Catherine MacLellan Archives | Folk Roots Radio

Folk Roots Radio Episode 610: A Good Lovelies Christmas & A Happy Hanukkah!

Dec 04 2021

It’s getting close to ‘that time of year’. We know that because wonderful vocal trio Good Lovelies, that’s Caroline Brooks, Kerry Ough and Sue Passmore are about to hit the road on their 16th Christmas tour. After appearing virtually last year because of the COVID pandemic, this time around they’ll be taking their songs, harmonies and a kick ass band around Ontario for some in person shows. They join us on Episode 610 of Folk Roots Radio to talk about the tour, and some interesting future plans – and spoiler alert, it sounds like they are already hard at work on a new album. Although it feels a little too early to go into full holiday mode, we also include some wintery songs and Hanukkah songs to ease you into the holiday season, and feature music from Joni Mitchell, Bruce Cockburn, Garth Hudson with Kevin Hearn and Thin Buckle, The McDades, Haley K Turner, Rachael Sage, Deborah Holland and Catherine MacLellan. Check out the full playlist below.

Folk Roots Radio Episode 506: We're All About The Music! (Covid-19 edition)

Apr 17 2020

We’re all about the music on Episode 506 of Folk Roots Radio as we bring you an all music Covid-19 isolation edition of the show. We’re in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, and we’re all social distancing, but artists are still making great music. Join us for new songs written especially for these strange times from Julia Appleton, Tara MacLean & Catherine MacLellan, Shawn Erker and Mark Perry, alongside some great new releases we just had to share from Valerie Smith, David Foley & Jack Smedley, Deborah Holland, Tomo, David Madras and Midnight Vesta. We also include a special four song tribute to the late great John Prine, who sadly passed away after contracting the coronavirus. Stay safe and well everyone! We’ll get through this together… and apart. Check out the full playlist below.

Folk Roots Radio Episode 489: feat. Keri Latimer (Leaf Rapids) & More Favourite Albums of 2019

Jan 11 2020

Keri Latimer joins us on Episode 489 of Folk Roots Radio to talk about “Citizen Alien”, the second album from Leaf Rapids, the Winnipeg band she leads with her partner, Devin Latimer – and one of our favourite albums of 2019. Citizen Alien is a wonderful recording that uses Keri and Devin’s own family history to talk about the nature of identity and reflect on what it means to belong, in a world where more and more politicians are using populist nationalistic rhetoric to separate the ‘us’ from the ‘them’. It’s a really great interview – and definitely worth checking out. We can actually only share part of our conversation with you on this episode, but we’ll be bringing the full interview to the website and on demand listening very shortly. We wrap up the episode with more of Our Favourite Albums of 2019 and this time we hear from The MacQueens, Lizanne Knott, Geneviève Racette, Justin Rutledge, The Red River Ramblers, Leanne Hoffman, The East Pointers, Catherine MacLellan and Lee Harvey Osmond (Tom Wilson). Check out the full playlist below.

Folk Roots Radio Episode 486: Our Favourite Albums of 2019

Dec 31 2019

It’s that time of year… we’re holding back the interviews on Episode 486 of Folk Roots Radio as we check out our ten favourite albums of 2019. One of the best things about doing a radio show is getting loads of great music to listen to each week. One of the hardest things to do is to take all that fabulous music and narrow it down to your ten favourite recordings of the year. You can check out The Top 10 on this episode. We’ll be playing more of our favourite albums on upcoming episodes of Folk Roots Radio. If you don’t see an album you really loved, maybe it didn’t make it up on to our radar, or perhaps we never received a copy. Please consider sharing your favourite albums in the comments – we might even spin them on a future episode of the show. Listen to The Top 10 and check out the full playlist below. Enjoy!

Folk Roots Radio Episode 457: feat. Laura Keating & More New Releases

Aug 09 2019

Hamilton ON based singer-songwriter Laura Keating joins us on Episode 457 of Folk Roots Radio. One of the best things about doing this show every week, is giving independent artists a platform for an in-depth conversation about their music. Laura has been making music, in some form, all her life – but only recently was she able to release her own album, “Let Me Tell You”. It’s a really great interview, and I definitely hope you’ll check it out. We also check more of the latest new releases and this time around we hear from Rising Appalachia, The Rough & Tumble, Irish Mythen, Del Barber, Steve Eulberg, David Lum, Duane Steele and Catherine MacLellan. Check out the full playlist below.

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.

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 349: Jabbour & More New Releases

Folk Root Radio Episode 349 - Jabbour & New Releases

Nov 17 2017

Fun bilingual Quebec roots trio Jabbour join us at the Folk Music Ontario conference on Episode 349 of Folk Roots Radio to chat about their music and play three songs live. We also check out more of the latest new releases including new music from Ashley Condon, Dennis Johnson, The Lifers and Harrow Fair with a fabulous version of The Rankin Family classic song “Fare Thee Well”. Check out the full playlist below.

