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Your home on the web for all things Canadian folk, roots, blues, and world music and related genres.

24/01/2025

Like most of the meaningful things I've achieved in the music business, getting to know Garth Hudson, who passed away Jan. 21 at age 87, can be traced back to my dad's record collection. As a kid in the early '70, I would wile away time just flipping through his LPs and marvel at the covers as if they were a picture book. One cover always stuck out — a stark black and white photo of five guys, one sporting a massive beard, scowling back at me. The only words accompanying the photo were "The Band."

Eventually, I came to understand what The Band was all about, and the fact that most of the members came from towns near where I grew up made them even more important to me. Then I read Greil Marcus's Mystery Train, saw The Last Waltz and it all started to come into focus; I soon shed my early adolescent fondness for heavy metal and prog rock and started seriously listening to The Band and all the other music connected to their family tree.

Like most of the meaningful things I've achieved in the music business, getting to know Garth Hudson, who passed away Jan. 21 at age 87, can be traced back to

23/01/2025

For as long as I’ve worked in folk music, and that’s nearly 30 years now, the annual Folk Alliance International conference has travelled to Canada approximately every five years.

Next month, it returns by popular demand to Montreal, the same place it was held the last time it was in Canada in 2019.

And this time, it should stay.

If not in Montreal, then somewhere else in Canada – with perhaps periodic stops in Mexico, Denmark and Panama.

It is, after all, Folk Alliance International.

As Donald Trump prepares to impose devastating tariffs on its northern and southern neighbours, threatens the very sovereignty of its NATO allies and creates a hostile environment for women, gender q***r people, and people of colour, U.S.-based organizations like Folk Alliance International that are committed to social justice need to show their support for their minority members and stand up for the countries whose economies stand to be decimated by American economic bullying.

For as long as I’ve worked in folk music, and that’s nearly 30 years now, the annual Folk Alliance International conference has travelled to Canada approxim

22/01/2025

Juno-Award-winning roots troubadour Stephen Fearing releases a new single "Far from the Middle" on Jan. 31, accompanied by a new lyric video.

And we're super stoked here at Roots Music Canada to be premiering them today!

The song is from Stephen's is 15th album, The Empathist, coming out this year.

The single will be out on all major platforms and the lyric video will be on YouTube.

Inspired by a conversation with Cree singer-songwriter and far north resident Adrian Sutherland, "Far from the Middle" is a hard-charging blues-rocker with a wicked groove, and elements that recall the twangy guitar of the James Bond theme, and the swaggering horn lines of the Peter Gunn main title.

The song finds Stephen in a rage aganst the machine that holds Indigenous people down; he's aided and abetted by the thick, rich sax of Jim Hoke, and the hardcore Texas swagger of Sue Foley's stinging telecaster.
/songwriter

Juno-Award-winning roots troubadour Stephen Fearing releases a new single "Far from the Middle" on Jan. 31, accompanied by a new lyric video. And we're su

21/01/2025

Well this was a head trip.

The first thing I noticed when I headed to the YouTube video for this song was that the comments were all in French.

So the moment “Au revoir la belle” opened with fiddle and handclaps, I was expecting a jaunty piece of QueTrad to come through the speakers.

Imagine my surprise then, when the song exploded into an arrangement of tin whistles, bagpipes, squeezebox and a whole rock n’ roll ensemble, complete with pounding drums.

The vocals are in French, but make no mistake about it, the song is Celtic through and through – owing far more in style to the Pogues and the Oysterband than to La Bottine Souriante.

And a damn lot of fun it is.

I’m embarrassed to say that Bodh’aktan are new to me, despite their having been on the scene for more than a decade and having earned at least two Felix nominations.

That latter part is all you really need to know to know that this is really damn good music

Well this was a head trip. The first thing I noticed when I headed to the YouTube video for this song was that the comments were all in French. So the mom

20/01/2025

If there's one Canadian songwriter we can always count on to crank out a topical song in record time, it's James Gordon.

But when it comes to his brand new song about the Trump inauguration, we also have Andrew Coyne to thank.

Yes, he of the Globe and Mail and the CBC At Issue panel.

As you no doubt know, because it was widely shared, Coyne wrote a scathing column in the aftermath of the U.S. federal election, in which he refused to understate the catastrophe facing he western world in its wake.

"Nothing mattered in the end," Coyne wrote in that column.

