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Juno nominated artist Dayna Manning exemplifies the very best that Canadian Folk music can be.  Her cool clear voice along with her insightful songs represent a history of Canadian musical art that goes back to the early ’60s and sounds just as vital today.  A modern renaissance artist, Dayna recently produced Trent Severn’s third album “Portage”, designed the Stratford Festival’s best-selling 60th-anniversary t-shirt, and was just nominated for the 2021 Canadian Folk Music  Awards "Producer of the Year" for her latest solo album “Morning Light”.  She recently penned her first book, a chronological memoir through song, “Many Moons: A Songwriter’s Memoir” released by Blue Moon Publishers with a foreword by Chris Hadfield.  In 2016 Dayna founded the “Folk Army”, a private music instruction academy in Stratford Ontario.  The Folk Army’s mission is to empower young girls to make a positive change in their communities through leadership, creativity, thoughtful performance, and positive self-esteem.  She has just recently finished producing Folk Army alumni Hannah Thomas’s full-length debut album, “Christmas Don’t Be Late” with an entirely local cast of fabulous Stratford musicians.

"About six years ago I decided to focus my career investments in what was around me here in my hometown of Stratford, Ontario,” Manning explains.  She began focusing entirely on telling localized stories and sought to deepen connections with artists who could collaborate locally.  “Everyone needs to support an eco-friendly economy now and in the future.  I believe in supporting the community I love and I am lucky they support me in return.“  Manning adds, “sometimes artists have to dig deep to find beauty and sometimes it is just all around you”, says Manning,  “I enjoy creating with artists of all skill levels and ages, and with Folk Army, I wanted to teach the next generation how to be a thoughtful, community-oriented, sustainable artist with many skills."

The Aeolian Phoenix Sessions take centre stage... in the comfort of your own home. Each month we premier at least four artists' recordings from the Aeolian stage. Membership to the Phoenix Sessions is $20 per month (recurring) and you select the productions you want to watch.

Aeolian’s Phoenix Sessions are proud to produce four outstanding performances in February. For just $20 you have access to all four digitally streamed productions anytime, anywhere. One new show will be released every Friday including: Lewington & Downie (of Enter the Haggis), Colin Linden... Live from Nashville, Jully Black... Live from Toronto, and Nocturne Romantique featuring Clark Bryan, pianist.

Subscribe once, enjoy live music all month long!

You will receive a confirmation email including a link that you will use each time you wish to view a February performance. Save that link… or follow instructions at www.aeolianhall.ca/phoenix.

For more information, please scroll down to the ticketing information below. Read the

This performance is part of the Aeolian’s Phoenix Sessions. To view, purchase the FEBRUARY pass or become a recurring monthly member.

Jully Black is a true Canadian Icon. Named as one of ‘The 25 Greatest Canadian Singers Ever’, (CBC Music) she has been dubbed ‘Canada’s Queen of R&B Soul’. As a platinum-selling recording artist, her music career has yielded multiple singles reaching the Top 10 pop, R&B, and dance music charts. She has taken home Juno and Gemini Awards, earned innumerable industry accolades, and was hand-selected to sing for the Queen of England. With her powerhouse vocals, hilarious personality, and love of people, Jully Black truly is every woman. Her passion for philanthropy has taken her from the shantytowns of Bangladesh to the villages of South Africa and all across Canada. As a woman of faith, she champions important causes and uses her career as a platform to celebrate and inspire the greatness that lies within each of us.

As a songwriter, Jully has written music that has touched the hearts of her fans and collaborated with industry heavyweights such as Sean Paul, Destiny’s Child, among many others. She has shared the stage with superstars such as The Black Eyed Peas, Kanye West, Celine Dion, Elton John, and Etta James to name a few.

