Artist Lineup

2018-2019 12th Season Home Routes / Chemin Chez Nous

Abigail Lapell

Genre: Contemporary Folk

Toronto folk noir songwriter Abigail Lapell draws freely from roots, indie and punk rock traditions. Her latest release, Hide Nor Hair, won the 2017 Canadian Folk Music Award for Contemporary Album of the Year, and she received the 2016 Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award from the Ontario Arts Council.

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Genre: Contemporary Folk

Adam Karch

Although Adam Karch is from Montreal, his music embodies the spirit of Americana like a scenic ride across the country. He plays a hybrid acoustic blues that consists of precise fingerpicking that recalls players such as Chet Atkins and Kelly Joe Phelps, along with an innovative percussive technique that is thoroughly modern,

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Genre: Contemporary Folk

Alan Gerber

Genre: Blues/Folk

My story is one of good fortune, struggle and perseverance. Born in North America to a family who had fled the pogroms of Eastern Europe and settled in Chicago, the expectation was for me to grow up to be a businessman, doctor or lawyer,

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Genre: Blues/Folk

Aleksi Campagne

Genre: folk singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentaist

Aleksi Campagne is a 25-year-old singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Montreal. His music blends his folk roots with his jazz training which combined with the avant-garde distortion pedals on his violin make for wickedly catchy dance hall anthems. Much like the eclectic arts scene of his hometown Aleksi continues to push his musical boundaries.

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Andy Cohen

Andy Cohen grew up in a house with a piano and a lot of Dixieland Jazz records, amplified after a while by a cornet that his dad got him. At about fifteen, he got bitten by the Folk Music bug, and soon got to hear records by Big Bill Broonzy and the Jim Kweskin Jug Band,

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Ari & Mia

Award-winning songwriters, chamber-folk duo Ari & Mia tour globally, critically acclaimed as New England’s Americana sister act. Raised on folk songs and conservatory trained, their voices, cello, fiddle, and banjo intricately combine in original melodies and arrangements that reference the early American songbook and Northeastern fiddle tunes.

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Bill & Kate Isles

Genre: Acoustic Singer/Songwriter/Storyteller Duo

Bill & Kate Isles are a nationally-touring singer/songwriter duo based in Duluth, MN. In 1993 Bill was a rare survivor of Sudden Cardiac Arrest. Instead of ending his life, it jump-started his creative energies, resulting in a 150 show-per-year itinerary, presenting his profoundly meaningful songs.

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Bill Bourne

Bill Bourne has been involved in music and celebration since he was a small child sleeping behind the piano at country dances where his parents played in the band. His mother played guitar at dances before Bill was born, resting the guitar on his little body while he was still within her…the sound of the guitar and the dance rhythms have always been with him.

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Blake Miller

Lafayette, LA

Genre: Cajun Music

Grandson of well known accordion builder Larry Miller, Blake has been surrounded by Cajun music and culture his entire life. Hailing from the small town of Iota Louisiana, Blake, a fluent french speaker and songwriter, managed to acquire a degree in Francophone studier from The University Of Louisiana at Lafayette and in the mean time founded the popular young Cajun band The Pine Leaf Boys and became a member of the premiere Louisiana roots Band The Red Stick Ramblers.

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Genre: Cajun Music

BluesReel

Genre: Folk Roots Blues

BluesReel is a harmonica and guitar duo unlike any you have heard. Inspired by the folk tradition from both sides of the Atlantic, John Kerkhoven on harmonica and Patrick Hutchinson on guitar take you on a musical journey of traditional tunes,

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Genre: Folk Roots Blues

Brent Parkin

Brent Parkin is a veteran of the Winnipeg music scene and has been playing for audiences in Winnipeg and across Canada for well over 40 years.
Brent’s music is a mix of Chicago style Blues, Swing, Roots music with some Country and Roots Rock and Roll thrown in for good measure.

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Genre: Folk Roots Blues

Brock Zeman

Genre: Roots/ Folk/ Story-Teller

When it comes to storytelling, Brock Zeman is a master craftsman. The Canada-based singer-songwriter has spent the past 12 years carving and chiseling Americana soundscapes, drawing from roots-rock and alternative country. But what separates Zeman from his contemporaries isn’t a willingness to speak truth – it’s his unwillingness to conform to the rules of Nashville and the traditional framework of genre.

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Genre: Roots/ Folk/ Story-Teller

Chris Carmichael

Genre: Rock, Blues, Americana

Every great music scene has its anchors, people who never quite get their due from the public, but who are the backbone of sounds and successes. Guys like Derek O’Brien and Bill Campbell in Austin, Texas, Steve Freund and David Maxwell in Chicago,

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Genre: Rock, Blues, Americana

Christine Campbell

Genre: Rock / Blues / Singer-Songriter

Christine Campbell is a powerful performer, known for her unapologetic mastery of guitar, piano and bluesy rock vocals. As a musician dedicated to her craft, discerning fans are thrilled by Christine’s live shows, offering a unique mix of old and new original songs in each performance,

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Genre: Rock / Blues / Singer-Songriter

Claire Ness

Genre: Folk/Blues/Jazz/Country

Claire Ness is a singer-songwriter and multidisciplinary artist based in the Yukon. Born and raised outside of Whitehorse, Claire grew up singing Broadway show tunes while exploring the wilderness by canoe and horseback. Never far from her guitar, Claire writes prolifically in both English and French.

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Genre: Folk/Blues/Jazz/Country

Corn Potato String Band

Detroit, MI

Genre: Fiddle & Banjo/String Band/Old Time/Bluegrass

The Corn Potato String Band has earned high praise in traditional American music, keeping old time fiddle and banjo music from a one-way trip to the dustbins of history. Theirs is a story of struggle, hard knocks and triumph.

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Dan Frechette & Laurel Thomsen

Genre: Roots-Folk

Meeting via a chance YouTube sighting and fueled by a once in a lifetime musical chemistry and friendship, Canadian-American Roots-Folk duo Dan Frechette & Laurel Thomsen combine combine emotive, “judicious violin,” diverse and “phenomenal guitar playing,” compelling storytelling, a dash of harmonica and humor,

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Genre: Roots-Folk

Dana Wylie

Edmonton, AB

Genre: Singer-songwriter

Dana has carved a uniquely wandering path through music; she cut her teeth in jug bands, bluegrass bands and cover bands in Taiwan, toured steadfastly with her own band in the UK, released three critically-praised albums, then landed back in Canada to pursue a Masters in musicology.

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Genre: Singer-songwriter

Daniel Gervais

Genre: Fiddle, songs, old time to jazz, Celtic and classical

Daniel Gervais is the 2016 Canadian Grand Master Fiddle Champion. He also won this competition in 2011, becoming the first and only Albertan to earn this prestigious title. He completed a Master of Music degree in classical performance under the supervision of Dr.

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David Essig

Genre: Roots singer-songwriter and blues guitarist

DAVID ESSIG was introduced to Canadian audiences in 1971 as a “talented newcomer” at the legendary Mariposa Folk Festival. Now, nearly 50 years later, he continues to pursue an international career as one of Canada’s finest roots music performers. He has appeared at every major folk festival in Canada and at concerts throughout the world.

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