Rich Terfry, aka Buck 65, is a critically-acclaimed Canadian recording and performing artist. With a dedicated global fan base, he has released 13 full length albums to date, including his most recent – Situation – a lyrical adventure through the folklore of the year 1957. Emerging as an unconventional hip hop artist in 1993, his style has evolved over the years to include elements of folk, blues, rock and avant-garde, all the while maintaining his trade mark rhythmic delivery and complex word play. Buck 65 has shared the stage around the world with artists such as PJ Harvey and Moby and has performed at countless festivals including Glastonbury, Rock en Seine and Coachella. Originally from Mt. Uniacke, Nova Scotia, Rich currently lives in Toronto where he is the new national host of CBC Radio 2's Drive show.
Sam Roberts – 2009 Artist of the Year Juno winner, 2009 Rock Album of the Year Juno winner for Love at the End of the World
Canadian singer/songwriter/bandleader Sam Roberts has returned with his third full-length, Love at the End of the World. Produced by Joseph Donovan and Roberts himself, and mixed by Mike Fraser (AC/DC, Aerosmith), it encompasses all the great rock hooks, riffs, and insightful lyrics that are the touchstones of Sam Roberts’ sound.
His previous albums, We Were Born in a Flame (2003), and Chemical City (2006) both earned Roberts stateside raves. Esquire called him the “best live frontman in music.” The Boston Globe hailed him as “a classic rocker in an indie-rock world,” while AllMusic.com called Chemical City “a classic rock album for the modern age.”
Artistic influences can be a curious mix of inheritance and inspiration. From a second-hand vinyl collection to an intuited sense for music’s creation, Royal Wood has come a long way from the days of borrowed instruments and secondhand cassette tapes. This self-taught multi-instrumental artist has an ear for everything, from Sgt. Pepper's to Vince Guaraldi. Royal draws from generations past but not forgotten; his music sensibility is timeless but never dated.
Royal’s approach harkens back to traditions of song crafting that go straight to the heart of the relationship an artist creates with an audience. As great songwriting defies the whimsies of a trend, Royal’s classic songs explore the architecture of emotions upon which our most cherished relationships are built.
Drawing heavily upon the sounds of traditional calypso, roots reggae and dub poetry, the album is a collection of stories which offer a running commentary on a wide variety of social and political themes including domestic violence, homelessness, globalization, the war on Iraq, and the various frustrations and betrayals of the post-colonial era. Named after the vibrant and turbulent neighborhood in old Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, where calypso was born, the group strives to recover the social conscience, satirical storytelling and strong acoustic/organic rhythms that characterized Trinidadian music in the past. For members of the eight-piece outfit, the name suggests an origin as well as a destination.
Swank inhabits the lawless borderlands between Americana, Punk and Rock & Roll. It is gospel perverted by hillbillies, soul wearing three-day stubble, punk in a pasture, bluegrass sporting brass knuckles and a chip on its shoulder, folk stinking of car exhaust and a three-day bender, the blues pointing and laughing at existential dread, and country wrought from the rat-infested back alleys on the wrong side of the tracks of as west as one can go.
Dana Sipos. She's part poetry, part politics, part hip, part pop, with hints of blues and a dash of soul. She returns to Yellowknife to rock us gently with her full band. Welcome back, Dana!
Dennis Allen grew up listening to records of popular Country &Western artists.
“My cousin Ebun taught me all the hurting songs any self respecting guitar player ought to know, including Merle Haggard's "Sing me Back Home" and Freddy Fender's, "Before the Next Teardrop Falls." We were all of thirteen.”
“While roughnecking on an offshore oil rig, I heard Sonny Terry and Johnny Winter's album "Whoopin," a rollicking good time blues album with lots of Sonny's harp and Johnny's dobro guitar playing. Soon after I saw the movie "Crossroads" about a young kid looking for a lost blues song. Then I found Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Big Joe Turner. The mystic of the blues hooked me and I've been a disciple ever since.”
Digawolf is originally from the Tlicho community of Behchoko (Rae-Edzo), Northwest Territories.
Digawolf is a passionate guitarist (electric and acoustic) who plays and sings with great respect for the land, the Tlicho culture and the elders. Digawolf’s music is dynamic, ethereal and very emotional. Digawolf draws his inspiration from the earth and the conflicts that arise from the evolution of his native culture, and his place in that evolution. Digawolf’s music is refreshingly honest, seeking truth. Every song is an explosion of imagery that takes you on a ride across the Northern landscapes and into the hearts of the people that live there.
Dragon Fli Empire, a Calgary based duo, comprised of Cosm (DJ, producer) and Teekay (emcee, producer) have quickly become one of the city's more popular groups, gaining respect from a wide variety of music lovers for their upbeat, melodic and positive sound. Since releasing the Canadian classic song Mount Pleasant in 2002, Dragon Fli Empire have made a number of notable accomplishments including numerous appearances on CBC radio and television, appearances on various MuchMusic programming, high charting on Canadian campus and independent radio and performing in most of Canada’s major cities.
