Roots

Lorraine Klaasen, the daughter of legendary South African jazz singer Thandie Klaasen, is one of the few artists who have preserved classic Township Music, which continues to be the most distinctive sound to come out of South Africa.  Born and raised in Soweto, Lorraine has electrified audiences worldwide with her dynamic stage presence and showmanship. The Montreal Gazette raves: “Klaasen’s energy is infectious and it comes through in everything she touches”.

In 2008, Lorraine released the highly charged album Africa Calling, produced by South African record producer Mongezi Chris Ntaka, and featuring bassist Bakhiti Khumalo (who appeared on Paul Simon’s Graceland). Her follow-up CD, A Tribute to Miriam Makeba, won the 2013 JUNO Award for “World Music Album of the Year”.  It’s a tribute to the iconic songstress, who remains South Africa’s most revered female artist.

Klaasen’s latest and most ambitious recording, Nouvelle Journée, was also co-produced by Mongezi; it showcases some of the musical styles that she has not yet recorded in her long music career.  On this album, Lorraine sings in the Tsonga, Sotho, isiZulu and Xhosa languages of South Africa, as well as in English and French.  It’s an optimistic and danceable work, but also lucid, sincere and engaging, with thought-provoking repertoire stressing the importance of family, empathy, love and hope.

The singer has always enjoyed a special bond with her mother, but was also brought up by a grandmother who gave her valuable advice on life. “My grandmother always said: ‘You set your own standards. Never let anyone tell you that you are raising the bar too high. Set goals for yourself, and work towards them. When you don’t succeed in reaching them, you tell yourself before you go to bed: ‘Lorraine, I tried’. Then you lay your head on the pillow and you sleep because you have a clear conscience’.” READ MORE

Lorraine Klaasen made her TD Sunfest debut in 2014.  Her April 13th return performance is doubly special because it celebrates London Music Week and welcomes the former Montrealer as one of the Forest City’s newest residents.

Recipients of twelve award nominations, including seven for the 2013 album, Chasse-Galerie (The Flying Canoe), Quebec’s MAZ have set themselves apart with their winning mix of folk, jazz and electro, which is inspired by tradition, but reaches for new and unbounded territories. For the band’s third and latest album, titled ID, the music is sung and danced – "speaking to the heart, body and soul – without losing the mind!"

Roger Lévesque of Penguin Eggs Magazine praises the group’s music as “uplifting stuff, old and new, rustic and high-tech all at once.”  Marc Maziade (electric guitar, banjo, foot percussion, programming and vocals), Pierre-Olivier Dufresne (violin, mandolin, foot percussion and vocals), Roxane Beaulieu (keyboards, vocals) and Hugo Blouin (double bass, keyboards and vocals) are brilliant musicians who, on stage as MAZ, form a deeply palpable connection, offering trance-inducing grooves, engaging sound textures and frenzied foot stomps.

MAZ’s 2012 debut release, Télescope, laid the groundwork for the band’s unique style, which combines traditional Québécois music, modal jazz and electronica. Through this album – often described as futuristic – MAZ already began to reveal their modern take on Québec’s past and present, earning them five award nominations, including one in the JUNO’s instrumental album category.

In a March 2016 interview with Vancouver’s The Georgia Straight (“Quebec’s MAZ aims to build cultural bridges”), Marc Maziade said: “The core is to try and start from French-Canadian traditional music.  But there’s this big question about blending or melding in my mind—I didn’t want to force things together quickly and go, ‘Here you go! French-Canadian music with an Arabic twist!’ What I wanted to do was reflect on our French-Canadian traditional music heritage, but reflect on it from a universal perspective. So the idea was to meld French-Canadian music, which implies spending time with its rituals and cultures and history, and then melding it with what we have inside — things like rock and jazz and electronic music, which stretch out to a universal identity.”  Marc went on to explain, if that blending of different influences has a spinoff effect, it’s to make a regional musical tradition accessible to those outside of Quebec’s borders.

