Roots Music Canada (2026)

30/12/2025

Fans of Celtic-influenced music will be beside themselves with joy at the Rogue Folk Club's January line-up.

In fact, they should just block off the Jan. 10 and 11 weekend and plan to spend it on nothing but music.

East Coast musician and singer-songwriter kicks off the weekend with a show at St. James.

The following day, Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas hold a workshop AND a concert.

Rogue shows can be watched in person OR online.

For more information, visit http://www.roguefolk.bc.ca.
J.P. Cormier - Jan. 10 at Mel Lehan Hall at St. James
Born in London, ON to parents from Cape Breton, J.P. exploded onto the trad music scene on Cape Breton in the mid-90s performing some of the most challenging fiddle music ever produced by legends like Winston Fitzgerald and Angus Chisholm with a facility that stunned onlookers. He has since won 13 East Coast Music Awards and one Canadian Folk Music Award.

Fans of Celtic-influenced music will be beside themselves with joy at the Rogue Folk Club's January line-up. In fact, they should just block off the Jan. 10

29/12/2025

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Steve Poltz announces his return to his Canadian roots with an extensive 17-date spring tour across Eastern Canada, kicking off April 15.

The Halifax-born artist continues his momentum following sold-out theatre runs and massive responses at major festivals across Australia and the US, bringing his "good old-fashioned sing-along" show to intimate venues throughout the Maritimes, Ontario, and Quebec.

The tour supports his 14th solo album, JoyRide – out January 30 - a collection of "unsaturated, unadulterated art" that captures the chaos and poetry of his creative life.

Recorded in East Nashville with producer Dex Green, JoyRide represents a raw, unfiltered approach to recording.

"Capturing me in a studio is like convincing a whirling dervish to stop spinning long enough to sign a bill into law," Steve said.

The album embraces a spirit of "no seatbelts, no helmets," featuring "real humans making real noise in real time," he said.

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Steve Poltz announces his return to his Canadian roots with an extensive 17-date spring tour across Eastern Canada, kicking off Apri

25/12/2025

Christmas greetings from the west coast. I hope this message is finding you rested, relaxed, surrounded by family or friends or whatever combination of those things suits your personal needs.

This is my eighth Christmas with Roots Music Canada, and I never find myself short of things to be grateful for at this time of year – but that’s especially true this year.

We’ve all been through a lot these past five years; we’re all rebuilding in a world in which what comes next is increasingly uncertain, and Roots Music Canada joined that rebuilding process this year by talking to many of you about what’s going on for you these days and what you need from us.

It was gratifying to discover that much of what you need is also what we need: more connection, more community-building, more news about what your fellow artists, fans and industry people are up to and more new ideas.

Christmas greetings from the west coast. I hope this message is finding you rested, relaxed, surrounded by family or friends or whatever combination of those th

23/12/2025

“The eagle has landed,” wrote an email that Dr. James McGowan received in his inbox last month. The eagle, a $60,000 Bösendorfer concert grand piano, had landed on the ground floor of the Clemow apartment building in Ottawa - a plan that had been in the works since February.

Roughly nine months before the piano drop-off, James, the undergraduate supervisor of Carleton University’s music program, had received an initial email from Bar Robo owner Scott May. Scott had emailed him and a few other pianists in town to gauge their interest in performing at a fundraising event to support the purchase of a grand piano for his new jazz bar, Robo Lounge.

He was in the process of opening up this new 140-person capacity venue at the Clemow, an upscale rental building for those aged 50 and above, which just so happens to be the place Scott calls home. The lounge is set to open its doors to the public on Jan. 2.

“The eagle has landed,” read an email that Dr. James McGowan received in his inbox last month. The eagle, a $60,000 Bösendorfer concert grand piano, had

22/12/2025

There are some who claim that the Tweed area is the Bermuda Triangle of Ontario.

There seems to be a disproportionate number of UFO sightings in this part of Ontario – paranormal events occurring. I am not sure but I can certainly attest to the possibility.

There have been many times when I have travelled Highway 37 and 7 in the Tweed vortex and felt late at night that there some force holding me back no matter how hard I pressed on the pedal. I would liken it to walking the wrong way on an escalator. There is definitely something other going on in the Tweed area.

Many years before my time working on the Wayne Rostad Show I worked with a wonderful dance troupe in Tweed and got to know the environs a bit. I enjoyed bowling at the Quanset Hut Bowladrome in downtown Tweed.

South of Tweed on the Stoco Road there is an abandoned ceramic factory near Marlbank. You may hard pressed to find Marlbank itself but close by is the home of the Philoxians.