With strings and strums, voices and drums, Forest City Lovers strive to make your heart beat.
Bursting onto Toronto’s music scene with 2006`s The Sun and the Wind Chart Magazine called the record “delightfully engaging” while Exclaim proclaimed the songwriting to be “enigmatic and inventive”.
Two years later, a lot touring, experience and a fistful of new songs birthed Haunting Moon Sinking. Straddling the line between heartbreakingly beautiful and intimately powerful, and with many Canadian talents filling out chorused vocals and swelling string arrangements, Haunting Moon Sinking steps into a natural progression from the band’s previous effort.
In the fall of 2008 Brendan Callas, Bryce Styan and Steve Whittaker got together to form Giant Con – an experimental folk rock trio that fuses soulful piano, acoustic guitar and howling vocals into a salvo of story influenced grooves. Based out of Yellowknife N.T. – all three members are life-long northerners. Spending long days and nights spilling melodies around camp fires, Giant Con try hard, but not their hardest - to be a little humble and not so modest.
Born and raised in Yellowknife, NT, Aaron "Godson" Hernandez released 2 albums with former group "Unonymus Inc." & 2 with former group "Liquid Eyez".
Godson pursued a solo career & recorded 4 more albums up to 2006. In 2003 Godson won the CBC North Slam Poet competition and placed 8th in all of Canada. In 2004, he recorded and filmed a commercial for the GNWT Department Of Transportation for Drinking and Driving Prevention with a new one recorded in 2009. The commercial airs regularily on CBC & APTN. He’s opened for the likes of Sean Kingston, Girlicious, Great Big Sea and again for Charlie Major. 2006 opened up with a try out for Canadian Idol when it stopped in Yellowknife and advanced to the Vancouver celebrity judges audition. Godson received the opportunity to write a song for the hit show & what came next? THE VIDEO!!! Godson then went on to perform at the 25th anniversary True North CBC concert and in March 2007 went on national TV again to perform in the opening ceremonies of the 2007 Canada Winter Games live on CBC television. Godson placed 2nd in all of Canada for the "Bootlegger Generation B" competition where youths across Canada who had high achievements competed for the top spot. Godson recently shot his first video for "Like This / It’s Over" featuring J-Roc of the Trailer Park Boys. 2009 also kicked off with one of Godson’s songs "Raise Up appearing on episode 5 of the TV Drama "The Border". His 9th album is set for release Folk on the Rocks weekend.
Early in 2006, a group of professional b-boys and b-girls came to Iqaluit and introduced the hip-hop movement to young Nunavummiut in the hopes of giving them a healthy outlet for their energy and creativity.
Out of this came Kaiva dance group. Kaiva which means "to spin" is made up of young talented performers from various communities around Nunavut and led by Lil*Bear, a professional break dancer for over 10 years.
Kaiva seeks to preserve and express Inuit culture by interpreting it through the art of break-dancing. To add a little Inuit fusion to the mix, they incorporate Inuit throatsinging into their performances. Truly a fresh approach to tradition; Kaiva is all about trying new things, sharing it with others and having fun in the process!
2009 Juno Roots & Traditional Album of the Year: Solo winner for Proof of Love
A banjo songster like Old Man Luedecke is a rare type of musician. A songwriting one of such hopeful goodness, rarer still. In the tradition of solo banjo men and women of days gone by like Dock Boggs, Bascom Lunsford and Roscoe Holcomb, Old Man Luedecke sings his songs accompanied only by his loving five string, foot stomps and the occasional yodel. His songs are melodic gems blending old time sensibilities with an unusual vision and poetic sense. His music belies someone more than slightly ill at ease with modern life. This is a bizarre type of music Dock Boggs might have made if he'd studied poetry.
As a solo artist, Pat Braden is considered a prominent creative voice of Canada's North. Influenced by his experience growing up in the understated and exotic expanse that he calls home, Braden weaves bewitching tales and hands out poised but transforming songs.
The Red Power Squad is a performing group from Edmonton, Alberta. Formed in early 1998 by founder Conway Kootenay, the RPS was designed to give inner city youth a way out of all the negativity that they faced on a daily basis.
Almost 10 years later, the RPS has exploded into a world wide success. With a top notch Traditional Native Dance combined with Emcee, b-boy/b-girl skills that are second to none, the RPS will leave you with a high octane performance that is hard to forget.
T. Nile has spent most of the last three years once the road since releasing her debut CD, At My Table in 2006. From the outdoor festivals and clubs that dot the Trans Canada Highway and its many tributaries, T. Nile has also made stops at packed halls and theatres in Germany, Denmark and Alaska. Along the way she was named the "Best New/Emerging Artist" at the Canadian Folk Music Awards, the "Critic's Favorite New Discovery" in Penguin Eggs, and was nominated for "Best Contemporary Vocalist" at the most recent Canadian Folk Music Awards.
