Toronto-based singer-songwriter Sarah Hiltz joins us in the studio on Episode 387 of Folk Roots Radio for a great conversation about her music, and three live songs. Wrapping up an all Canadian episode, we also feature new music from Fortunate Ones, The Ennis Sisters, Taivi, Annie Lou, The Barra MacNeils, Ian Foster and the Julian Taylor Band. Check out the full playlist below.
love this podcast.....exceptional variety of music...
Indie folk duo Evan & John from Sarnia, Ontario have a sound that’s influenced by both Simon & Garfunkel and The Milk Carton Kids and focuses on tight, complex harmonies, wrapped in a beautiful duelling acoustic guitar accompaniment. They join us in the studio on Episode 386 of Folk Roots Radio for a chat about their music and three live songs. We also check out new music from Annie Lou, Dana Sipos, Kellie Loder, Welli Horne, Lewis West DeAdder, Thomas Stajcer, Sons Of Rhythm, Gordie Tentrees with Jaxon Haldane and Norm Brunet. Check out the full playlist below.
The 2018 Home County Music & Art Festival takes place the weekend of July 20-22 in the beautiful confines of Victoria Park in London ON. Celebrating its 45th anniversary this year, it’s an important part of the Southern Ontario folk calendar. Home County features more than 40 musical acts on 7 stages, over 120 juried Canadian craft artisans, over 30 food vendors serving a variety of international cuisines, craft demonstrations, a community/open stage, and an interactive family area. Main stage headliners this year are Jim Cuddy from Blue Rodeo, Harrow Fair and Irish Mythen. Also on the bill this year are Tom Wilson, Valdy, Donovan Woods, Rose Cousins, Kris + Dee, Alysha Brilla, Sultans of String, Russell deCarle and many more. Home County is proud to present a number of local acts throughout the festival, including Broomsticks & Hammers, The Rizdales, New Cumberland, The Cedar Sisters and Ken Yates (now based in Toronto). The Emerging Artist Stage returns for its second year and will feature more local musicians, such as Jessica Allosery, John Muirhead, Chad Price, Fraser Teeple, Willow Switch and Yess Woah. Admission to the festival is by donation, and because the festival is held in a downtown London park, it is, also, totally accessible. Alongside a great musical line-up, the festival also features some great art and craft vendors. To learn more about this year’s festival we caught up with artistic director Darin Addison. For more information, visit homecounty.ca. Music: Jim Cuddy “While I Was Waiting” from “Constellation” (2018, 5 Corners Productions); Harrow Fair “Told A Lie to My Heart” from “Call To Arms” (2017, Roaring Girl Records).
Alberta based Canadian roots/swing duo Over The Moon join us in the studio on Episode 385 of Folk Roots Radio for a very enjoyable conversation about their music, and debut album “Moondancer” and a few live songs. We also feature new music from Noah Zacharin, Birds of Chicago, Big Little Lions, Stéphanie Labbé & Francois Couture, The Lonesome Ace Stringband, Christina Martin and the Andrew Collins Trio. Check out the full playlist below.
Crowd-surfing festival favourite Steve Poltz joins us on Episode 384 of Folk Roots Radio to chat about his music, and fabulous live show. Steve Poltz is one of those artists that once you catch a show, you can’t wait to do it again. It’s a really insightful interview – definitely worth sticking around for. And as always on Folk Roots Radio, we check out more of the latest releases and this time around we stay in the US as we check out new music from Daniel Crabtree, Rebekah Long, Banjo Nickaru & Western Scooches, Vi Wickam & Justin Branum, John Gorka and John Linn. Check out the full playlist below.
Well done!
Evan & John are an indie folk duo from Sarnia, Ontario, featuring Evan Dawe and John Pilat. Influenced by Simon & Garfunkel and The Milk Carton Kids, their music focuses on tight, complex harmonies, wrapped in a beautiful duelling acoustic guitar accompaniment. Since forming in 2017, Evan & John have been playing shows right across southern Ontario and beyond. In January 2018, they released an EP entitled “Little Songs”, followed by a single “House By The Sea” in April. Evan and John joined us in the Folk Roots Radio studio for a chat about their music, and three live songs. For more information, please visit evanandjohn.bandcamp.com. Music: Evan & John “South Coast Highway” (Live), “Turncoat” (Live) and “Early June” (Live).
