Artists

Introducing the first and second wave of artists for FOTR 2025:

Arielle Soucy - Arielle Soucy is a Montreal-based singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter who has quickly emerged as a rising star in Quebec's music scene. Her debut album, Il n’y a rien que je ne suis pas (2023), was celebrated as the Best Album of the Year by Le Devoir, CISM, Bandcamp, Exclaim!, and other influential outlets.

Glam On The Rocks - A burlesque dance show from all your local faves. 

GODSON - Aaron “Godson” Hernandez has been a hip-hop artist in the Northwest Territories for over 30  years. He has released 11 albums & has performed in various parts of North America. After recovering from Stage 4 T-Cell Lymphoma Cancer in 2024, he is ready to grace the stage after a long hiatus from performing on stage.

Hendrika - Multi-instrumentalist Hendrika is a folk fusion musician from the Yukon. Her love of many genres has led to a versatile and unique collection of original material that pushes the boundaries of modern music in all the right ways. Intricate melodies with grounding folk roots, classic rock riffs and soaring vocals will leave you absolutely captivated. She released her new EP I Can’t Remember in the fall of 2024 and will be touring the album this summer.

Jeremie Albino -  When Jeremie Albino was a teenager, he started busking around Toronto, setting up along the boardwalk or on a street corner downtown, wherever he thought he might find a crowd of passersby. His songs are grounded in the gritty storytelling of classic country music, propelled by the rhythms of old-school R&B, played with the wild abandon of early rock ‘n’ roll, and sung with the deep feeling of southern soul.

Johnnie Melancholy - Johnnie Melancholy is like the foreign exchange student you wish you were friends with in high school. If his charm and accent don't make you fall, the soul he puts into his original material and cover songs will.

Jonathan Antoine - Jonathan Antoine is a musician from the community of Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́/Fort Simpson, located in the Northwest Territories, Canada. Dehcho has been playing music for years as a hobby and started to perform on stage in 2023. He performs folk music rooted in his Dene culture.

Major Funk - High energy bass-led grooves, soaring vocals, and a tight horn section; this isn’t what you’d expect from a band coming from the Yukon in Canada’s North, but it’s exactly what you get with Whitehorse’s Major Funk. 

Meridian - Meridian is a band consisting of members from two musical groups from Hay River and Yellowknife, NWT. These young artists met while competing in the 2024 Folk On The Rocks Main Stage Showdown as The Smith Sisters, Rochelle and Corrine Smith, and Refrijerater, Duncan Stewart and Joe Curran. 

NADUH - Filling in the industry thigh-gap, 5 piece femme powered Hip Hop/R&B group, NADUH, write, engineer, and produce all of their music - meaning they have crafted a sound that’s truly representative of their collective energy. Spreading unity consciousness through R&B infused beats that hit every chakra, laced with buttery-smooth vocals and HERstorical lyrics. This one-of-a-kind group aims to shatter earthly constructs, and pop pussies worldwide.

Peter Dreams - Peter Dreams is the new solo project of Peter Dreimanis, co-lead of the three-time JUNO Award winning alt rock band July Talk. An artful, instinct-led exploration, the songs of Peter Dreams are sourced in a dizzy mix of anticipation, hesitation and introspection that accompanies the future, as it arrives.

Reverend Doctor Michael Bokor- Hailing from an undisclosed location (but probably Yellowknife, NT), Reverend Doctor Michael Bokor is a visionary artist, sound healer, and part-time alchemist whose work defies categorization, common sense, and, occasionally, the laws of physics. With a background in something vaguely medical-sounding and a deep belief in the transformative power of “vibes”, he crafts sonic landscapes that have been described as “pretty interesting” and “possibly illegal in several jurisdictions.”

The Johnnys - The Johnnys deliver three-minute blasts of jet-fuelled rock’n’roll, with cheeky lyrics and anthemic choruses! Veronica’s Cree heritage is reflected in Indigenous influences on topics of the environment, social justice, and political change. The Johnnys (Dave and Veronica) have been crossing cultural boundaries by blending traditional Indigenous values and language with high voltage chords and thumping melodies. 

Tinge - Tinge is the 3 piece indie-rock project helmed by 2-Spirit Anishinaabe multi-hyphenate Veronica Blackhawk. Beginning their songwriting and performance career as early as 14 years old in 2010 - they would release their first EP titled "Big Deep Sigh" through the Winnipeg recording label House of Wonders in March of 2023.

Yellowknives Dene Drummers - The Yellowknives Dene Drummers are from the communities of Ndilo and Dettah, and include all ages. The drummers can be booked for Northern style celebrations, event opening prayer songs and celebration songs, drum dances and hand games demonstrations.

Amos The Kid - The release of Amos the Kid’s debut LP, Enough as it Was, followed the remarkable rise of Winnipeg’s Amos Nadlersmith from reclusive songwriter to hometown hero. Only a few years have passed since the not-quite-country musician was playing the odd diamond-in-the-rough set in a half-empty bar; now, he’s a stop-him-in-the-street performer playing for sold out crowds of hundreds and who released one of the “greatest Canadian albums you might have missed in 2023" (Exclaim!).

