Folk Roots Radio with Jan Hall

12/01/2022

They are finally here - Our Favourite Albums of 2021! One of the best things about doing a radio show is getting loads of great music to listen to. One of the hardest things to do is to narrow all that fabulous music down to your best of the year. Join us on Episode 615 of Folk Roots Radio as we count down our Top 10.

LISTEN: https://folkrootsradio.com/folk-roots-radio-episode-615-our-favourite-albums-of-2021/

SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/folk-roots-radio/episode-615-our-favourite-albums-of-2021

12/01/2022

They are finally here – Our Favourite Albums of 2021! 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 though is to take all that fabulous music and narrow it down to your ten favourite albums of the year. ‘Best of the year’ lists are very subjective and can only reflect the albums that you’ve actually received, but they are a fun way to reflect on a year gone by, and hopefully get people to check out music they may not have realized they actually like.

Join us on this episode as we count down The Top 10, and check out the rest of our long list in the playlist on the website. We’ll be dipping into The Next 40 on future episodes of the show.

LISTEN: https://folkrootsradio.com/folk-roots-radio-episode-615-our-favourite-albums-of-2021/

SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/folk-roots-radio/episode-615-our-favourite-albums-of-2021

Folk Roots Radio is a labour of love, a full time hobby. If you like what we do, please spread the word.

VISIT the website at https://folkrootsradio.com for full playlists, interview and radio episode archives, and all listening options.

03/01/2022

Happy New Year, everyone!

We celebrated New Year on Folk Roots Radio with something a little bit special. Award-winning singer-songwriter, writer and broadcaster Christa Couture joined us on Episode 614 for an in-depth conversation about her career. An artist who describes herself as q***r, disabled and proudly indigenous (she's mixed Cree and Scandinavian), Christa Couture has experienced more loss than most people can ever imagine: childhood cancer that led to the amputation of her left leg plus a second bout of cancer - this time of the thyroid (later in life). She's also lived with the tragedies of abortion and the deaths of two sons in infancy, followed by divorce. Her life experience informed her very well-received memoir "How To Lose Everything" which came out in 2020, and has helped many, many people deal with loss and grief. Christa Couture continues to make great art in both music and literature, with a willingness to share her story and inspiring attitude to life through broadcasting, public speaking and now film. We wrap things up with uplifting new single "To Us", a song she describes as 'a toast to resilience and survival', with the hope that things will get better as we move into 2022.

LISTEN: https://folkrootsradio.com/folk-roots-radio-episode-614-christa-couture-in-conversation-to-us/

SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/folk-roots-radio/episode-614-christa-couture-in-conversation-to-us-1

Folk Roots Radio with Jan Hall is a labour of love, a full time hobby. If you like what we do, please spread the word.

VISIT the website at https://folkrootsradio.com for full playlists, interview and radio episode archives, and all listening options.

28/12/2021

We hope everyone has been enjoying a relaxing time over Christmas. We have a great interview to share with you today.

Bruce Cockburn joins us on Episode 611 of Folk Roots Radio with Jan Hall for a wonderful in-depth conversation about his career spanning retrospective, “Greatest Hits 1970-2020”, a double CD set featuring 30 songs he has released as singles. After 34 albums, 13 Junos, thousands of shows across the world and numerous other awards, it’s been quite the career.

The good news is that Bruce is still going strong, back out on the road on his 50th Anniversary tour and working on songs for a new album.

There was a lot to talk about which is why we gave over the whole of the episode to the interview.

So settle down and enjoy Bruce Cockburn… in Conversation on Folk Roots Radio.

LISTEN: https://folkrootsradio.com/folk-roots-radio-episode-611-bruce-cockburn-in-conversation-greatest-hits-1970-2020/

Folk Roots Radio is a labour of love, a full time hobby. If you like what we do, please spread the word.

VISIT the website at https://folkrootsradio.com for full playlists, interview and radio episode archives, and all listening options.

Bruce Cockburn joins us on Episode 611 of Folk Roots Radio for an in-depth conversation about his new career spanning double CD set, "Greatest Hits 1970-2020". After 34 albums, 13 Junos, numerous other awards & thousands of shows across the world, it's been quite the career. The good news is that Br...