He then went on to outline Trump's many crimes, both literal and figurative: the "unfathomable ignorance," the "shambling, hate-filled campaign," the "ludicrously unworkable anti-policies," the fraud conviction, the r**e charges, the shameless sexual predation, the potentially treasonous admiration of Putin and, you know, Jan. 6.
“Americans took a long look at all this and said, yes please," Coyne wrote.

If there's one Canadian songwriter we can always count on to crank out a topical song in record time, it's James Gordon. But when it comes to his brand new

19/01/2025

Nova-Scotia singer-songwriter Charlie A’Court was at a bit of a crossroads in his career.

For so many years, his music was blues-based.

But since around 2012, he had been moving away from the blues and more towards the roots/Americana music he’d grown up with.

Up until then in his songwriting, Charlie never wanted to get “too too raw” or “too too personal.”.

In working with other songwriters for what would become his latest album, San Palarino, he gave himself permission to get out of his own way.

“I’ve witnessed their capacity to face their own vulnerability as writers,” he explained at last year’s Folk Music Ontario conference.

“In my opinion, they sit down and face themselves in a very real way that I was reluctant to do.”

What came out of the collaborations was a new way forward as a writer and performer.

The title song, co-written with Matt Andersen, was the beginning of the process that’s lead him to the new album.

Nova-Scotia singer-songwriter Charlie A’Court was at a bit of a crossroads in his career. For so many years, his music was blues-based. But since around

17/01/2025

As anticipation builds for the official release of Boreal's sophomore album, Winterbirds, the Canadian folk trio is sharing a new lyric video for the title track.

Singer-songwriters Tannis Slimmon, Katherine Wheatley and Angie Nussey began making Winterbirds in 2023 as the long-overdue follow-up to Boreal's 2014 debut album, Winter’s Welcome. While a chilly theme is still predominant on much of Winterbirds, it’s a collection intended to bring joy year-round, with the music presenting a balance of soulful intensity with moments of lightness and celebration.

“Collaborating with Tannis and Katherine feels like working with a dream team,” Angie said. “We admire each other’s strengths, which inspires us to continually elevate our efforts for one another. The whole is definitely greater than the sum of its parts.

As anticipation builds for the official release of Boreal's sophomore album, Winterbirds, the Canadian folk trio is sharing a new lyric video for the title tra

16/01/2025

For musical and married partners Joey Clarkson and Peter Dixon, known as the Americana duo Half a Chance, trying to bring a little bundle of joy into the world has been challenging. While sadly, the social discourse, general attitudes, and sensitivity towards the issue remain problematic, the group has addressed the issue head-on with the smart and engaging roots pop single "Little Problems," a tune released during Britain's National Fertility Week in November. It's also a stellar track that glides effortlessly while tackling a complex issue that resonates with so many couples.

https://youtu.be/x3qUuoJEGlM

Joey, who said both she and Peter have been trying to have a child since 2019, says "Little Problems" was originally a cathartic means to address their own situation.

"It was a ther**eutic exercise in the midst of a brutal year for my physical and mental health," Joey said, adding that appointments for In vitro fertilization (IVF) were rescheduled several times.

For musical and married partners Joey Clarkson and Peter Dixon, known as the Americana duo Half a Chance, trying to bring a little bundle of joy into the world

15/01/2025

Most people in the roots community know Over the Moon as a Juno-nominated, Canadian Folk Music Award-nominated duo who have made a name for themselves playing an array of genres we often lazily lump into "Americana."

Well, in May, they're about to become venue and studio owners.

"We noticed this 1950’s movie theatre for sale on FB Marketplace, and we decided to pop by and see it," Craig Bignall explained to me in an email.

"When we walked into it for the first time, we couldn’t believe how beautiful it was, but more importantly, how amazing it sounded."

The wheels started turning, he said, and they bought it.

The theatre had been closed for a while and had major water damage from pipes freezing and a leaky roof that rotted some of the flooring.

But Craig and his partner in life and music, Suzanne Levesque, figured they could bring it back to its former glory, and the two musicians, who are clearly very handy, began doing all of the work themselves!!

Most people in the roots community know Over the Moon as a Juno-nominated, Canadian Folk Music Award-nominated duo who have made a name for themselves playing a

14/01/2025

This EP from the very young Nigerian-born, Canadian beat maker Hanson Ogbegie is the kind of thing I imagine turning on late at night on Christmas Eve, when you’re not quite ready to go to bed yet and you just want to pour yourself a special drink, take in the lights of the Christmas tree and enjoy some quiet time before all hell breaks loose.