Sep 25 2016

Singer/songwriter Sharon Goldman from New Jersey joins us on this episode to chat about her latest album, “Kol Isha (A Woman’s Voice)”, an album that it takes as its theme, Sharon’s own life experience – growing up in an orthodox Jewish family on Long Island, New York. We also take our first look at the nominees for the Canadian Folk Music Awards starting off with the category of Contemporary Album of the Year.

May 09 2016

The grande dame of Canadian Folk Festivals, the Mariposa Folk Festival is getting set for it’s 56th edition which takes place the weekend of July 8-10 2016, in beautiful Tudhope Park in Orillia, on the shores of Lake Couchiching. Performers announced so far include Ahmed Knowmadic Ali, Benjamin Dakota Rogers, Beth McKean, Big Little Lions, Brother Sun, Campfire Crew, Cat Clyde, Catherine MacLellan, Colin Linden, Dave Gunning, David Amram, Dirty Dishes, Fortunate Ones, Gathering Sparks, Georgian Bay, Hunter’s Corners, Ivan Coyote, James Hill, Jeffrey Foucault, Jen Schaffer and the Shiners, Jon Brooks, Josh White Jr., Keith Kendrick and Sylvia Needham, Ken Whiteley and the Beulah Band, Leonard Sumner, Lori Yates, Lorraine Sutton, Meredith Moon and the Oldest Man I Know, Melanie Brûlée and Anique Grianger, Moulettes, Murder Murder, Next Generation Leahy, Notre Dame de Grass, Quique Escamilla, Rita Coolidge, Samantha Martin and Delta Sugar, Sheesham and Lotus & ‘Son, Shred Kelly, Slow Leaves, Sussex featuring Rob Lutes, Ten Strings & a Goat Skin , Terry Savage and the Wonky Honkees, The Fitzgerald Family Band, The Good Family, The Imbayakunas, The Laws, The Milk Carton Kids, Rita Cox, Three Women and the Truth (Eliza Gilkyson, Gretchen Peters and Mary Gauthier) and Vance Gilbert. To learn more about this year’s festival, we caught up with artistic director, Mike Hill at work in Orillia. Mariposa Folk Festival 2016 Passes are now on sale. Children 12 & under are admitted FREE if accompanied by a ticket-bearing adult. You can buy your tickets online HERE. Music: Brother Sun “So Far To Come” from “Weights & Wings” (2016, Self) and Milk Carton Kids “Wish You Were Here” (2016, Anti).

Folk Roots Radio Episode 241: Mark Martyre

Mar 04 2016

Episode 241 of Folk Roots Radio features an interview with Toronto singer-songwriter Mark Martyre recorded at the Folk Music Ontario conference this past October. Mark also played a couple of songs live for us. Mark has just released his fourth solo album, “Bluebird” and is out on tour in Ontario in March.

Folk Roots Radio Favourite Albums of 2015

Dec 14 2015

Well, It’s that time of year… Time to pick our favourite albums of 2015. And you know what, it doesn’t get any easier. There’s just so much great music out there, and it’s been our great privilege to bring lots of it to you each week on Folk Roots Radio. Like last year, most of the albums on this list aren’t a surprise as I raved about them during the year. This time around though I selected a twenty-five album long list, then narrowed it down to the Top 10 you can read about below.

Oct 18 2015

This week on Folk Roots Radio we talk to Fred Eaglesmith about his upcoming Ontario shows and replay an interview with The Oh Chays recorded at the 2014 Folk Music Ontario conference. We also continue our run down of artists nominated for the 2015 Canadian Folk Music Awards.

Sep 25 2015

This week’s Folk Roots Radio features interviews with two artists who have produced wonderful new albums, Brenda McMorrow joins us to chat about her latest western folk meets Kirtan (Indian devotional music) album “My Heart Bows Down To You” and we talk to Ange Hardy, direct from Somerset England, about “Esteesee”, her great new album inspired by the life and work of English romantic poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge. As usual we include a selection of the new music we’ve received and continue our on-going feature on the nominees for the 2015 Canadian Folk Music Awards. I really enjoyed putting this show together. I hope you enjoy it.

Sep 18 2015

This week’s Folk Roots Radio features two interviews – Stephen Fearing joins us to chat about his songwriting workshop and concert, taking place on Friday September 25 in Waterloo ON. And later, we catch up with Newfoundland band The Once at this summer’s Hillside Festival. As always, there’s a lot of new music on the show, and we continue our run down of the nominations for the 2015 Canadian Folk Music Awards.

Sep 11 2015

The nominations for the 2015 Canadian Folk Music Awards have been announced. Pharis and Jason Romero lead the pack with four nominations for their album “A Wanderer I’ll Stay”. Their nominations include Traditional Album of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year, Traditional Singer of the Year (Pharis Romero), and Producer of the Year (Pharis and Jason Romero with David Travers-Smith). Amelia Curran (St John’s, NL), Fortunate Ones (St John’s, NL), Jenn Grant (Lake Echo, NS), Whitehorse (Toronto, ON) and Catherine MacLellan (Charlottetown, PEI) each received three nominations.