Jully is a major presence in the Canadian media and entertainment industry. As former host and correspondent for CTV’s etalk, Jully was chosen to interview global megastars such as Jay-Z, Oprah Winfrey, and former president Bill Clinton. She has also appeared in films, television and theatre. With purpose-driven ideals and boundless spiritual fortitude, she continues to refine and reinvent her artistry. A phenom in Canadian entertainment, lifestyle, and public speaking arenas, she is co-founder and keynote speaker for the renowned “Empowered In My Skin’ women’s empowerment summits, a Notable.ca award recipient, a vocal advocate for the LGBTQ+ communities and a WE Day ambassador.

Separate Rooms, the third full-length album from Toronto singer-songwriter Megan Bonnell, is the timely and bold statement of a self-assured woman navigating an increasingly dark and perplexing world. Bonnell has never been easily pigeon-holed into the predictable mold of the singer-songwriter and Separate Rooms embraces this edict, turning traditional musical genres on their heads. With her hallmark honesty, Bonnell effortlessly tackles such intense subject matter as mental illness, early pregnancy loss, and the dissolution of love. But, the new album is also a contradiction - it’s a lover’s appeal for space and independence and, at the same time, a desperate yearning for young and innocent love.

Within its songs, Separate Rooms offers Bonnell’s raw account of some of life’s most profound moments. “Breakdown”, the upbeat album opener, embraces the blurred lines between sanity and insanity and challenges the sexist notion that emotional women are somehow unstable or crazy. “Separate Rooms”, the album’s title track and a co-write with Donovan Woods, is the mature realization that true love carries with it as much loneliness as it does companionship.

Despite the personal nature of the album’s lyrics, the production of Separate Rooms was a largely collaborative process. Joining the production team of Chris Stringer and Joshua Van Tassel, Bonnell manages to meld anthemic pop appeal with the textured, layered nuances of 70’s new wave, epic alt-rock ballads of the 90’s, and traditional folk craftsmanship.

Bonnell’s debut album, Hunt and Chase was a whimsical journey of growth from her rural Ontario upbringing to her emergence as one of the most unique voices in Toronto’s established independent music scene. Magnolia, Bonnell’s second release, was a considerably darker and sonically expansive work which painfully and expertly dissected the themes of love, and more importantly, love lost. Thematically, Separate Rooms treads even further into difficult emotional territory, finding Bonnell at her most

vulnerable but also her most courageous. Musically, the album is nuanced and meticulously executed; the cohesive creation of collaborators obsessed with the idea of making something original and important.

Megan Bonnell is quickly becoming one of Canada’s leading voices as a songwriter, performer, and artist. A two-time Canadian Folk Music Award nominee, Megan has spent the last three years touring Canada, the US, and making groundbreaking debut performances at European festivals including BIME Live Festival in Bilbao, the Barcelona Jazz Festival, and The End Festival in London.

Carmanah has never been afraid to reach deep into the music archives for the gritty vintage flavours that influence its modern sound. The band consistently delivers a dynamic and well-balanced performance that features Laura Mina’s soulful lead vocals supported by strong male harmonies, multiple lead instruments and a driving rhythm section. Poignant songs explore love, nature and the issues of the world. It all adds up to what New York producer Gus Van Go has approvingly coined, ‘West Coast Soul’.

Carmanah is on the (Vancouver) Daily Hive list of musicians to watch for in 2017 and has shared the stage with many acts including Ziggy Marley, Spirit of the West, Shakey Graves, Clinton Fearon, Said the Whale and Current Swell. At home in Victoria British Columbia, the band consistently draws a large enthused crowd and has sold out venues such as Sugar Nightclub, with a capacity of 600. On their travels both near and far, and consistent with their values, the bandmates lessen their ecological footprint by fuelling their tour vehicle with used vegetable oil procured from restaurants along the way.

The band’s first commercial album, produced with Gus Van Go and Werner F. at Vancouver’s Warehouse Studios, is slated for release Fall 2017. Carmanah gratefully acknowledges Creative BC and Factor for their crucial financial support.

Lindi Ortega gives fair warning: “Don’t come any closer to my heart /If you’re afraid of the dark.”