All of this is many miles down the road from her humble beginnings in a tiny cabin on Galiano Island but not so surprising for someone who got her musical start accompanying her father, a multi-instrumentalist sidewalk entertainer, through North America and Australia at the age of 6.
"Wake Up Hazel" performs a lively, danceable mix of original folk-rock love songs and country-blues by singer-songwriter Laurie Sarkadi. The six-member Yellowknife band came together last summer for the Old Town Ramble and Ride Festival, and opened for Colin James at the Festival of Trees in November and Jimmy Rankin in June. Lead guitarist Jeff Norris, just 22, got his start with the jazz band at Sir John Franklin High School and has since played blues clubs in Memphis where he caught the eye of promoters and seasoned musicians alike. Clayton Pielak on harmonica is a Delta blues man - the Mackenzie Delta that is - hailing from Inuvik, while Funk 69 veterans Al Udell on bass and Kevin Dunbar on drums form a rock-steady rhythm section. Sophie Leger's harmonies and djembe round out this rootsy band's full sound.
Although Kaley is usually noted as a sought-after bassist, this young artist demonstrates plenty of talent on piano and guitar as well. Never one to limit himself, Kaley’s music consists of a wide variety of styles including roots, ska, folk, soul, rock, punk, country, pop and even reggae influences. Each song is an entity in itself but somehow remains familiar, comfortable, and yet still distinctly unique. Intelligent, insightful, and often humorous lyrics are only brought more to light by the richness and purity of Kinjo’s voice. Soulful rhythms and ear-lingering melodies line the artist’s songs and grab the listener’s attention.
Art Johns enjoys finding the odd tune listeners can’t quite identify. He performs Hank Williams, Jimmy Rogers, Ernest Tubb, and later songwriters, like Buddy Tabor. An elder of the Carcross-Tagish First Nation and son of an early guide, he says, "We had a hunting outfit, and I played for the horses." He's been a leading advocate for the preservation of woodland caribou and wildlife in southern Yukon and northern B.C. The listener may hear a still presence of wilderness stars, campfires, rugged land, and crisp blue skies or feel the regular rhythm of a sure-footed horse under this Tlingit cowboy.
Jowi Taylor is a multiple award winning writer and broadcaster best known for his longrunning CBC Radio program "Global-Village", the Peabody Award winning radio series "The Wire: The Impact of Electricity on Music" and its celebrated companion series:"The Nerve: Music and the Human Experience". His independent "Six String Nation" multi-media project – centered around a guitar built literally from pieces of Canadian heritage – combines Jowi’s various fascinations, including music, media, community-building and the intersection of Canada’s history and multicultural identity.
Charly is internationally renowned as a storyteller, musician, actor and writer. His original works for children include: Once Upon a Pizzeria, Ho Ho Hum and The Birds Beyond His repertoire also embraces traditional stories. For adults Charly draws from excerpts of his three one-man hit plays: Cu Fu, Mangiacake and Sunamabeach. Many of these works have been featured on BRAVO, CBC and Omni television - as well as live performances in major theatres and festivals across Canada. He has collaborated with Juno and Gemini award winning directors and composers. Charly's accomplishments and appearances warrant enough "boggle entries to google the mind".
Jim Green, the sometime Mayor of Dog River, is a poet, writer, broadcaster and storyteller. For the past 40 years he’s lived in the Northwest Territories, acquiring a strong hankering for pickerel on a stick and Dora Beaulieu’s low bush cranberry muffins.
Jim’s repertoire of stories, songs, poems and observations of the human condition will bring a little comfort and joy into your life. He’ll soothe your soul with his irresistible, irrepressible, infectious sense of humor and his homespun honesty. His performances have been called entertaining, provocative and just a tad outrageous. He’s performed his own material in every province and territory of the country.
Winner of the Granby International Songwriting Festival in 2002, Kodiak first hit the airwaves with their singles "Froide" and "Personne", taken from their debut record released in 2004 called Pour Y Voir Clair. On their 2008 follow-up La Mécanique, Kodiak drifted slightly away from its hip-hop origins to incorporate a more world, folk-rock and roots feel. Without losing the festive and energetic nature of their music, a more mature sound emerged, while retaining their socially conscious lyrics.
The album was produced by Laurent Jais (Amadou et Mariam, Mano Negra, Babylon Circus) and combines both the warmth and intimacy of acoustic tracks with the festive party of full band songs.
Since the release of La Mécanique, Kodiak has toured relentlessly, garnering rave reviews for their live performances. The band was selected to open for French superstars Tryo on their recent Canadian tour and were so well received at their showcase for Contact Ontarois this past winter (a conference for franco-ontario schools), that they were invited to play over 65 concerts in their circuit next fall.
With La Mécanique’s third straight single entitled "Bombay" being added across the board at radio in Quebec, Kodiak is set to continue to enthrall audiences across the country throughout the summer before heading to Europe in the fall.