Graydon James & Laura Spink from Toronto’s The Young Novelists join us on Episode 383 of Folk Roots Radio for a fun conversation about their third studio album “In City & Country”. On an all Canadian episode, we also feature music from new releases by Carly Thomas, El Coyote, David Francey, Steve Dawson, Sugar Brown, Conor Gains and Annie Lou. Check out the full playlist below.
Highly entertaining English vocal trio The Young’Uns join us on Episode 382 of Folk Roots Radio to chat about their music and latest album “Strangers”. It’s a great interview – one you’ll definitely want to stick around for. We’re also staying in the UK for the rest of the episode as we check out new music from The Mellowship (feat. Maureen Dewdney, Lukas Drinkwater & Ciaran Algar), Molly-Anne, Kete Bowers, Catrin Finch & Seckou Keita, Sarah McQuaid and Gerry Hallom. Check out the full playlist below.
Over The Moon are a Canadian roots/swing duo featuring award-winning multi-instrumentalists and vocalists Suzanne Levesque and Craig Bignell. Suzanne and Craig met, fell in love, got married and discovered that they could make beautiful music together. They live on a ranch in the foothills of Alberta’s Rocky Mountains, and “Moondancer”, their debut album, celebrates life in the Canadian west on a set of songs that move from 40’s sounding western swing and Appalachian old-time, to cowboy blues. While on tour in Ontario, Over The Moon joined us in the Folk Roots Radio studio to chat about their music and play three songs from Moondancer live. For more information about Over The Moon, visit overthemoonband.com. Music: Over The Moon “Over The Moon” (Live), “By The Mark” (Live) and “Moondancer” (Live).
Guelph storytelling singer-songwriter Doris Folkens joins us on Episode 381 of Folk Roots Radio to chat about her music and her self-titled debut album, produced by mando-maestro Andrew Collins. It’s a great interview, and well-worth checking out. We also check out new music from Mayhemingways, Sugar Brown, Birds of Chicago, Miller – Macdonald – Cormier, Sue Foley, Tom Rush, Joe Jencks, Graham Parker and Robert Lane. Check out the full playlist below.
Duane Forrest is a singer-songwriter and social activist from Toronto who describes his passions as music, travel and language but, most importantly, love. Duane weaves bossa nova, jazz and soul together to produce a laid-back sound that calls to mind a mix of Jack Johnson, Bob Marley, João Gilberto and Nat King Cole. His latest album “The Climb” was released in 2017. Duane has recently founded a non-profit Genesis Community of the Arts that sends teachers and art equipment to marginalized people and places around the globe, and provides classes in drama, music, dance, and the visual arts that he hopes will inspire the students to discover their own creativity. Genesis currently has teachers working in Honduras and Guatemala. For more information about the music of Duane Forrest, visit duanesguitar.com. Music: Duane Forrest “Changes” (Live), “Oceans” (Live) and “Midsummer Night’s Dream” (Live).
Cheshire Carr are a six-piece Montreal-based folk-rock collective who weave together their diverse influences to produce a sound that is warm and inviting, yet also very intriguing. With songs and vocals that bring to mind a mash up of Paul Simon, Crosby Stills & Nash, Jefferson Airplane and Pink Floyd, their first album “Odds & Ends” is very engaging, and definitely worth exploring. Cheshire Carr feature Geneviève Cooke (vocals, percussion), Elie Flynn (guitars), Pierre Lavoie (vocals, drums, banjo), Mathilde Pigeon (accordion), Hugo Chaput (bass) and Ariel Harrod (vocals, guitar). Odds & Ends was mixed by Plants & Animals Warren C Spicer, who also helped shape the final sonic direction of the project. Cheshire Carr have a fabulous live show that comes across like a fun summer festival workshop featuring a coffee house folk act rocking out with a jam band. We caught up with Cheshire Carr’s Ariel Harrod at home in Montreal to chat about the band and their music. Visit Cheshire Carr online at cheshirecarr.com. Cheshire Carr play the Blacksheep Inn in Wakefield QC with Moonfruits on Friday May 18 at 8:30 p.m. Photo: Frank Lam. Music: Cheshire Carr “This Song”, “Devil in a Porcelain Dress”, “Water Rising”, “Remember When” from “Odds and Ends” (2016, Self).