However, that shroud is slowly lifted in Liberty. As the narrative unfolds in this concept album, a central character emerges – one who finally sheds the darkness of her past and emerges into the light. As melodies and tempos change throughout Liberty, her journey carries her steadily forward. Listen closely and you’ll find Ortega’s experiences in the lyrics too.

“I think the most important thing for me was that I ended on a very positive note because I've had so many people tell me that my songs helped them through really hard times in their life,” Ortega says. “That struck a chord for me, because just like everybody else, I have had hard times in my life, and continue to have pockets of difficult moments here and there. If I can provide some sort of solace with my music, then that gives me every reason to make music. I wanted this record to be all about helping people through the darkness.”

The melodies and arrangements of Liberty draw on the epic work of Oscar-winning composer Ennio Morricone, who became one of Ortega’s musical obsessions during the writing and recording of Liberty. Moreover she enlisted Nashville producer Skylar Wilson (Justin Townes Earle, Rayland Baxter) when she discovered their shared passion for Quentin Tarantino movies. It is fitting that NPR’s All Things Considered has described Ortega as “genre-defying in both her music and her personal style.”

During the sessions at Battle Tapes studio in East Nashville, Ortega and Wilson scaled back the boot-stomping, throwback country approach that she’s known for, instead polishing a set of music that reflects her lineage. Her father is Mexican; her mother is Irish. The sonic landscape of Liberty is enhanced by Nashville band Steelism, known for their dramatic blend of pedal steel guitar and electric guitar, as well as Country Music Hall of Fame member Charlie McCoy on harmonica.

In 2017, Ortega opened select dates for Chris Stapleton and Dwight Yoakam. In addition, she married Canadian musician Daniel Huscroft and relocated from Nashville to Calgary. Liberty concludes with “Gracia a la Vida” from the pen of Chilean composer Violetta Parra. The title translates as “Thank you to Life.”

“Even though I always tried to have a silver lining, whether it's by making my songs tongue-in-cheek, or writing some dark lyrics to happy music, there's always been an element of balancing light and dark on my previous albums,” Ortega explains. “But this is a full story, and I wanted everybody to be able to take something away from it at the end of the day.”

The Slocan Ramblers are Canada’s young bluegrass band to watch. Rooted in the tradition, fearlessly creative, and possessing a bold, dynamic sound, The Slocans (2015 Edmonton Folk Fest Emerging Artist Award recipients), have quickly become a leading light of Canada’s roots music scene, built on their reputation for energetic live shows, impeccable musicianship and their uncanny ability to convert anyone within earshot into a lifelong fan.

On their new album, Coffee Creek (2015) The Slocan Ramblers blend lightning fast and devilishly intricate instrumentals with the sawdust-thick vocals of singer Frank Evans, who takes lead on songs ranging from rowdy old-time numbers like “Groundhog,” to a Dustbowl classic like Woody Guthrie’s “Pastures of Plenty.” “Toronto audiences don’t respond to a clean, polished Nashville sound,” tune composer and mandolinist Adrian Gross explains. “They dig a lot of energy in their music, a rowdy bar vibe. They’re hard to win over.” But The Slocan Ramblers have won them over, moving from a young ensemble of bluegrass pickers to one of the best known Canadian roots bands. They’ve done this by staying true to the roots of the music, not seeking to revive anything but rather to tap the rough and rowdy heart of the music.

Coffee Creek was produced by the band’s friend and mentor Chris Coole (The Foggy Hogtown Boys), a well-known banjo player and community leader in Toronto’s bluegrass and old-time scenes. Like Coole, The Slocan Ramblers bring the live, collaboratory aspects of the music to the fore, and they understand that if you polish up the music too much, you lose the raw excitement that makes it so vibrant. In the liner notes, Coole breaks it down: “What really impressed me while we were working on this album, was that, while they can pull off the precision and virtuosity that is at the backbone of bluegrass, they understand the power of the fragile moment in music. The fragile moment used to be a big part of what made an album cool–Monroe singing just beyond the edge of his voice, the moment right before you realize Vassar isn’t lost–the moment on and beyond the edge.” Listen to Evans’ worn vocals and you’ll hear some of the edge that great singers like Keith Whitley brought to the music. Or try Gross’ powerfully discordant and innovative mandolin solo on “Groundhog,” or Darryl Poulsen’s counterpoint Lester-Flatt-runs towards the end of the title track, or the rumbling beats of Alastair Whitehead’s acoustic bass on “Call Me Long Gone” (or Whitehead’s beautiful, world-weary original songs like “Elk River” or “Angeline”) to get a feel for how The Slocan Ramblers are pushing the envelope.

