimmon and Lewis Melville), who were asked to reflect on Canada’s place in the world and their hopes for the future in the wake of the 42nd Canadian General Election that took place on October 19 2015. We caught up with Lewis Melville at home in Guelph to chat about the project. Music: Tannis Slimmon, “In The Future” and Lewis Melville “Give It A Whirl” from “Songs of the Future” (2015, Bar Code Free Music).
The 14th Annnual Winterfolk Blues and Roots Festival takes place on the Danforth in Toronto from February 12-14 2016. Featuring some of the best blues and roots artists on the Canadian music scene, playing on five stages in four venues, it promises to be a fabulous weekend of live music. This year’s featured performers include Old Man Luedecke, Nashville’s Mean Mary, David Storey (of Corner Gas fame), Sudbury bloodgrass band Murder Murder, Toronto soul rockers Julian Taylor and blues great Jack De Keyzer, among many others. We caught up with Festival Director Brian Gladstone in Toronto to chat about this year’s festival. Buy tickets online HERE. For more information about Winterfolk, visit winterfolk.com. Music: Old Man Luedecke “The Early Days” from “Domestic Eccentric” (2015, High Romance/True North) and Jack de Keyzer “Electric Love” from “Electric Love” (2012, Self).
Guelph-based roots musician Richard Garvey is another in a long line of folkies using their music to try and inspire social change. His latest E.P. of upbeat acoustic folk, “I Found A Box of Beer In The Snow”, was recorded live off the floor with the Ever-Lovin’ Jug Band. He’s heading out on tour in Ontario to showcase the new E.P., and has a CD release show at The Bookshelf e-bar on Quebec St in Guelph on February 4. We caught up with Richard at home to chat about the new album. Music: Richard Garvey, “Singing Don’t Pay The Bills No More” and “I Found a Box Of Beer In The Show” from “I Found a Box Of Beer In The Show” E.P. (2016, Self).
This edition of Folk Roots Radio features music from performers at this year’s Hillside Inside, the winter version of the Hillside Festival. Hillside Inside takes place from January 29 – 31 at a variety of venues in downtown Guelph, and includes some great community activities alongside some fabulous musical performances.
The winter version of the Hillside Festival, Hillside Inside is just about here. It runs from January 29 – 31 at a variety of venues in downtown Guelph. As usual the festival features some great community activities alongside some fabulous musical performances. Artists performing at this year’s festival include Basia Bulat, Casey Mecjia (from indie faves Ohbijou), Dakhabrakha, The Strumbellas, The Elwins, Geoff Berner and the Grand River Ramblers. Anna and Jane McGarrigle, sisters to Kate McGarrigle and aunts of Rufus and Martha Wainwright, will also be reading from their family memoir Mountain City Girls in the afternoon of Saturday, January 30 in the gorgeous sanctuary of St. George’s Church. A Q & A will follow. There’s also a Sunday Gospel Session, youth showcase and the winter festival favourite, Girls and Guitars – taking place in six downtown storefronts (cafes, stores, and a gallery), showcasing six female singer-songwriters for half-hour shows that you can take in on the street or in the store. Individual show tickets and weekend passes are available online or at The Bookshelf, 41 Quebec Street, downtown Guelph. Buy tickets online HERE. Check out hillsidefestival.ca for all performance and community event details.
Nashville duo 10 String Symphony is a collaboration between Rachel Baiman and Christian Sedelmyer, two 5-string fiddle players and veteran side players on the Nashville music scene. Rachel is a former Illinois state fiddle champion in the old time tradition. Clasically trained Christian is a touring member of the Jerry Douglas Band and previously played in rock bands. 10 String Symphony are already building a great reputation for their live shows and their 2015 album “Weight Of The World” has garnered excellent reviews and wide audience support. They’re in Guelph for Home Routes Guelph house concert on Sunday January 31 at 8 p.m. (Doors 7:15 p.m.).
Tickets: $20 per person, $10 for students, free for kids under 12, bring some friends and get 6 tickets for $100. As house concerts take place in people’s homes, for privacy reasons, we are unable to share information about the venue and presenter. To contact the presenter visit homeroutes.ca/concerts/guelph or contact us directly and we’ll share their e-mail. For information on other Home Routes venues and regional touring artists, visit homeroutes.ca.