Don’t get me wrong; there’s nothing Christmasy about the record. It’s just that Hanson has created such a cozy, intimate mood with this all-instrumental album that my mind can’t help but drift off to the quietest, most cozy, contented moments I can conjure up. Heck, he even has a track here called “Cozy Corner.”

To my ear, the record is a mixture of current RnB and vintage pop and jazz – the kind of arrangements you hear on recordings from the Great American Songbook. And perhaps it’s those influences that make it sound so Christmasy in places.

This EP from the very young Nigerian-born, Canadian beat maker Hanson Ogbegie is the kind of thing I imagine turning on late at night on Christmas Eve, when you

13/01/2025

Just because Toronto’s Danceland owe their existence to The Grateful Dead doesn’t mean they can’t pay tribute to another musical legend when it’s warranted. Take “Steve Earle,” their new single that chronicles a night out on the town with the Nashville firebrand—a dinner to remember that, as it turns out, was put in motion by the simplest of requests.

https://youtu.be/cEJfxg5JHEw

“He was in town, and his label guy needed a couple joints,” Danceland singer-songwriter Joe Ferland explained, matter-of-factly. “My friend asked me to hook him up, and the rest is in the tune.
**er ’ArcyGood

Just because Toronto’s Danceland owe their existence to The Grateful Dead doesn’t mean they can’t pay tribute to another musical legend when it’s warran

09/01/2025

Winterfolk, Toronto’s beloved annual celebration of folk, blues, and roots music, returns for its 23rd year from Feb. 14–16 at the iconic Tranzac Club. This year’s festival promises an extraordinary mix of established artists, including Michael Jerome Browne, Dala, Donné Roberts, Russell deCarle, Amanda Rheaume and Tannis Slimmon, alongside emerging talent and community-driven performances, all set to reignite the spirit of live music and inspire audiences of all ages.

Since its inception, Winterfolk has championed the rich traditions of folk, blues, and roots music while offering a platform for emerging voices in the industry. Over the years, the festival has grown from a grassroots effort to a highly respected event that draws over 150 performers and a diverse audience annually. Beyond showcasing exceptional talent, Winterfolk creates opportunities for mentorship, collaboration, and connection within the music community.

Winterfolk, Toronto’s beloved annual celebration of folk, blues, and roots music, returns for its 23rd year from Feb. 14–16 at the iconic Tranzac Club. This

08/01/2025

Next weekend is going to be a heck of a weekend for live music, both in Vancouver and online. The Rogue has THREE shows in a span of four days.

And when that's all over, you can still go see Catherine MacLellan at the end of the month.

I sure hope you have some money left over from Christmas because this is a heck of a line-up.

For more information or tickets, check out http://www.roguefolk.bc.ca or call 604.736-3022.
Madison Violet - Jan. 16 at Mel Lehan Hall at St. James
Madison Violet is a Canadian Juno-nominated female musical duo, consisting of Lisa MacIsaac and Brenley MacEachern. The women, who both have roots in rural Cape Breton, came together musically in the late 1990s over many evenings in Brenley’s grandmother’s kitchen, which was always bursting with food, family, friends, and instruments.

Next weekend is going to be a heck of a weekend for live music, both in Vancouver and online. The Rogue has THREE shows in a span of four days. And when that

07/01/2025

Gordy the moose reviews some of his favourite new submissions to the Roots Music Canada virtual mailbox.

All I had to do was look at the title of Avi C. Engel’s latest album, Nocturne (Soundtrack for an Invisible Film), to imagine what it might sound like.

And I wasn’t disappointed.

Dreamy, atmospheric, at times cinematic, at times blurring the boundaries between music and audio art, Nocturne is very much the kind of album you might listen to while lying awake at night waiting for sleep to come.

In fact, Avi wrote it during a period of sleeplessness and depression, they said, in an effort to soothe their mind.

The album largely alternates between songs and tunes, and many of the pieces have a mantra-like quality. Lyrics and melodic passages repeat over and over again, notably on tracks like “E Minor Fermented” and “Bones Beguiling,” which has a Gregorian chant-like quality to it.