The past year was full of milestones for MAZ, the highlight being the ensemble’s participation at WOMEX’17 in Poland.  Selected for an official showcase from amongst thousands of applicants, MAZ shared their music and projects with 2500 professionals from 90 countries.  2017 also included the premier of a new show at Montreal’s L’Astral on October 21st, and a celebration of Canada150 in Ghana (West Africa).  And 2018?  The new year kicked off with a busy international touring schedule for the band, including a January appearance at the 30th Internationale Kulturbörse (IKF) in Freiburg Germany and, immediately afterwards, a stop in Shanghai, China for another major showcase event.  While in London, they will be giving several school shows as well as a general audience concert at The Aeolian.

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.”

Willie P. Bennett is one of Canada's most prolific and celebrated songwriters. Nearly 10 years to the date of his death, local London and area musicians will come together on the Aeolian stage to celebrate the life and music of Willie P. Bennett.

Performers include:

David Essig
Jenny Whiteley
Rick Taylor
Lynne Hanson
Barry James Payne
Allison Brown
New Cumberland
Mikey Ethelston
Paul Langille
Brian Mortimer (MC)

Born in Toronto, Bennett was part of the 1970s folk music scene in Canada, alongside such figures as Bruce Cockburn, Stan Rogers and David Wiffen. He released his first single ("White Line") in 1969 and his final solo album (the Juno Award-winning Heartstrings) in 1998, which subsequently won a 1999 Juno Award for Best Roots and Traditional Album – Solo.

Bennett joined Fred Eaglesmith's band and toured the world as Easglesmith's sideman on mandolin, harmonica and background vocals. In 2007, Bennett suffered a heart attack on stage, finished the show, but had to leave touring for several months. As he was preparing to head back on the road for a solo tour around Ontario, Bennett suffered a fatal heart attack on Feb. 15th, 2008.

While commonly regarded as a major talent, Bennett did not become as famous as his contemporaries until 1996, when Stephen Fearing, Colin Linden and Tom Wilson formed Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, a supergroup named for Bennett's 1978 album, and recorded a tribute album featuring Bennett's songs. On 10 September 2010 in Edmonton, Alberta, Bennett was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame during the Canadian Country Music Awards.

Willie's guitar player, Londoner and blues man extraordinaire, Rick Taylor, teamed up with Barry James Payne from String Bone and Rant Maggie Rant to create a show celebrating the legendary folk hero Bennett. As well as performing some Willie P Bennett songs themselves, they are bringing in Bennett's first record producer, guitar virtuoso David Essig and Juno Award-winning singer-songwriter Jenny Whiteley to top the list of artists, which also include London favourites Allison Brown, New Cumberland and Mikey Ethelston, and Hamilton native Paul Langille. Plus Lynne Hanson from Ottawa will join just prior to heading on a European Tour with Lynn Miles in The LYNNeS. The MC for the evening will be impresario and London music aficionado Brian Mortimer aka Mortz.

This show marks ten years since Willie's passing and Payne and Taylor felt that it was important to keep Willie's legacy alive in a celebration of his life and songs. It's been said that Willie probably wouldn't want any of this fanfare, but his legacy is too important to ignore. He was one of the most respected songwriters to ever come out of Canada. A songwriter's songwriter. One of the all-time best. We can't let his memory fade.

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

For over 25 years Skydiggers' friends and fans have reunited over the holidays at Toronto’s Legendary Horseshoe Tavern to celebrate the season to the soundtrack of the band's distinctive rootsy Christmas tunes and Skydiggers' classics, and this year they're taking it on the road. "We've realized that the most moving moments of the season are more than just expressions of glad tidings and comfort and joy,” says Skydigger Andy Maize. “That there are moments of melancholy, regret and truth that are in their own way as much a part of the Christmas experience as any joyous carol. We want to put on a show that both celebrates the season while leaving room for quieter, more personal moments."

As an added bonus, this season's show will feature songs from the band's new album, Warmth of the Sun. The 12-track album, which reflects the group’s elemental guitar-based origins and plaintive layered vocal style, arrives in a time of confusion, anger and division as an eloquent and vital plea for compassion, honesty, healing and reckoning with the truth, rendered in the group’s classic folk-rock style.

