Folk

Martha Wainwright is beginning again.

The beguiling performer and songwriter returns with Love Will Be Reborn, out in August. Not since 2012’s Come Home to Mama has a Martha Wainwright record been so full of original written material. Wainwright’s fifth studio album follows recent years of loneliness and clarity in search of optimism and joy.

Wainwright wrote the first song—and what would become the title track— of the record a few years ago. It was a very dark time, she says, but the positivity and luminosity of “Love Will Be Reborn” signalled what was to come. The song simply poured out of her.

Much of Wainwright’s songwriting since 2016’s Goodnight City felt too raw. “There were several years where I picked up the guitar, and I was so, so sad and depressing. I would just put it down because I was terrible.” Before writing it out, or writing through it for catharsis, Wainwright had to live it. Album opener “Middle of the Lake” reinforces Wainwright’s path forward as she sings over voltaic chords and percussion, “I sing my songs of love and pain / Winds of change or simply singing, I'm singing in the rain.” Her work never shies away from an existential throbbing wound. “There are a couple major subjects on the record. From what I can tell, there's really dark and then light,” she says,” It really is reflective of a very difficult period of divorce. Then, after that, it’s meeting somebody new and amazing. And so you hear certain songs about this new love.”

Wainwright enlisted Canadian producer Pierre Marchand for Love Will Be Reborn. “Hole In My Heart” is an upbeat song, with Wainwright singing, “I got naked right away when I saw you / My love was like the rain when I saw you,” as is the track, “Getting Older,” which is about aging and new love. Other songs, she says, “represent me trying to shake away the past a little bit, the ball and chain of that anger, try to escape from it.”

There is no song more gripping than “Report Card.” The song is stripped to essential instrumentals punctuating her anguish. Wainwright expresses on the sombre track a feeling of deep loneliness, evoking emotional nuances particular to parents and individuals separated from their children because of custody arrangements.

Martha Wainwright's role as an artist has always been to embrace her wildness and sketch out her raw depth. This edge is what makes Wainwright uncompromisingly herself and continues to draw in an audience two decades on. To begin again does not mean starting over. This process of rebirth honours the past to move forward. Love Will Be Reborncaptures Wainwright’s heart in transition. In an effort to rise out of some painful depths, as she says much like a phoenix from the ashes of an existential twilight, Wainwright bore witness to what her heart endured to find a new joy once more.

BEN CAPLAN is a Canadian singer-songwriter and entertainer known for his energetic live shows and award-winning studio recordings. Perpetually on tour since 2011, Ben has played nearly 2000 concerts in 28 countries in that time. His 2018 project Old Stock was both an album and a highly-acclaimed musical theatre production which has toured the world since 2017, including a 7-week Off-Broadway run which garnered 6 Drama Desk Award nominations, a NYTimes Critic’s Pick, and numerous other international accolades.

His newest project, Hold On!,  is a diverse cycle of songs with a full new band of collaborators. Blending old world folk traditions with electronic instruments and sound design, Ben Caplan and the band have created a futuristic nostalgia with one foot in the past and the other stretched across the abyss of the end of the world. The show, with its energetic frenzy and moments of unexpected tenderness, lives somewhere in the space between theatre and music. It’s a kind of cabaret to mourn and celebrate the end of the world.

Connie Kaldor - singer-songwriter, entertainer, TV personality, and women’s music pioneer - is celebrating 45 years in show business this year with her upcoming 18th recording, titled Keep Going! She began her career in folk music as part of the Canadian wave alongside artists like Stan Rogers and Valdy. Armed with her enormous stage presence, her unforgettable melodies, and her emotional depth as a songwriter, Connie became a headline act on the festival circuit. Her extensive touring has earned her a loyal fan-base that extends far beyond the traditional boundaries of folk and the Boston Globe has described her as, “a masterful performer, wildly funny one moment, deeply personal the next.” A three-time Juno Award winner, Connie is a member of the Order of Canada, a Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal recipient, holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Regina, and is the first songwriter to receive a Western Literature Association Award of Merit.