Aurora Fiddle Society - Aurora Fiddle Society (AFS) promotes fiddling in Yellowknife and the North Slave Region through fiddle jams, workshops and other fiddle related events. AFS brings people of all ages together to enjoy fiddle music and work cooperatively with other organizations to the benefit of fiddling.

Bella Beats - Bella Beats is a Yellowknife-based high performance dance troupe, with a focus on building connection in the community.

Carmen Braden - Carmen Braden is a creator and performer of new, beautiful and sometimes weird music. She brings her songwriting depths to the live stage in dynamic, chamber-pop shows with her full band. Drawing deeply from her latest album “A Hard Light”, Carmen gently shifts the focus away from genre-bound expectations to craft a journeying arc with moments of 90’s electro-pop, folk, jazz and country. 

Cassandra Blondin Burt - Cassandra Blondin Burt is a two-spirit Dene Author, Artist, and Traditional Medicine Maker. Their work is grounded in the exploration of healing through co-creation with earth and story. Cassandra believes that the radical act of being in-relation with our other-than-human-relations is an act of political and personal rebellion,  and a pathway for transformative collective and personal healing.

Caylie G - Caylie G (they/she) is a queer Pop-Roots artist living on Treaty Six Territory (otherwise known as Edmonton, Alberta). Caylie’s built an ethereal and nostalgic sound that speaks to the beauty and complexities of queerness and humanity. Their sad-cowboy pop navigates the valleys and swells of being a big feelings enthusiast with softness and candour. Caylie’s music is for the lovers, the criers and the heartbreak champions that have never gotten over anything in their lives.

DJTMixxy - DJTMixxy’s journey started with something simple—playing music for family gatherings, unknowingly setting the foundation for what would become a deep passion. As the one always controlling the vibes, he quickly realized that mixing music came naturally to him. Determined to take it further, he invested in his first DJ controller, practicing tirelessly to perfect his craft.

DUMAI DUNAI - Slavic dub-punk missionaries Dumai Dunai have been winning the hearts of audiences all over the world since they first burst onto the scene in 2022. With members from Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Canada, the multi-lingual seven-piece combines the deep grooves of dub with the energy of punk rock, the raw ecstasy of the blasting horns of Balkan wedding brass bands, and the joys and sorrows of Ukrainian village polyphony.

Jennifer Castle - Camelot, Canadian songwriter Jennifer Castle’s extraordinary, moving 2024 chronicle of the artist in early middle age, charts a realer, more rooted, and more metaphorical place than the fabled Camelot of the Early Middle Ages (or its myriad depictions), but it too is a space more psychic than physical. In Castle’s Camelot, the fantastic interpenetrates the mundane, and the Grail, if there is one, distills everyday experience into art and art into faith, subliming terrestrial concerns into sublime celestial prayers to Mother Nature, and to the unfolding process of perfecting imperfection in one’s own nature.

Josh Q - Inuk singer and songwriter from Iqaluit, Nunavut is venturing out with a new project as Josh Q.  Known for his contributions as a singer, songwriter, rhythm guitarist and co-founder of 2023 Socan songwriting finalist The Trade-offs, Josh will bring that raw powerful energy with similar Arctic Soul vibes.

MOOCH - MOOCH is a heavy psychedelic rock trio based in both Montreal and Yellowknife, Canada, known for blending down-tuned desert rock with the energy of 90s grunge and the expansive sounds of 70s psychedelia. The band features three lead vocalists and multi-instrumentalists Ben Cornel, Julian Iac, and Alex Segreti, whose layered vocal harmonies add depth to their rich, multifaceted sound. Their style resonates with fans of both classic acts like The Doors and contemporary influences such as Kikagaku Moyo and Queens of the Stone Age.

Moonbean - Ontario-based, hardware electronica duo with lush vocal melodies and flavors of acid-house, techno, disco, and a performance style that serves punk energy and messages of love. Musical inspirations; Nine Inch Nails, Peaches, Ladytron and Eurythmics. In 2024 they headlined Hillside Festival, Rainbow Trout Festival and played Pride festivals cross-Canada.

Northern Mail Service - “We get the tunes and the post on time.” Northern Mail Service is a local supergroup that weaves together heartfelt themes of place, belonging, healing and life's tenuous milestones into their homegrown tunes.  Their collaboration and infectious energy shines through, creating a rich and textured musical experience sure to leave a lasting impression. With sounds ranging from folk, country, rock and pop, they take the audience on a journey, from swaying and singing to grooving and moving.

Rock The Arts Puppets - Rock the Arts Puppets is an Ottawa based company that brings their high energy, family puppet shows all across Canada. Humans of all ages join creator Sarah Argue and her Creatureville puppet pals to laugh, be you and Be Pozzy! 

Taiga Yoga - Taiga Yoga Yellowknife yoga studio will be teaching yoga classes during their sets.