Lotus Wight, banjo player with rag-timers Sheesham, Lotus and ‘Son released a solo album of banjo-driven tunes, the rather appropriately-titled “Ode to the Banjo” late in 2015. “Ode to the Banjo” itself is not a musical track, but a 23-stanza poem about the history of the banjo written by Lotus Wight. A musical version of the poem may appear on a future recording. Lotus Wight plays all the instruments on the 13 tracks (12 traditional, one self-composition) on the album, and alongside a variety of banjos, also plays the kalimba and his own invention, the Contrabass Harmoniphoneum. Lotus stopped by our mobile studio at the Folk Music Ontario conference to chat about the new album. For more information about Lotus Wight, visit lotuswight.com. Music: Lotus Wight “Skillet” and “Roustabout” from “Ode to the Banjo” (2015, Self).
Coming up as we go Live & Local on Folk Roots Radio, we’re featuring an interview with acclaimed bassist and multi-instrumentalist David Woodhead, who joins us to chat about his upcoming Ontario tour dates with his genre-defying side project Confabulation. Guelph-based storyteller Brad Woods also joins us to chat about his new live storytelling album “The Woods” and upcoming appearance at the Guelph Civic Museum for Fourth Friday on January 22nd.
On this episode of Folk Roots Radio we dip back into our favourite albums of the year. We’ve already announced our ten favourite albums of the year – you can check those albums out HERE. This time around, we’re focusing on albums that made it on to our twenty-five album long list, but didn’t quite make it into the Top 10 – we still love them all though, which is why we’re more than happy to play a selection of songs from them on this week’s show.
Bassist and multi-instrumentalist David Woodhead is taking his side project Confabulation out on tour in Ontario during January. A world-renowned bass player, David has played on over 200 different albums, and toured with Stan Rogers, Loreena McKennitt, Valdy and James Keelaghan among others. Confabulation is an ever-evolving genre-defying showcase for some of Toronto’s most accomplished performers. Over the years its featured more than 20 different top drawer performers including Jaron Freeman-Fox, Rich Brown, Anne Lindsay and the Shuffle Demons’ Richard Underhill. The current line-up features keyboardist Doug Wilde, drummer Rich Greenspoon, reeds player Colleen Allen and guitarist Bob Cohen. Confabulation visits The Moonshine Café, Oakville (8:30 p.m.; $10) on Thursday, January 21, The Pearl Company, Hamilton on Friday January 22 ($20, advance/student/senior – $15), Silence, Guelph on Sunday January 24 – (8 p.m. ; $10) and the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery Club, Kingston Sunday, January 31 (2 p.m.; $15). Prepare to be enchanted by a sonic musical experience unlike any other. We caught up with David Woodhead in Toronto to learn more about the tour. For more information, visit davidwoodhead.com. Music: David Woodhead’s Confabulation “Bozeny Parasy” from “Confabulation” (2010, Self) and “Windy Apples” (Demo) (2015, Self).
Guelph-based storyteller Brad Woods is the featured performer for Fourth Friday at the Guelph Civic Museum on Friday January 22. As on every Fourth Friday, general admission to the museum is free after 5 p.m. and the free show runs from 7-9 p.m. Brad has just released his latest storytelling album “The Woods”, dedicated to his parents and featuring his brother Greg on percussion. The album was recorded live at a house concert in Guelph by Phil Cottrell and Tim Alberts. We caught up with Brad at home in Guelph to chat about the new album. Photo credit: Ken Meats RBP. Story: Brad Woods, “His City” from “The Woods” (2015, Self).
James Keelaghan is widely-regarded as being one of Canada’s finest songwriters. With a career spanning nearly a quarter century, he’s been called the poet laureate of the folk and roots world – a song craftsman who brings passion, intensity and curiosity to his work alongside an insatiable desire to find the next unique story to inspire another big song. He’s also the Artistic Director of the Summerfolk Music and Crafts Festival. James Keelaghan will be in Guelph on Friday January 15 for a Borealis Music Series show in the Co-operators Hall at the River Run Centre at 8 p.m. Tickets are $28.00 Adult, $26.00 Senior and available online HERE. We have THREE pairs of tickets to give away for this show. If you’d like to get in the draw, send an e-mail to jan[at]folkrootsradio.com. Music: James Keelaghan “Glory Bound” and “Kiri’s Piano” from “History: The First 25 Years” (2013, Borealis Records).
On this episode we talk to one of Canada’s finest singer-songwriters James Keelaghan. James will be in Guelph on January 15 for a show at the River Run Centre. James is also the Artistic Director of Summerfolk and during this week’s interview he announces the first artists who will be performing at the summer 2016 festival. We also have THREE pairs of tickets to give away for the James Keelaghan show. If you’d like to get in the draw, send an e-mail to jan[at]folkrootsradio.com.
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