This is roots music without pretension, music intended to make you feel something, music to get you moving in a crowded bar. The Slocan Ramblers recorded Coffee Creek the same way they perform on stage: standing up, leaning into the music, and pushing harder and harder for that edge just beyond.

The Slocans are:

Frank Evans: Banjo

Adrian Gross: Mandolin

Darryl Poulsen: Guitar

Alastair Whitehead: Bass

Described by the magazine Rootstime in Belgium as One of the greatest talents of our era, and listed as the 2nd best gig by the major UK newspaper The Independent, becoming the #1 most played artist on Canadian Galaxie Folk/Roots radio, Western Canadian Music Award winning artist Sarah MacDougall is getting known for her honest and poetic songs, passionate performances, and unique voice. Born in Sweden, Swedish magazine Nöjesguiden declared her One of Swedens best singer/songwriters.

Since the release ofaward-winning The Greatest Ones Alive in 2011, Sarah has been touring Canada and Europe endlessly, taking time to work on songs and record between tours. Last winter, she hunkered down under the Northern Lights in Whitehorse and put the final touches on the sonically rich album which was to become Grand Canyon. The album, co-produced by Sarah and Caleb Stull (Field Study, Dominique Fricot, Language Arts), which was recorded in Toronto and Vancouver, features 8 songs and guest appearances from Erika Angell (Thus:Owls), Rose Cousins, Jesse Zubot (Tanya Tagaq, Dan Mangan), Peggy Lee, and Leah Abramson (Abramson Singers). Stepping outside of traditional folk and flirting with sounds that could have come from The Postal Service or Kate Bush, Grand Cany on keeps the acoustic guitar but infuses the sound with heavier drums and richly textured strings and synths.

The songs are about identity, love, fear, hope, growing up, rootlessness, forgiveness. They are written from the point of view of the hopeful outsider, trying to figure out their place and make sense of the world. Grand Canyon sees Sarah challenging herself and pushing new boundaries musically and sonically, and it is an album that will surely see Sarah reach new levels in her career.

Sarah has played festivals such as Iceland Airwaves, Winnipeg Folk Festival, The Great Escape, and she will continue to tour and write music throughout 2017 / 2018.

Mayhemingways are an eclectic and full-sounding duo from the musical hotbed of Peterborough, Ontario. Their music drifts timelessly from folk-rock to traditional to country to something brand new. The band has been described as fuzz-folk with Cajun, bluegrass, and Celtic influences. Tom Wilson of Blackie and the Rodeo Kings and Junkhouse writes, “Mind-bending and original music with deep roots in the tradition of dark North American folk.”
Lead singer Benj Rowland switches between accordion, banjo, guitar, and tenor guitar while holding down the bass with foot pedals. Josh Fewings plays drums, percussion and adds back-up vocals.
Their first full-length album “Hunter St Blues” was just released this Spring and was produced and engineered in Nanton, AB by Steve Loree (Ian Tyson, Corb Lund, Petunia). The album is a follow up to their first EP (2013) engineered by James McKenty (Blue Rodeo, Cuff the Duke, The Weber Brothers) at former school house near Peterborough.
Mayhemingways have toured Canada relentlessly since forming in 2013. Coast to coast tours have become common place for the group. Like bands of old, on and off the highways, building a fan base across the nation with each tour. The duo performed in almost every province and territory in 2016. Their tours in Spring and Summer will include appearances at: Trails, Tales and Tunes Festival in Gros Morne, Newfoundland, Paddlefest in St. Andrew’s, New Brunswick, and Wild Oats and Notes in Toefield, Alberta.