Don Ross has just released new solo album, WATER. It is his 18th solo album, and his 21st including collaborations. For this new recording, Don decided to launch a Kickstarter fundraising campaign and do the release 100% independently. He managed to raise his financial goal in 28 hours, and was able to make many musical concepts come true as a result. The album features collaborations with legendary guitarist/songwriter Bruce Cockburn, fretless bass wizard Michael Manring, Washington State-based guitarist/composer Sean Hall, singer/guitarist Brooke Miller, Prince Edward Island-based quintet The Atlantic String Machine, and even one piece with the 70-piece City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. The album features cover art by luminary Mi’kmaw visual artist Alan Syliboy of Millbrook First Nation in Nova Scotia.
Don Ross was born and raised in Montreal and has lived in various parts of Canada over the course of his life. The son of a Mi’kmaw Indigenous mother and a Scottish immigrant father, he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music) degree from Toronto’s York University and started working full-time as a musician in 1988. That year he won the US National Fingerpick Guitar Championshipfor the first time, and also played with his quartet Eye Music at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.

Signing a solo recording contract with Duke Street Records that same year, he went on to release two CDs of solo guitar music for the label in 1989 and 1990, as well as a third CD for the label featuring vocal music, full band arrangements, and solo guitar tunes in 1993.

Concentrating his touring primarily in Canada at the start of his career, Don went on to sign with Sony Music/Columbia Records(Canada) in 1994, releasing three CDs for the label. US-based Narada Records also licensed two pieces for the Masters of Acoustic Guitar CD in 1997. Meanwhile, Don won the US National Fingerpick Guitar Championship for the second time in 1996. To this day, he is still the competition’s only two-time winner. Don began touring more internationally at this point in his career, concentrating especially on Germany and other central European countries.

2021 JUNO Award Nominees, Rum Ragged, take a bold approach to the distinct folk music of their home, the Eastern Canadian island of Newfoundland. With a reverence for their roots and a creative, contemporary edge, this young band has quickly become known as the finest performers of their great, living, musical tradition. Boasting bouzouki, fiddle, bodhran, banjo, guitar, and button accordion, these new champions of East Coast music enliven and enlighten audiences with their signature brand of Newfoundland folk. Always honest, thought-provoking, and often humorous, it’s Rum Ragged’s live show that makes them a fast favourite with any audience. Their combination of striking vocal harmonies, staggering musicianship, and captivating storytelling gives concert-goers an experience they won’t soon forget. Since their inception in 2016, Rum Ragged has maintained a rigorous tour schedule, performing at some of the world’s premier folk, celtic and roots venues all while managing to record four acclaimed, award-winning studio albums. Rum Ragged is not your run-of-the-mill folk band, they are the genuine article.

mattlayn (Matthew Layne) has had an adventurous career on both the artist & business sides of the music industry. Summer of 2023, he made the announcement that he was hanging up the live performance belt for good. But, never felt like he did a final send off.

Cut to January 13, 2024, mattlayn will be performing one final show at the legendary Aeolian in the Southen Lounge featuring Addison Johnson of Lost In Japan opening up the night.

Get your tickets now, before it sells out!

Newfoundland has a storied history of stunning songwriters, poets, and players. Over the course of the last decade The Once have writ and knit themselves into that story.

Within the nine songs on their new album Time Enough, The Once offer some of the most vulnerable and honest material of their career. The up-tempo album opener, “I Can’t Live Without You,” reflects on women battling with self-image issues and offers wisened words to be the positive change in their own lives. The gritty guitar driven “Before The Fall” succumbs to the notion that we must accept our past and use those memories to grow. Riff rocker “Any Other Way” reflects the fact that true love accepts us at our worst but insists we do the work to be our best selves to keep it together.
On this, their fourth studio album, the band stays true to the root strength of their harmony driven sound, while extending the borders into fresh yet familiar territory. They craft a sonically understated, but emotionally fulsome sound that accomplishes what they've always done so well: stun listeners with what Amelia Curran calls "perfect vocal harmonies, thick enough to stand on."

Daniel Champagne lives and breathes live music. The Australian virtuoso has been described as “the finest guitar player of this generation”, “a leading light in acoustic music” and “a performer that must be seen to be believed” and from March to June 2024, music lovers across Canada will be treated to an intimate live experience not to be missed!

Growing up in the Bega Valley, on the Far South Coast of New South Wales Australia, the story goes that the young singer-songwriter and one of a kind guitar virtuoso first picked up his instrument of choice as a 5-year-old following in the footsteps of a musical father. He began writing songs at 12, training classically throughout his teens and performing wherever he could, honing his craft and developing the dynamite live show that he is renowned for today. At 18 he finished school, turned professional and hit the road without looking back.