13/12/2021

Hillside Festival is running another Girls & Guitars songwriting course this coming January. It's a great programme - and guess what, it's virtual so you don't even need to live in the Guelph area to participate. It might even give you the opportunity to perform at Hillside Inside, February 4-6 2022!

Check out our interview with last year's participants. We can't recommend this initiative highly enough.

We’re giving over the whole of Episode 576 of Folk Roots Radio to the 2021 Hillside Festival Girls & Guitars songwriting course. Girls & Guitars is a longstanding feature of Hillside Inside and part of an on-going project designed to address gender imbalance in the music industry and thus further ...

29/10/2021

The International Songwriting Competition's Shane Whalen joins us on Folk Roots Radio to chat about a new prize for 2021, the Spotlight Award which focuses on talent from a specific region of the world. This year, in collaboration with SOCAN, the award will go to a Canadian songwriter. We wrap up th...

06/10/2021

If there’s one thing about songwriting, there’s no telling when and where the inspiration will strike. The question becomes, do you have the tools at your disposal to easily capture ideas no matter where you are? With this in mind, ISC is bringing back a special promotion called INSPIRE YOUR SONGS, running for a very limited time until October 11, 2021. This is a great opportunity to win some cool prizes to help you never lose song ideas again. Entering also includes you in the overall 2021 competition and eligible to share in over $225,000 in cash and prizes, and the chance to be heard by celebrity artists and industry judges.

Enter your songs today at https://songwritingcompetition.com/songs/

We'll be bringing you a special feature on the International Songwriting Competition later this fall. Stay tuned!

12/08/2021

You can check out loads of great new music on Episode 587 of Folk Roots Radio with Jan Hall. Wondering why we subtitled this one the 'When Life Gives You Lemons' edition?

Check out the full playlist on the website where we talk about all the songs we featured, and the artists who created them.

This time around we hear from Flo Perlin Music, How We Led Our Lives, An Early Bird, Luke LeBlanc, Chris Coole with Mark Killanski, John Showman, Adrian Gross & Sam Allison, Diana Jones - Singer/Songwriter, Harpin’ Norm, Reid Jamieson, James Bruce Moore, Pierre Sabourin, Jabbour, The Slowinks, Sons Of The Never Wrong, Shawna Caspi and Moors & McCumber.

Stay safe and well everyone!

LISTEN: https://folkrootsradio.com/folk-roots-radio-episode-587-were-all-about-the-music-when-life-gives-you-lemons-edition/

SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/folk-roots-radio/episode-587-were-all-about-the-music-when-life-gives-you-lemons-edition

Folk Roots Radio is a labour of love, a full time hobby. If you like what we do, please spread the word.

VISIT the website at https://folkrootsradio.com for full playlists, interview and radio episode archives, and all listening options.

09/08/2021

London ON based singer-songwriter Kay Howl joins us on Episode 591 of Folk Roots Radio with Jan Hall for an in-depth conversation about her music. You may not recognize the name Kay Howl, until we tell you that as Kay Oh Chay, she was the big voice behind the keys of the fun bluesy duo, The Oh Chays. She's now back with a new identity, new direction and a wonderful new album, "Pink Trees". It’s a great interview – we hope you’ll stay with us to check it out. As always, we wrap up the episode with more new releases, and this time around we feature all female artists as we hear from Flo Perlin, Tenise Marie, Tess Anderson, Allison Russell, Katie McNally Trio, Tania Joy, Katherine Priddy and Madeline Doornaert.

LISTEN: https://folkrootsradio.com/folk-roots-radio-episode-591-feat-kay-howl-pink-trees-more-new-releases/

SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/folk-roots-radio/episode-591-kay-howl-more-new-releases

Folk Roots Radio is a labour of love, a full time hobby. If you like what we do, please spread the word.

VISIT the website at https://folkrootsradio.com for full playlists, more interviews and radio episodes, and all listening options.

08/08/2021

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Folk Roots Radio is a labour of love, a full time hobby. If you like what we do, please spread the word.

VISIT the website at https://folkrootsradio.com for full playlists, interview and radio episode archives, and all listening options.