Amelia Curran is a Juno-Award winning songwriter, activist and mental health advocate from St. John’s, Newfoundland. Curran’s music is distinguished by her intricate and elliptical lyrics, geologic in their resilience and oceanic in their depths. Over the course of a decade, Curran has built a shoreline of song, a place of radical, perpetual collision of matter and form. Even as she leads us to the ever-eroding lip of the abyss, Curran’s music helps us make sense of the heart’s imperceptible, relentless attrition.

Watershed, Amelia Curran’s newest album, marks a threshold, a shake-up, a directional change. The tenor of this new album is openness (not to be confused with optimism), a reflection in part of Curran’s increasingly public efforts to battle the stigma of mental health issues in the arts. As a whole, the album calls for compassion and unification as a breakwater against the sea of cruelties we inflict upon each other, and upon ourselves.

In keeping with Curran’s off-stage commitment to raising her voice, Watershed is co- produced by Curran and replete with songs that speak to themes of vocalization. Curran establishes a core feminist dimension to Watershed’s theme of speaking up with “Gravity” and “No More Quiet,” two of the album’s standout – and vigorously feminist – songs. “Gravity” is a two-and-a-half-minute precis accented by horns and bass-y power chords. On this song, Amelia’s noted lyricism gets a shot of feminist rock grit – think Chrissie Hynde meets Ron Hynes. “No More Quiet,” is a powerful take down of gender tokenism, and slams the door on those who perpetuate inequality with a soaring soul outro by the larger-than-life vocals of blues singer Shakura S’Aida.

From the opening notes of the title track throughout the album, waves of distorted guitar batter Watershed’s softer shores. The surges of electric riffs create a strong undertow, churning and roiling as Curran’s lyrics express agitation, frustration and exhaustion with fighting the currents. “The root of advocacy is somewhere near exhaustion and rage. I am tired and I am angry,” Curran has said of her mental health advocacy. Certain songs on this album, such as “Try” and “Stranger Things Have Happened,” address a similar fatigue and hostility with the music business. “It’s no place for art,” is all Curran will say.

Watershed is the result of a convergence of autobiographical and political fault lines, as in recent years, Curran has become more involved with political and humanitarian work focused on mental health awareness and acceptance. Curran is the founder of It’s Mental, a grassroots community organization based in St. John’s. She also produced and directed the film “Gone,” an exploration of art and suicide. The documentary, which will air nationally in 2017, recounts the loss of several close friends and Curran’s own struggles with depression, treatment and self-acceptance. Curran’s willingness to end her own silence on the subject of mental health has also formed the basis of recent speaking engagements in schools and music conferences across Canada.

In addition to the release of Watershed, 2017 will see Amelia Curran’s first literary publication, a collection of lyrics and other notes, confirmed for the new year via Breakwater Books.

Six Shooter Records is proud to release Watershed on March 10, 2017.

Still merry after all these years, the Good Lovelies will be headed across Canada this November & December with their annual Christmas show. And what better way to celebrate than the way it all began, with classic holiday and winter selections, timeless and original material polished to a warm and welcoming glow!

Accompanying the Good Lovelies (Caroline Brooks, Kerri Ough and Susan Passmore) is their band of merry men - Steve Zsirai and Robbie Grunwald on upright bass and piano. As a five-piece, this band will have you humming along, laughing, and full of mirth by the show's end.

The Good Lovelies first united in 2006 for a one-off performance and has since compiled a catalogue of studio albums, EPs, a live album and a Christmas collection.  They have toured extensively across Canada, the US, Europe, UK, and Australia and have earned a Juno Award (2010), a Juno Nomination (2012) and four Canadian Folk Music Awards along the way.

Keep an eye out for their new release, Shapeshifters, coming February 2018.