Episode 244: Dave Gunning

On this edition of Folk Roots Radio we talk to Pictou Nova Scotia singer-songwriter Dave Gunning about his upcoming Ontario tour and latest abum “Lift”. And, as always, we throw some interesting new music into the mix.

Dave Gunning is back in Ontario on tour for eight shows in April including a Road to Kingsville Folk Fest show at The Bank Theatre in Leamington on April 15, The Registry Theatre, Kitchener (April 16), Hugh’s Room, Toronto (April 21) and The Moonshine Cafe, Oakville (April 28). He’ll also be appearing at this summer’s Mariposa Folk Festival (July 7-10). Dave joined us to chat about the tour and his latest album (number eleven) “Lift”. We couldn’t play the whole of our interview with Dave on this week’s edition, however you can check out the full interview HERE. For more information on Dave’s tour dates, visit davegunning.com.

Among the new music on this week’s episode, we played our first track from Mark Martyre’s new album “Bluebird”. Mark joined us for an interview and a couple of live songs at Folk Music Ontario in October. You can find that interview on the folkrootsradio website HERE and our new Soundcloud account. “Bluebird” is Mark’s fourth solo album, and if you were lucky to catch him on his recent tour, you’ll know how good he is in concert.

And talking of good in concert, we also heard from Corin Raymond with “Hard on Things” – a Corin Raymond/ Rob Vaarmayer songs from Corin’s new album “Hobo Jungle Fever Dreams”, which was officially released in Toronto this past week. Corin is heading out west for a tour with Jonathan Byrd that should be utterly amazing. To learn more about Corin, his music and upcoming tour dates, visit corinraymond.com. I’ve already gone on record as saying that the new album is his best ever – we’ll hopefully have an interview with Corin in the coming weeks.

Regina SK’s Joel Henderson goes by the name Poor Nameless Boy. This week, we played the title track from his quietly reflective sophomore release “Bravery”, out now on Chronograph Records. It’s an album of thoughtful songs that really reward repeated listening.

And, we have another new album from Ken Whiteley. It’s not that long since we were saying how much we enjoyed the Beulah Band album. Ken’s new album, “Freedom Blues” (out now on Borealis) features twelve songs (five Ken Whiteley originals alongside seven covers) that take different aspects of freedom as their central theme, all delivered in Ken’s trademark bluesy gospel style with, as always, top class musicianship and great harmonies.  This week we featured Ken’s version of the Bernice Johnson Reagon song, “Give Your Hands To Struggle”. The album is definitely worth checking out – and don’t miss Ken on tour this summer! It’s and experience worth having.

And talking of experiences worth having, we also squeezed some Irish Mythen into this edition. Her latest album, “Irish Mythen” came out late in 2014, but it still feels pretty new and features a great selection of songs that showcase a fabulous live artist on record. Live, Irish truly is amazing. After a busy 2015 on the live scene, she’s spent most of the winter in Australia, earning rave reviews pretty much everywhere she went, including opening for Melissa Etheridge down under! She also had a great time on the festival circuit down there. And, talking of festivals, we already know that Irish will be at Kingsville Folk Music Festival, August 12-14, and Summerfolk, August 19-21. If you haven’t seen her live, you need to – she’s fabulous. You’ll become a fan!

Check out the full playlist with artist links below and share your love for all the great folk and roots music out there. Thanks to all the artists who share their music with us, and thank you for listening. We have a lot of great music to bring you on future shows. I hope you’ll join us! You can listen to this show again on Mixcloud by following the link below.

Nicolas & The Iceni (Theme)
Lucy She Rises (Demo)
Roll Right (expected 2016)

Poor Nameless Boy
Bravery
Bravery (2016, Chronograph) CDN

Mark Martyre
Where I’m Bound
Bluebird (2016, Self) CDN

Corin Raymond
Hard On Things
Hobo Jungle Fever Dreams (2016, Local Rascal Records) CDN

Gary & Whit
Oak Tree
Matches (2015, Self) CDN

Bob MacLean
Slow Dance
Permission to Dream (2012, Self) CDN

Dave Gunning
I Robbed the Co. Store
Lift (2015, Wee House of Music) CDN

Interview: Dave Gunning joins us to chat about his upcoming Ontario tour and latest album, “Lift”. Listen to the full interview HERE.

Dave Gunning
They Don’t Do That No More
Lift (2015, Wee House of Music) CDN

Dave Gunning
Sing It Louder
Lift (2015, Wee House of Music) CDN

Ken Whiteley
Give Your Hands To Struggle
Freedom Blues (2016, Borealis Records) CDN

Irish Mythen
Four Walls
Irish Mythen (2014, Self) CDN

Noah Zacharin
Night (And There’s Nothing Whole)
Strange Rider (2016, Self) CDN