“I don’t think it was intentional, but I can hear a thread on these songs about reaching out, being honest with yourself and making a connection with people, in order to get to a better place. That’s definitely a goal for us, it always is,” says singer Andy Maize.

The result can only be described as a classic Skydiggers album, one that can sit shoulder to shoulder alongside milestone records in the group’s catalogue like Restless, Just Over This Mountain and Road Radio. “It’s a privilege to have had this opportunity to share our music with people for so many years,” says Finlayson. “Warmth of the Sun reflects our lives right now, and we’re lucky to share it with people and let it become part of their lives.”

They're baaa-aaack!

 
Join Rant Maggie Rant as they present their 9th Annual Frost & Fire Christmas Show. Recipients of the 2013 Jack Richardson Award for Folk Roots/Traditional and 2015 International Artist of the Year at the Australian Celtic Music Awards, Rant Maggie Rant took their Christmas show out of province for the first time last year to Alberta to welcome ears.

 
Lindsay Schindler, Glen Dias & Barry James Payne will be joined by their longtime and regular guest support musicians, Londoners Rob Larose (percussion) & Steve Clark (bass) and Toronto's Daev Clysdale (whistles/accordion) for a beautiful Christmas show, which has become a bit of a London tradition. Lindsay and Barry also hail from London, while still residing in the area, Dorchester and Stratford respectively.

This band was one of the hits of this summer's Home County Music & Art Festival where they performed on the Saturday night Main Stage to enthusiastic response.

 
Rant Maggie Rant incorporates all sorts of instruments and styles, mixing traditional fiddles, whistles and guitars, with vocal harmonies and an array of percussion, driving exotic Latin rhythms, African beats, with a foray into Mediterranean instrumentation. Folk, rock, trad, jazz and Celtic fuse together on their regular repertoire and seasonal gems you may or may not have heard.

 
The band is engaging, entertaining, musically unique and tight. This is one of the best Christmas concerts you will experience. Don't miss it!

Enjoy one set each by two of Canada's most celebrated singer-songwriters.

This Canadian songstress has a voice that can pierce a heart of stone. Her superbly crafted songs often tell stories of troubled souls who rebel against their circumstances to attain a quiet dignity. These are tales of longing and love, of small town joys and pains, of our simple feelings and strong passions. These are tales that look into our beautifully flawed human hearts.

Performing since 1996, Oh Susanna has released eight critically acclaimed albums. She is the recipient of a Genie Award for Best Original Song and a Canadian Folk Music Award for English Songwriter of the Year. She has also been nominated for two Juno Awards each for Best Roots and Traditional Album of the Year, as well as two Canadian Folk Music Awards for Best Solo Performer and for Best Contemporary Singer of the Year. This year she released A Girl in Teen City, an album of songs set in 1980s Vancouver starring a teenage punk girl named Suzie. Oh Susanna lives in Toronto with her husband and son.

Celebrate the season with an adventurous musical trip around the world! 3x JUNO Award nominees Sultans of String deliver an exuberant performance featuring band originals, world-music inspired classics, and seasonal favourites to warm your heart on a cold winter’s night. From fiery fiddle tunes to a Caribbean sleigh ride, this surprising and delightful holiday fiesta heats up when Sultans of String bring their signature sound to well known gems such as Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, The Huron Carol (with newly-translated Indigenous lyrics), a djembe-driven Little Drummer Boy, a Feliz Navidad ska party, a Turkish twist on Greensleeves, as well as a Gypsy-jazz inspired Django Christmas, and a Rumba Flamenca-fuelled Jingle Bells. The companion Christmas Caravan CD features Rebecca Campbell (Bruce Cockburn, Emmylou Harris) who also joins the band on stage! Other wonderful special guests on the album include The Chieftains’ very own Paddy Moloney, platinum vocalist Nikki Yanofsky, JUNO winners Alex Cuba, Grammy winners Sweet Honey in The Rock, Richard Bona (Paul Simon, Herbie Hancock), and more!

A Note from producer Colin Linden