Don Bray Archives | Folk Roots Radio

Folk Roots Radio Episode 560: Our Favourite Albums of 2020

Dec 27 2020

We’re getting close to the end of 2020, which means it’s time to announce our favourite albums of the year. After the challenging year we’ve all had, it’s tempting to just want to put 2020 behind us and move on to 2021 to what will, hopefully, be a much better year for everyone. And yet, despite everything, 2020 has actually been a great year for recorded music – especially for those us who tend to focus on music that artists release independently, or via small and boutique record labels. Many artists have actually been making excellent use of the lockdown time forced on them by the coronavirus pandemic to record some wonderful ‘Covid Tune’ singles, EPs and in some case, even full albums. We’ve had great fun sharing them with you this year. We’ve also been doing our best to keep up with regularly scheduled releases. It gives us great pleasure each year, once we have put holiday radio episodes to bed, to consider our favourite albums of the year. 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 Episode 560 of Folk Roots Radio. 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, that’s likely because it didn’t make it up on our radar because we didn’t receive 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 on this episode, and check out the full playlist and the rest of our long list below. Enjoy!

Folk Roots Radio Episode 522: We're All About The Music! (Blendsday Edition)

Jul 05 2020

We’re holding back the interviews on Episode 522 of Folk Roots Radio as we bring you another hour of great new music. We’re subtitling this one the ‘Blendsday’ edition as we’re fairly sure that we’re not the only ones who have trouble working out what day it is – as we all try to cope with endless days at home during the Covid-19 pandemic. We don’t know who came up with the name Blendsday but it does seem to be the perfect way to describe the strange days we’re now living through. So join us for Covid tunes, songs about social justice and tracks taken from some fine scheduled album releases, with music by Fred Arcoleo, Don Bray, Owen Paul, Judy Collins & The Global Virtual Choir, Kevin K Gagnon, Skinner & T’witch, Tim Readman, Mike Glick, Don Johnston, Chastity Brown, Raye Zaragoza, Colleen Kattau, Carissa Kimbell, Katie Ditschun and Paul Kelly & Paul Grabowsky. Check out the full playlist below.

Folk Roots Radio Episode 519: Don Bray In Conversation - I Bless The Wounds

Jun 19 2020

Ottawa based singer-songwriter Don Bray joins us on Episode 519 of Folk Roots Radio for a wonderful in-depth conversation about his sixth album “I Bless The Wounds” – thirteen songs written through the lens of Complex PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Sometimes sad, sometimes up, but mostly hopeful, this is Don’s most personal project to date. Join us for Don Bray… In Conversation on Folk Roots Radio. Check out the full playlist below.

Folk Roots Radio Episode 495: feat. Ken Dunn & More New Releases

Feb 29 2020

Ken Dunn is a modern day traveling troubadour giving social and environmental issues a voice in song, while reminding us to keep our loved ones and peace at the forefront of this precious life. No stranger to Folk Roots Radio, the singer-songwriter from Gibsons BC often travels and plays with partner Anna Green, but he was flying solo when he joined us in the studio for a wonderful chat about his music and 2019 live album, “Live in L.A.”. Ken also played a few songs live for us. We’re pleased to bring that interview to you as part of Episode 495 of Folk Roots Radio. We also take a listen to more of the latest new releases, and this time around we hear from Corin Raymond, Don Bray, Manitoba Hal, Poor Man’s Gambit, Andrew Bird and Che Apalache. Check out the full playlist below.