26/04/2021

Join us on YouTube and Facebook for another Folk Roots Radio Live on Tuesday April 27 at 11am EST as we welcome Windsor ON based singer-songwriter Brendan Scott Friel into our virtual studio to chat about his sophomore release "Summer Moons". Formerly the lead guitarist with the well-received harmony rock combo The Brilliancy, Brendan first landed on our radar in 2017 with his excellent debut solo recording "Quiet Cars" followed by the 2019 single "Border City Town". The follow-up Summer Moons was originally conceived as two EPs - one intimate and contemplative, the other more expansive before morphing into a single album that pushes the boundaries of modern folk with playful arrangements, and cinematic storytelling. It's a recording that is sure to bring new fans to this talented singer-songwriter who is clearly on the rise. It promises to be a great interview.

Folk Roots Radio is a labour of love, a full-time hobby. If you like what we do, please spread the word.

VISIT the website at https://folkrootsradio.com for full playlists, more interviews and radio episodes, and all listening options.

24/04/2021

An updated version of our interview with one of our favourite people, singer-songwriter Sarah Smith Music has just landed on our YouTube channel and website. Enjoy!

A brilliant live performer, Sarah Smith is never happier than when she is on stage - rocking out with her band or bringing it all down low for an inspirational ballad. A musician who usually plays more than 250 shows a year, the last year has been particularly hard on Sarah - like many touring artists. A lack of live shows during the coronavirus pandemic has really impacted her income. These days Sarah is engaging her adoring fanbase by livestream from her new home on Pender Island BC, after the big move from Southern Ontario. An artist with a strong commitment to social justice and one who loves to keep busy, Sarah has been using her time off the road to write and release some wonderful new songs - many using lyrics from her own fans.

YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/L-xIoHKe2VE

WEBSITE: https://folkrootsradio.com/sarah-smith-the-covid-times-interview/

Folk Roots Radio is a labour of love, a full-time hobby. If you like what we do, please spread the word.

VISIT the website at https://folkrootsradio.com for full playlists, more interviews and radio episodes, and all listening options.

One of our favourite people, pop-rock singer-songwriter Sarah Smith joins us on Folk Roots Radio to chat about her music, and the life of an artist in Covid ...

20/04/2021

19/04/2021

Because of a lack of live shows, artists income has been severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. On the next Folk Roots Radio Live we chat to one of our favourite people, singer-songwriter Sarah Smith, a musician who lives for live performance and is as equally happy rocking out as she is bringing it all down for an inspirational ballad. To see Sarah Smith in concert is to become a fan for life. It's as simple as that. Having played close to 300 shows a year prior to the pandemic, because of Covid-19 Sarah is now engaging her adoring fanbase by livestream. An artist with a strong commitment to social justice and one who loves to keep busy, she has been using her time off the road to write and release some wonderful new songs. She is also adjusting to life on Pender Island BC after the big move from London ON.

It promises to be a great conversation. I hope you'll join us.

Folk Roots Radio is a labour of love, a full-time hobby. If you like what we do, please spread the word.

VISIT the website at https://folkrootsradio.com for full playlists, more interviews and radio episodes, and all listening options.

18/04/2021

16/04/2021

Coming up on Folk Roots Radio Live... Young Irish singer-songwriter Colm Gavin.

Colm will be joining us to chat about his music and forthcoming EP “The 1992 Tapes”, which is set for a summer 2021 release and features five original songs performed solo with piano accompaniment.

Colm Gavin is developing quite a name for himself. His first two solo releases (Your Endless Slumber/A Voice For The Urban Darlings) both reached Number 1 in the Irish Charts. He has also making in-roads into the North American market and is currently receiving airplay on over 50 stations across the US & Canada.

The two new piano driven songs Colm shared with us are quite brilliant. We're really looking forward to learning more about him and his music.

Join us live on on Facebook, Youtube and our website on Sunday (April 18) at 2pm EST.

Folk Roots Radio is a labour of love, a full time hobby. If you like what we do, please spread the word.

VISIT the website at https://folkrootsradio.com for full playlists, more interviews and radio episodes, and all listening options.