Thanks to Jan Hall of Folk Roots Radio for your fine interviews. Always a treat to hear the latest songs…
Toronto based Sarah Hiltz has been turning heads for the quality of songwriting, that dips from folk into jazz. Her latest album, 2017’s “Beauty in the Blue” is a collection of songs written while riding the rails across Canada as part of the Via Rail Artists On Board programme. The album, produced with Kevin Howley from Running Red Lights, is the first to feature her long-term stage collaborators, drummer Jordan Michaelis and multi-instrumentalist David Puzak. Sarah Hiltz joined us in the studio to chat about her music and play three songs from Beauty In The Blue live. For more information about the music of Sarah Hiltz, visit sarahhiltz.com. Music: Sarah Hiltz “Best I Can Believe” (Live) “How To Pour Whiskey For Strangers” (Live) and “What We Leave Behind” (Live).
The Young Novelists, fronted by Graydon James and Laura Spink, have just released their third studio album “In City & Country”. The album was recorded in Montreal with producer Howard Bilerman who’s worked with Arcade Fire, Leonard Cohen and The Wooden Sky. According to Graydon and Laura, the album explores the idea of community through the lens of those stranger-than-fiction tales that get passed from neighbour to neighbour over a cup of coffee at the kitchen table. Each song was inspired by a different small town in Ontario – they actually travelled to and researched the history of the towns – and from those efforts distilled a group of songs that aim to tease apart what it means to belong and what it means to be an outsider, and how the communities we make share more similarities than differences. Which all sounds very intriguing. To learn more about the new album, we caught up with Graydon and Laura at home in Toronto. Visit The Young Novelists online at theyoungnovelists.com. Music: The Young Novelists “Come Around Again”, “All Alone”, “Two Of A Kind”, “City & Country” from “In City & Country” (2018, Self).
We’re taking a distinctly female musical perspective on Episode 380 of Folk Roots Radio as we chat to Liv and Anita Cazzola from Guelph’s The Lifers about their sophomore release “Honey Suite”. Liv and Anita have been delighting listening audiences across Canada since there release of their first E.P. “Set the Sails” (2014) and their first long player “Out & In” (2016), although our relationship with them goes back to their first band as a duo, Detour. It’s a great interview – well worth sticking around for. We also check out more new music from female performers including new releases from Doris Folkens, Alicia Toner and Ali McCormick and Carly Thomas. Check out the full playlist below.
Edmonton based singer-songwriter Jay Gilday joins us on Episode 379 of Folk Roots Radio to chat about his music. Whether playing solo or with his power trio, Jay is a captivating performer who weaves together aspects of his own ancestral traditions: Dene spirituals, Irish ballads, into Canadian folk and rock to produce a sound that is very much his own. We also check out more of the new music we’ve received, including the latest releases from The Once, Birds of Chicago, Manitoba Hal, David Francey, Colm Gavin and The Fugitives. It’s a great episode, and definitely worth sticking around for. Check out the full playlist below.