The following 15 years have seen him independently release 7 studio albums, tour relentlessly around the globe, play some of the biggest festivals under the sun and share stages with the likes of Tommy Emmanuel, INXS, John Butler, Lucinda Williams, Ani DiFranco, Judy Collins and Rodrigo y Gabriela.

Playing upwards of 250 shows a year, Daniel is passionate about spreading live music around the world and on the back of a sold out 2022 tour tour, his return trip will include 56 shows from Vancouver Island all the way out to Newfoundland! 

WHAT THE PRESS SAY..

“The word Prodigy seems to entirely fall short of this soft-spoken young man’s skills, he coaxes sounds and melodies out of his instrument that literally drop jaws.” The Calgary Herald, CANADA

“Today I saw the future of Folk – Festival goers flocking in the thousands towards the main stage to witness a young musical phenomenon from Australia dish out an absolute show-stopper.” The Firefly Column, USA

“Daniel Champagne is a crossroads. Fusing the strong traditions of Blues, Folk and other roots art with pop showmanship and admirable lyrical ability. I firmly believe that he will become an ambassador for roots music in a time where it desperately needs representation.” The Indie Blender, CANADA

“reinventing roots guitar” Rhythms Magazine, AUSTRALIA

“Watching Daniel Champagne perform is a once in a lifetime experience. He is a true prodigy that plays like no one else could possibly play unless they spent at least two lifetimes studying the art.” BW Review, NEW ZEALAND

“Daniel Champagne exudes a natural ease on stage, as he sings poignant lyrics and beautifully crafted melodies that invariably whisk the heart up with grand romanticism. Coupled with an exhilarating guitar talent that transcends mere acoustic playing to replicate a whole band, Champagne is just magical” Themusic.com.au, AUSTRALIA

"You feel as if he just invented the instrument yesterday and was discovering its possibilities afresh” Ted Gioia (American jazz critic and music historian)

Authentic. Original. Inspired.

Maggie's Wake is a Canadian roots band that combines traditional Celtic instrumentation with a contemporary approach.  This exciting collaboration between Rant Maggie Rant co-founder Lindsay Schindler (fiddle, vocals) and Tara Dunphy (tin whistle, flute, fiddle, vocals), lead singer and songwriter of acclaimed country outfit, The Rizdales, is quite simply, a match made in heaven. 

United in their passion for fiery tunes, soaring vocals with rich harmonies, meaningful stories and beautiful melodies, Lindsay and Tara embrace their wide ranging influences and have built an exciting, new sound. From traditional celtic to cajun, early jazz to latin rhythms, Maggie's Wake is making musical discoveries at every turn, constantly building on the foundation of the music that  inspires them.

The Pairs & Rachael Kilgour come together for a special night of music from both acts!

THE PAIRS

Family is what ties The Pairs together. With soaring harmonies, they share stories of life’s hope, hilarity, and hardship. An honest, quirky stage presence and their unbottled chemistry, quickly connects them with their audience. The line between the stage and the crowd becomes blurred as if we’ve all pulled up a seat around their family’s lively kitchen table. Powered by three classically trained vocalists and a former punk rock drummer, The Pairs offer a unique blend of music that will hug your eardrums and inspire you to dance.

“The Pairs became a festival favourite after their very first song. Their infectious energy, joy, and talent had the entire audience enraptured immediately and they have become the band most requested to return ever since. Book them while you still can! I hope I can!”
– Miranda Mulholland, Artistic Director of Muskoka Music Festival and Dockside Festival

“The Pairs are some of the nicest people I’ve ever met and one of my favourite groups to work with. Not only are they unbelievably talented, but you would be hard pressed to find a more professional young group out there.”
– Tim Fraser, Artistic Director of Home County Music and Art Festival

RACHAEL KILGOUR

Rachael Kilgour is a Canadian-American songwriter and performing artist whose plain-spoken, heart-centered work and intimate performances have endeared her to listeners and fellow artists alike. The 2015 grand prize winner of the international NewSong Music Competition and winner of the 2017 Kerrville New Folk Contest, Kilgour has been featured at NYC’s Lincoln Center, at The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and at the Sundance Film Festival.

“Rachael Kilgour is folk music’s Next Big Thing…the finest purveyor of tear-jerkers to emerge from northern Minnesota since Bob Dylan.” (Star Tribune)

“Kilgour’s unapologetic lyrics are a real treat” (Rolling Stone)

“…a heartfelt slice of master crafted indie folk brimming with the battle-tested capacity to endure the worst in others” (Billboard)