There are some who claim that the Tweed area is the Bermuda Triangle of Ontario. There seems to be a disproportionate number of UFO sightings in this part of

20/12/2025

At this time of year, when giving presents to the music lover in your family, there can be a wide variety of choices. Instruments, accessories, instruction books or lessons are all available. Books about musicians are another possibility.

May I suggest I Have a Love Story by fiddler Natalie MacMaster?

While not an autobiography or memoir per se, it’s a collection of stories that tells of her life growing up in Cape Breton, how she’s toured around the world and raised a family with her husband, and fellow fiddler, Donnell Leahy.

It all started seven years ago when Natalie was overwhelmed by all the bad news around the world and closer to her roots in Cape Breton.

“I was thinking, ‘What kind of world do my kids have to live in?’.”

She also thought about all of the good things she’s experienced. It was then she realized what a love story she possessed.

At this time of year, when giving presents to the music lover in your family, there can be a wide variety of choices. Instruments, accessories, instruction book

20/12/2025

Irish Millie, the 18-year-old Canadian fiddler, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and composer who is taking the roots scene by storm, has released "You Were There," the standout single from her acclaimed EP Between Then and Now.

The track has earned the young artist her seventh Canadian Folk Music Award nomination, this time for Single of the Year. Simultaneously, she earned her fifth consecutive nomination for Young Performer of the Year, having been recognized in that category every year since the release of her debut album, Thirteen, in 2021.

The Peterborough native was recognized as a nominee for the Ontario Folk Music Awards' 2025 Performing Artist of the Year award, cementing her status as one of Canadian folk music's most dynamic rising voices.

Released on July 6 via LaunchPad Records, Between Then and Now showcases Irish Millie's artistic evolution, blending East Coast drive, bluegrass energy, and contemporary trad grit across four compelling tracks.

Irish Millie, the 18-year-old Canadian fiddler, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and composer who is taking the roots scene by storm, has released "You Were There

20/12/2025

Nearly three decades after it began, Van Django is still finding new ways to swing.

Van Django officially came together in 1998 with violinist Cameron Wilson and guitarist Budge Schachte. The group has been together through lineup changes for nearly three decades.

That longevity comes down to familiarity and trust, Cameron said. He compared it to riding a bike

“When you play with people for so long, you kind of can read their minds,” he said.

“You know exactly what they’re going to do. You can go a while without playing and then come back, and it just feels comfortable.”

Because the members have shared so many experiences, they work together easily, but that hasn’t stopped their ambitions, Cameron said.

From the start, Van Django has been rooted in the swing jazz of Django Reinhardt, while also leaving plenty of room for experimentation.

“We’ve always loved the style,” Cameron said.

Nearly three decades after it began, Van Django is still finding new ways to swing. Van Django officially came together in 1998 with violinist Cameron Wilson

19/12/2025

Throughout their 20 years of marriage, Laura Spink and Graydon James have spent more than three-quarters of their wedded years touring and performing first as a band, and then as a duo, under the moniker The Young Novelists.

The duo met in university through a community theatre and began a journey neither of them anticipated when they first met.

They have produced five albums - four studio albums and one live one.

Their most recent release, These Dark Canyons, features Laura's perspective as a focal point.

The Young Novelists began as a solo project of Graydon's, who had previously been part of another band.

“I recorded all the songs from that band just in my basement in a terrible recording fashion,” he said. “It wasn't a good album at all, but it sounded like a full band on that album, and I was going to do a tour solo.”

Graydon realized he needed a band and assembled the Young Novelists, a six-piece group featuring Laura.

Throughout their 20 years of marriage, Laura Spink and Graydon James have spent more than three-quarters of their wedded years touring and performing first as a

19/12/2025

Alberta's public radio network has announced it is scheduled to receive $10.9 million over two years through the federal PrairiesCan funding program, a federal department that promotes economic growth across the Canadian Prairies.

CKUA is powerful promoter of folk, roots and global music in Alberta and is home to beloved programs such as Tom Coxworth's Folk Routes, Allison Brock's Wide Cut Country and Lark Clark's World Spinning.

“We are thrilled to share this incredible news with our community," Chief Operating Officer and Acting CEO, Adam Mitchell said in a statement.

"CKUA has always been more than a radio station. It is a gathering place for music, arts, and connection across Alberta and beyond. This investment from PrairiesCan helps us grow, modernize, and support the people and infrastructure that make this work possible."

The money will go towards capital infrastructure such as equipment, building enhancements and maintenance, Adam said.

Alberta's public radio network has announced it is scheduled to receive $10.9 million over two years through the federal PrairiesCan funding program, a federal

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