Guelph Ontario singer-songwriter Doris Folkens writes songs that are rooted in people and the events that shaped their lives. She’s just about to release her old-time styled self-titled debut. The album, produced by Toronto’s five-time Juno nominee, and seven-time Canadian Folk Music Award winner, Andrew Collins features seven original story songs with support from Collins (mandolin), Shane Cook (fiddle) and Frank Evans (banjo). “The story behind the album started two generations ago. During World War 2 in Hamburg, my grandmother rescued her piano from her burning house (the family house is depicted in the album art), which had been hit by a bomb. This was the piano that crossed the ocean on a container ship to Canada when my mother married. Years later, I learnt music on that same piano. I often wonder: If my grandmother hadn’t rescued that piano, would I be playing music at all? Her actions, two generations later, left their mark on the songs that I’ve written for this album. The songs are based on true family stories. It’s about where we came from and those who raised us.” The album also includes the Doris Folkens song “Lonesome In The Grave No More” which took home the Songs of the Heart award for humorous song at the 2017 Folk Music Ontario conference. We caught up with Doris Folkens at home in Guelph to chat about her music. The Doris Folkens CD release show will take place in Guelph at The Common on Saturday May 26 2018 at 7 p.m. For more information about the music of Doris Folkens, visit dorisfolkens.com. Music: Doris Folkens “Dig A Hole”, “Lonesome In The Grave No More” and “Right Side Of The Tracks” from “Doris Folkens” (2018, Self).
Jay Gilday grew up in a very musical family in Yellowknife before relocating to Edmonton AB and immersing himself in its vibrant music scene. Whether playing solo or with his power trio, Jay Gilday is a captivating live performer. As a songwriter, he weaves together aspects of his own ancestral traditions: Dene spirituals, Irish ballads, and Canadian folk and rock to produce a sound that is very much his own. His latest album 2016’s “Faster The Light” features ten songs, wrapped up in a harmonic electric blues rock mix. The album earned Jay Gilday the Indigenous Artist of the Year at the 2017 Western Canadian Music Awards alongside Singer-Songwriter of the Year of the Year, and a nod as one of the Artists to Watch at the 2017 Edmonton Music Awards. Jay is currently working on a solo folk recording, expected in 2018. Jay Gilday sat down with Jan Hall from Folk Roots Radio at the Folk North export showcase to chat about his music. Check out Jay Gilday online at jaygilday.com. Music: Jay Gilday “Alleys & Rocks”, “City Slide” and “Dream Your Dreams” from “Faster Than Light” (2016, Self).
The Lifers, led by sisters Liv and Anita Cazzola, are an art-folk/rock collective from Guelph, Ontario. Liv and Anita have been delighting listening audiences across Canada since there release of their first E.P. “Set the Sails” (2014) and long player “Out & In” (2016). Their intertwined voices dynamically convey vulnerability and strength. Softly plucked strings, accordion swells, and lush cello and upright bass arrangements give way to rip-roaring drums and soaring melodies. Their stories juxtapose tenderness and explosive energy, sometimes within a single breath while exploring notions of home, family and community, and highlighting the beauty, vulnerability and power of nature. Their sophomore album “Honey Suite” is more personal than ever, reflecting on the fragility of life and our world, and touching on themes of place, sisterhood, mental health, and the environment. We caught up with Liv and Anita Cazzola at home in Guelph to chat about the new album. The sisters will be touring the new album across Canada, the US and Europe this year – in Ontario with their thunderous six-piece band, and abroad with their collaborative project, alongside their Sisterhood of Sound tour with Guelph based singer-songwriter Annie Sumi. For more information, visit thelifersmusic.com. Music: The Lifers “Sister”, “The Nature Of Things”, “New Eyes” and “Front Door” from “Honey Suite” (2018, Self).
Halifax singer-songwriter Ian Sherwood joins us in the studio on Episode 378 of Folk Roots Radio to chat about his music and latest album “Bring The Light”. He also plays three songs live for us. And, as always on Folk Roots Radio, we check out more of the latest new releases, including new music from The Bodarks, The Young Novelists, John Gorka and The Once. Check out the full playlist below.
Thanks for featuring our music on your show, Jan!