Gordy the moose reviews some of his favourite new submissions to the Roots Music Canada virtual mailbox. All I had to do was look at the title of Avi C. E

06/01/2025

If you’re like most people, you’ve either long given up on making New Year’s resolutions or you’ve long given up on keeping them.

But part of the problem might be that you’re still aiming for the same old canards: lose weight, quit smoking, exercise more, eat better, etc.

Let’s face it, major lifestyle changes take time to get right. You usually need to try and fail a few times before you succeed. And that necessary combination of motivation, determination and favourable external conditions doesn’t always magically appear on Jan. 1.

But there are plenty of more novel goals we can set at the start of the year that we can stick to. For example, I once made radio stories about people who successfully pledged to knit sweaters or learn to French braid their own hair.

And in these tough economic times, now would be a great time to set goals aimed at making sure your favourite artists can keep making music this year.

If you’re like most people, you’ve either long given up on making New Year’s resolutions or you’ve long given up on keeping them. But part of the pro

04/01/2025

The train song is one of the most time-tested traditions in North American music. Yet when it’s done right, it feels just as fresh and affecting as the very first time an itinerant blues man rode the rails. The proud tradition continues in “Last Train Home,” the exquisite, mournful title track to Niagara Falls singer-songwriter Evan Rotella’s sophomore album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owexjcx6K00

Late-hour introspection of the kind only a vagabond lifestyle can induce, the song finds our hero heading back from another night on the eternal road, pondering what he’s learned and what’s been lost to him. Evan’s voice crackles with self-recognition as he surveys the “thieves and cheats” that are sharing the ride with him, the “heroes and saints” who are his fellow passengers on a trip whose rituals are as routine as it is outcome is unknown.
&TheSeventhSon ’sCasbahLounge ’Urso &Bar ’sSportsBar ’sDaveRave #“LastTrainHome

The train song is one of the most time-tested traditions in North American music. Yet when it’s done right, it feels just as fresh and affecting as the very f

03/01/2025

After veering from the adult contemporary and pop worlds, Montreal blues singer Sarah Sokal is bringing a sensational and powerful new album, Twisted Games, to listeners led by a delectable, brawny single "Man Made." It's a beefy, bluesy, party-starting track that showcases Sarah's alluring and alarmingly strong pipes, keeping the blues alive by bridging the gap between tradition and modernity, drawing in a younger audience who appreciate both timeless blues and the appeal of mainstream music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT-laztvRIg

"Man Made," co-written by Sarah and Stewart McKie and produced by DUBë (who also mixed, recorded, and engineered the song), brings to mind the late Sharon Jones with its feel-good, uplifting tempo and confident, self-assured arrangement. Keyboardist Dave Lines complements Sarah's introductory verse before guitarist Andy Dacoulis, bassist Dray Woods, and drummer Jean Nadeau flesh the "Man Made" to perfection.

After veering from the adult contemporary and pop worlds, Montreal blues singer Sarah Sokal is bringing a sensational and powerful new album, Twisted Games, to

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Videos

Tami Neilson sang with her brother and a great drummer. Her first time at Hillside she was fierce! She got all ages up dancin’ —A true performer loved the gold cowboy boots! Ps Shared with us only 10% of country music are women that get played on the radio…She wrote a song for her Dad and Willie Nelson sang her Dads part. Check her out!

It's time, guys!

It's the moment I've been waiting for all week!

Now we’re just improvising here in room 1742. :-)

We’re in room 1742 here at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth at Folk Alliance. Artists here are recreating John Lenon and Yoko Ono’s historic bed in here 50 years ago. #fai2019

Ariko are showcasing in room 230, La Swamp, at the Folk Music Ontario conference.

Welcome to the private showcase floor at the Folk Music Ontario conference. This is where artists and labels rent rooms and stage performances in hopes of attracting industry attention.

Brian Litvin and Jabulani are showcasing in Room 222, the World of Music suite, on the private showcase floor at the Folk Music Ontario conference.

Bring back RMC

Do you miss reading about Canadian roots artists in your local papers? Do you even HAVE a local paper anymore? We need a home on the web for Canadian roots music! Let's bring back Rootsmusic.ca. Watch this page for more information!

Bring back RMC

Bring back RMC!

Having trouble getting attention for your music or the music of an artist you work with? We need a home on the web for Canadian roots music! Let's bring back Rootsmusic.ca. Watch this page for more information!

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