This year’s youngest nominee is nine year old Vancouver Island artist Stella Swanson for the album “I’m Not A Bunny” in the Children’s Album of the Year category. Inspired by Stella’s pet bunny Romeo, the album was produced by Comox’s Helen Austin, a previous Canadian Folk Music Award and Juno Award recipient and a nominee this year with her group Big Little Lions.

Check out the full list of nominees here. We’ll be previewing the nominees on upcoming editions of Folk Roots Radio.

May 06 2015

Yukon-based singer-songwriter Gordie Tentrees has just released his latest album “Less Is More”, a stellar collection of folk, roots and blues, featuring songs of true Canadiana alongside others that tackle current events and issues head on, and often in a deep and personal way. The album produced by Juno award winner Bob Hamilton features 11 new compositions including a Gordie Tentrees version of Mary Gauthier’s “Camelot Hotel”. Tentrees plays dobro, guitar and harmonica with stellar accompaniment from Aiden Tentrees on upright bass & Fabian Brook on guitar and fiddle. The album also includes guest appearances from Bob Hamilton, Patrick Hamilton, Annie Avery, Lonnie Powell and the harmony vocals from 2015 Juno Award winner Catherine MacLellan. We caught up with Gordie on the road in Alberta. Music: Gordie Tentrees “Less Is More”, “Somebody’s Child” and “Love In Ink” from “Less Is more” (2015, Buckaroo Records).

Episode 192: Trent Severn

Apr 19 2015

This week’s Folk Roots Radio featured another interview recorded at the Folk Music Ontario conference this past October. This time we talked to Emm Gryner, Laura C. Bates and Dayna Manning who collectively form Trent Severn, a wonderful folk super-group who share fabulous stories of Canadiana in gorgeous harmony and music. You can find the interview on the website here. As always, we found time for some new music plus our mystery theme and guilty pleasure.

Mar 24 2015

This week’s Folk Roots Radio features an interview with Connecticut based singer-songwriter Kerri Powers. After years out of the spotlight to raise a family, Kerri returned to the music scene in 2014 with her stunning self-titled Americana blues and roots album, “Kerri Powers”, a little bit country, a little bit bluesy and very rootsy it was one of our favourite albums of 2014. As usual, there’s lots of new music on this week’s show alongside our mystery theme and guilty pleasure.

Nov 26 2014

This week’s episode of Folk Roots Radio featured an in-studio appearance by singer-songwriters Tannis Slimmon, Jude Vadala and Katherine Wheatley who come together each holiday season for a fabulous series of holiday concerts, “Songs For The Snowy Season”. This year, they are also releasing their first album under their new group name Boreal, “Winter’s Welcome”. As usual, we featured lots of new music, plus a new mystery theme and guilty pleasure.

Oct 30 2014

Folk Roots Radio on October 25 2014 (Episode 172) was built around a feature-length interview with Tara MacKenzie, Trevor MacKenzie and Mike Weir from the MacKenzie Blues Band at the Folk Music Ontario (FMO) conference. The interview also included five songs from their great new album, “Slam Bam!”. The first of many interviews we recorded at this year’s conference, I think it is also one of our best. Check it out here as part of this weekend’s show or elsewhere on this site.

Apr 26 2014

Folk Roots Radio on April 26 2014 (Episode 147) featured an interview with Rick Avery (from local trad folk combo Relative Harmony) about the Brian Pickell Band‘s visit to Guelph and a welcomed replay of an in studio appearance by Crash Bamboo, feat. Ambre McLean and Preetam Sengupta.

Feb 22 2014

Folk Roots Radio on CFRU 93.3fm on February 22 2014 (Episode 138)

Mystery Theme: “Sparrows”

Tag - Catherine MacLellan

Folk Roots Radio Episode 610: A Good Lovelies Christmas & A Happy Hanukkah!

Folk Roots Radio Episode 506: We’re All About The Music! (Covid-19 Edition)

Folk Roots Radio Episode 489: feat. Keri Latimer (Leaf Rapids) & More Favourite Albums of 2019

Folk Roots Radio Episode 486: Our Favourite Albums of 2019

Folk Roots Radio Episode 457: feat. Laura Keating & More New Releases

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

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

Folk Roots Radio Episode 349: Jabbour & More New Releases

Episode 279: feat. Sharon Goldman & More New Releases

Mike Hill – Mariposa Folk Festival 2016

Folk Roots Radio Episode 241: Mark Martyre

Folk Roots Radio Episode 231: Our Favourite Albums of 2015

Episode 214: Fred Eaglesmith & The Oh Chays

Episode 210: Brenda McMorrow & Ange Hardy

Episode 209: Stephen Fearing & The Once

Canadian Folk Music Awards 2015

Gordie Tentrees – The Interview

Episode 192: Trent Severn

Episode 188: Kerri Powers

Playlist: Episode 176

Playlist: Episode 172

Episode 147: Rick Avery

Episode 138