Winnipeg country roots troubadour singer-songwriter Kevin Roy joins us on Episode 377 of Folk Roots Radio for a chat about his music and three live songs. It’s a great session and definitely worth checking out. We also take a look at new music from Dana Sipos, Manitoba Hal, Gordie Tentrees and Jaxon Haldane, Ambre McLean, Vi Wickam and Justin Branum, Anne Janelle, Billy Strings, Norm Brunet, Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar and Marie Knight. Check out the full playlist below.
Steve Poltz is one of the most engaging live performers you are ever likely to see – a storytelling folk singer who loves to crowd-surf at festivals, he’s one of those artists that once you catch a show, you can’t wait to do it again. Steve Poltz’ first brush with fame was being the co-writer of Jewel’s biggest hit, “You Were Meant For Me”, however since that time he’s built a great career as the archetypal troubadour singer-songwriter – playing more than 200 shows a year, and a favourite on the festival scene. Born in Nova Scotia, raised in San Diego, where he lived for over thirty years – he’s now a resident of East Nashville, one of the coolest places to live if you’re a singer-songwriter. Steve Poltz sat down with Folk Roots Radio at the Folk North export showcase to talk about his music. Check out Steve Poltz online at poltz.com. Music: Steve Poltz “Silver Lining” from “One Left Shoe” (1998, UMG Recordings), “Mother Russia” and “Folk Singer” from “Folk Singer” (2015, 98 Pounder Records).
Sean Cooney, David Eagle and Michael Hughes career in music started when they decided that rather than going to the local pub for a night out, they’d check out their local folk club, in Stockton on Teeside, England in the UK. Taking their turn to sing some traditional songs in three part harmony, and, often a cappella, lead to them being affectionately christened The Young’Uns – as they were distinctly not in the same age group as the other people who attended the folk club on a regular basis. Well, the name stuck, and a desire to share their own socially conscious message in song, has lead to critical praise for their recorded work and live performances, and being named as Best Group at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards two years running (2015 and 2016) and picking up Best Album in 2018 for their latest, “Strangers” (2017, Hereteu Records). Sean, David and Michael sat down with Jan Hall from Folk Roots Radio at the Folk North export showcase in Toronto to chat about their music, and latest album, “Strangers” (2017, Hereteu Records). Check out The Young’Uns online at younguns.co.uk. Music: The Young’Uns “Ghafoor’s Bus”, “Be The Man” and “Bob Cooney’s Miracle” from “Strangers” (2017, Hereteu Records).
Young Canadian singer-songwriter Campbell Woods released his debut album “Oxford Street”, produced by Brian Kobayakawa, in the spring of 2017. An album full of well-crafted story songs, it was very well-received both nationally and internationally, and made it into Folk Roots Radio’s Top 25 albums of 2017. Campbell Woods first arrived on our radar as a member of the 2014 Folk Music Ontario Youth Program (now known as the Developing Artist Program). It was clear even then, that Campbell was committed to the craft as a songwriter, with a deep desire to share his stories through song. Campbell Woods sat down with Folk Roots Radio at the 2017 Folk Music Ontario conference to chat about his music and play a few songs live. Check out Campbell Woods online at campbellwoodsmusic.com. Music: Campbell Woods “Blood Is Thicker Than Water” (Live), “If She Stays” (Live) and “Van Gogh” (Live).
Glenn McFarlane is an award winning songwriter, a multi-instrumentalist and one of the founders of the Brampton Folk Club. Glenn released his third album, “Time to Kill” in 2017. His well-crafted originals have a fun sing-a-long familiarity that really gets the audience going. Glenn McFarlane sat down with Jan Hall from Folk Roots Radio at the 2017 Folk Music Ontario conference to chat about his music and play a few songs live. Glenn has also created a couple of fun videos to accompany his music – a very cute puppet powered video for his song “I Wanna Hug” and, another for his anthemic sing-a-long “Hey Canada!” for Canada’s 150th birthday. Visit Glenn McFarlane online at glennmcfarlane.ca. Music: Glenn McFarlane “I Wanna Hug” (Live), “Newfoundland 9-1-1” (Live) and “Hey Canada!” (Live).
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