January 2018 | Folk Roots Radio

Folk Roots Radio Episode 359: Ashley Condon & More New Releases

Folk Root Radio Episode 359 - Ashley Condon & New Releases

Jan 28 2018

Acclaimed Prince Edward Island singer-songwriter Ashley Condon joins us on Episode 359 of Folk Roots Radio to chat about her most thoroughly PEI album to date, her third full-length recording “Can You Hear Me” – an album that features a series of co-writes with other PEI artists and artists who came to the island on creative exchanges. The album also features some beautiful harmony vocals from Ashley’s fellow Eastern Belles – Catherine MacLellan and Meaghan Blanchard, and some great production from her producer, (Anne Murray’s nephew) Dale Murray. It’s an excellent album, and a great interview. I hope you’ll stay with us to check it out. And, as always, on Folk Roots Radio, we check out more of the new folk and roots music we’ve received. Check out the full playlist below.

Jan 25 2018

Multi-instrumentalist (fiddle, mandolin, guitar and piano) singer-songwriter; two time Juno Award winner; and inductee in the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame, Shari Ulrich has released 23 albums to date during a storied career that has also included work with Pied Pumkin, The Hometown Band, Ulrich Henderson Forbes (UHF), Bentall Taylor Ulrich (BTU), and the bluegrass band, The High Bar Gang. As a songwriter, Shari is a huge believer in serving the song. “It’s not about the ego or proving you are a great player. When I’m performing I’m celebrating the song and what it does for people.” Her most recent solo release, 2014’s “Everywhere I Go” took home the Canadian Folk Music Award for (English) Songwriter of the year. She’s currently hard at work on a new solo project and will be touring Ontario in May 2018 with her trio featuring her daughter Julia Graff (on violin, mandolin, guitar & vocals) and fellow High Bar Gang member Kirby Barber (on bass, guitar and vocals). Shari Ulrich sat down with Jan Hall from Folk Roots Radio at the 2017 Folk Music Ontario conference. To learn more about her music, visit shariulrich.com. Music: Shari Ulrich “Freefall” from “Everywhere I Go” (2014, Borealis Records), The High Bar Gang “Don’t This Road Look Rough & Rocky” from “Someday The Heart Will Trouble The Mind” (2016, Borealis Records) and Bentall Taylor Ulrich “You Got Lost” from “Tightrope Walk” (2016, Borealis Records).

Chris Ronald – Folk Roots Radio at FMO

Jan 25 2018

Vancouver based singer-songwriter Chris Ronald moved to Canada from England in 2002 and has built himself a great career as a songwriter renowned for his songcraft producing an Americana and Canadiana sound that has been described as “Canadian folk with British roots”. Chris released a lovely fourth album, “Fragments” in 2017 on the Canadian folk label Borealis Records. In live performance, whether solo or with his trio with multi-instrumentalist guitarist John MacArthur Ellis and fiddle player Mike Sanyshyn, Chris draws on his abilities as a highly skilled singer, storyteller, and musician to deliver a fabulous show. Chris sat down with Jan Hall from Folk Roots Radio at the Folk Music Ontario conference to chat about his music and play three songs live from Fragments. To learn more about Chris Ronald, visit chrisronald.com. Music: Chris Ronald “Everything Goes Green” (Live), “Mosquito” (Live) and “Retirement Plan” (Live). All of the tracks can be found on the 2017 Borealis album “Fragments”.

Folk Roots Radio Episode 358: Rob Lutes & More New Releases

Folk Root Radio Episode 358 - Rob Lutes & New Releases

Jan 11 2018

Montreal singer-songwriter Rob Lutes joins us on Episode 358 of Folk Roots Radio for a wonderful conversation about his latest album, “Walk In The Dark”, a blues roots delight and our favourite album of 2017. As always, we also check out more of the great new folk and roots releases we’ve received. Check out the full playlist below.

Mark Martyre "Rivers" - Folk Roots Radio Interview

Jan 09 2018

Prolific Toronto based writer and musician Mark Martyre has just released his latest collection, “Rivers” – his fifth full-length studio album since 2012, and following on from “Down, Record” (2012), “London” (2013), “Red Letters” (2014), “Bluebird” (2016), and several live recordings, and bootlegs. Mark’s also published a collection of his lyrics, spanning his music between 2012-2016. Rivers features ten new reflective Mark Martyre songs, with his characteristic Tom Waits like vocal delivery, some beautifully relaxed piano work and some lovely backing vocals from Stacey Dowswell. Also, joining Mark Martyre (guitar, vocals & harmonica) on the album are Darrin Baldwin (piano), Matt Antaya (electric guitar), Graydon James (drums), Jason Lapidus (bass), Ed Michael Roth (accordion), and Raha Javanfar (violin). Rivers was recorded in Toronto at the Lincoln County Social Club with John Dinsmore. We caught up with Mark Martyre in Toronto to chat about the new album. For more information, visit markmartyre.com. Music: Mark Martyre “Come Lie Beside Me, Dear”, “Carry On”, “(I Think) We Might Be OK” and “Anywhere But Here” from “Rivers” (2017, Self).

Ashley Condon – Can You Hear Me – Folk Roots Radio Interview

Jan 09 2018

Acclaimed Prince Edward Island singer-songwriter Ashley Condon released what might be her most thoroughly PEI album to date, “Can You Hear Me”, in October. Her third full length recording, Can you Hear Me features a series of co-writes with other PEI artists and artists who came to PEI on creative exchanges. The album also features some beautiful harmony vocals from Ashley’s fellow Eastern Belles – Catherine MacLellan and Meaghan Blanchard, and a sophisticated sonic palette thanks, in part, to her producer, (Anne Murray’s nephew) Dale Murray (formerly of The Guthries and Cuff the Duke). The album is not the only new thing on Ashley Condon’s horizon; she has also launched a PEI-based microbrewery Copper Bottom Brewing with her husband and brewmaster, Ken Spears. We caught up with Ashley at home on PEI to chat about the new album, the island’s wonderful music community and the family microbrewery, which is also a music venue, in Montague PEI. For more information about the music of Ashley Condon, visit ashleycondon.com. Check out the video for “The Rain” HERE. Music: Ashley Condon “Diamond Sky”, “The Rain” and “Oh My Love” from “Can You Hear Me” (2017, Self).

Folk Roots Radio Episode 357: Best of 2017 – The Next 15

Folk Roots Radio Best of 2017 - The Next 15

Jan 04 2018

We’ve already released our Top Ten albums of 2017 – you can find those on Episode 356 of Folk Roots Radio. This time around we tackle ‘The Next Fifteen’ with an episode featuring some of our favourite tracks from those albums. It’s a great privilege to bring lots of great music and interviews to you each week on Folk Roots Radio, something we’re looking forward to continuing to do throughout 2018. As always, this list only includes those albums that were received from October 1st, 2016 – September 30th, 2017. Listen to tracks from the Next 15 and check out the full playlist below.