Richard Laviolette Archives | Folk Roots Radio

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.

Folk Roots Radio Best of 2017 - The Top 10

Dec 28 2017

Well, it’s that time of year – time to run down our favourite albums of 2017. One of the best things about doing a radio show is that you get loads of great music to audition each week. One of the hardest things to do, though, is to take all that great music and narrow it down to your ten favourite recordings of the year. As someone who loves to make best of lists, it’s a fun thing to do, and, if, by doing that, I can expose people to new music they may not have heard, so much the better. As always, this Best of 2017 list only includes those albums that were received from October 1st, 2016 – September 30th, 2017. Listen to tracks from the Top 10 and check out the full playlist below.

Richard Laviolette - The Folk Roots Radio Interview

Apr 14 2017

Richard Laviolette is a songwriter who really puts his life and personal passions into his music. His new country roots album, “Taking The Long Way Home” (2017, You’ve Changed Records) is all about remaining resilient in the face of life’s challenges whether they relate to personal issues, family, health – whatever – basically everything we all deal with on a daily basis. It’s also an album that emphasizes how much it helps to take the daily ups and downs with as much of a sense of humour as you can manage. With some lovely warm production from Andy Magoffin from the House of Miracles studio in Cambridge Ontario, and some really talented roots players who know how to play with a light touch – it’s a joy to listen to. Joining Richard on the album are Lisa Bozikovic on piano, Matt Reeves on lead guitar, Jessy Bell Smith (Skydiggers) on vocal harmonies, Julia Narveson (Ever Lovin’ Jug Band) on fiddle and double bass, Aaron Goldstein on pedal steel, Heather Kirby (Ohbijou) on electric bass, and Aaron Curtis on drums. We caught up with Richard Laviolette at home in Guelph to chat about the new album. Music: Richard Laviolette, “Grey Rain”, “Someone Tell My Story When I’m Gone”, “You’ve Really Got Me On The Run” and “Taking The Long Way Home” from “Taking The Long Way Home” (2017, You’ve Changed Records)

Folk Roots Radio Episode 310: Roots North Music Festival

Mar 17 2017

On this episode of Folk Roots Radio we take a look at the Roots North Music Festival. Now in it’s third year, this year’s festival takes place on Friday and Saturday April 21-22 in a variety of venues in Downtown Orillia, Ontario. Amy Mangan, one of the festival organizers, joins us on this episode to chat about the line-up and how you can get tickets. We also talk to Raven from festival headliners Digging Roots, about their music and fabulous live show. We fill up the rest of the hour with music from some of the other performers heading to Roots North this time around. For more information about the festival and to buy tickets, visit rootsnorthmusic.ca. Check out the full playlist below.

Feb 16 2017

Another hour of Folk Roots Radio that’s all about the music as we take a look at more of the latest new releases. Among the new releases on this episode, we check out “Khlebnikov”, the latest from Danny Michel – which was recorded far above the arctic circle, while aboard the Russian icebreaker Capitan Khlebnikov, in the middle of the arctic ocean. We also take a first listen to “Folklife”, Jayme Stone‘s follow up to the fabulous Lomax Project, a new Battlefield Band compilation, and the latest from folk great Tom Paxton.

We're all about the music, on Episode 300 of Folk Roots Radio

Feb 08 2017

We’ve finally made it to three hundred episodes of Folk Roots Radio! Actually, truth be told, we’re way past 300, as this show previously existed under a different name – but it still sounds good to say that. For this episode, we’re bringing you another great selection of new releases, including our first play of the new albums from Rose Cousins, Richard Laviolette, Portland’s John Craigie and another track the great Bill & Joel Plaskett collaboration “Solidarity”. I hope you’ll check it out.
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Folk Roots Radio Episode 294: Abigail Lapell Interview & More New Releases

Jan 12 2017

Folk-noir singer-songwriter Abigail Lapell joins us on Episode 294 of Folk Roots Radio to chat about her sophomore release, “Hide Nor Hair”. Heavily influenced by her time in the art folk scene in Montreal in the 2000s, and recorded with mood maestro Chris Stringer (Ohbijou, Timber Timbre) in Toronto, the album features ten songs with a cinematic quality that take love and loss as their central theme. We also check out some of the best of the latest new releases.