Events

Opening Act: Paul J McInnis

Desboro Music Hall Concert Series

All Ages

Doors Open: 7pm, Music Starts: 7:30pm

Tickets: $25

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Biography

Raised between two potato fields on Prince Edward Island, Ashley Condon is the grandchild of Bill Leblanc, a Canadian country pioneer who once spent the night in jail with Hank Snow. Like pecan pie – sweet and nutty – Ashley has won audiences over with her larger-than-life stage presence and down-to-earth charm. Growing up on everything from old-time country to folk, blues and soul, her music resonates.

The success of her 2007 EP, I’ve Got This Feeling, garnered the attention of Ontario native and ECMA-nominated producer and musician Joel Hunt (Teresa Ennis, Old Man Leudecke). The two joined creative forces for Ashley’s debut, full-length album, Come In From The Cold, released on June 15, 2010. Since its release in 2010, Come In From The Cold has been nominated for a 2011 Canadian Folk Music Award, a 2011 East Coast Music Award and has earned the rising star two 2012 Music PEI Awards for New Artist Of The Year and theLynn Grishko Memorial Bursary.  Her highly anticipated sophomore album, This Great Compromise, is set for release on May 28th, 2013 and was produced by Condon’s songwriting hero; three-time JUNO award winning singer-songwriter David Francey. Condon is backed on the album by Francey’s touring band of Chris Coole (banjo, guitar) and Mark Westberg (guitar), John Showman (fiddle) and by celebrated Maritime multi-instrumentalist Darren McMullen.

The signature track on her Francey-produced sophomore album, This Great Compromise, is “Betty’s Song”, a tribute to Condon’s mother and a wistful lament over Condon’s inability, as a teenager to appreciate her mother’s strength and perseverance. Other highlights include “Gentle Man”, a haunting number about an encounter with a stranger;  “We’ve Got Love”, a simple love song with a very Francey-like sing-along chorus; “I’m Going Home, Amen”, a rollicking gospel song about moving back to PEI; and the title track, a sophisticated statement about the impact on relationships when partners must leave the province for work.

Having lost both her parents by the age of 22, it is not surprising that Condon’s music is marked by an astonishing degree of maturity and nuance – the kind almost never heard in emerging artists. She has established a reputation in the Maritimes as a powerful writer and singer and an uncommonly-talented entertainer who jokes and tells stories to audiences as naturally as if they were guests in her living room.

Ashley Condon Website
Ashley Condon Facebook
Ashley Condon Twitter
Ashley Condon YouTube

Paul J McInnis

If he were alive 100 years ago, Paul J McInnis would have been found strumming on a street corner, singing his songs about roads, girls, and small towns. His closest friends would have been pickers, singers, poets and painters. He would have enjoyed a simple life surrounded by the things he loved. Today, 100 years later, not much is different. If you look for him, Paul can be found strumming on a street corner in some small town, singing songs about roads, girls, and the things he loves. He may slip into his local pub on the way home for a pint with some old friends. It`s a simple life. Paul J McInnis’ music is folk music. It channels John Prine, Randy Newman, and Bill Monroe. It is literate, joyful, melancholy, and timeless. He prefers to play in the moment; recording live off the floor with open mics and no overdubs. Mistakes happen, he’ll say, but so does magic. The resulting album, Broken Down Waltz, is a collection of some of those magical mistakes, all written and arranged by Paul and performed beautifully with some of his closest friends on mandolin, harmonica, accordion, cello and guitar. It is what Paul believes music should be: simple and real. Paul has seen Canada through a windshield. During the years spent travelling with Juno nominated troubadour Craig Cardiff, the duo played every club, pub, and dive student bar they could find. They even hosted a conference on independent music at the North American Folk Alliance’s annual convention. Over the past decade, Paul has had the honour of opening for acts as diverse as Serena Ryder, Jim Cuddy and Big Sugar. Closer to his current home in Waterloo, Ontario, Paul has played countless small festivals both as a solo act and as a sought after sideman. As for his joyful and timeless songs, Paul has twice received accolades from legendary songwriters David Foster and Carol Bayer Sager. What does the future hold? Paul would say the only thing we can expect is uncertainty. There is, however, one thing we can count on. Paul will keep playing, singing, and surrounding himself with the things he loves. It’s what he’s always done. It’s what he’ll always do.

Paul J McInnis Website
Paul J McInnis Facebook
Paul J McInnis Twitter

Opening Act: Gathering Sparks

Desboro Music Hall Concert Series

All Ages

Doors Open: 7pm, Music Starts: 7:30pm

Tickets: $25

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Alfie Smith
Alfie Smith is a prolific songwriter who has recorded 6 albums over his 20 year career. Known best for his resophonic guitars, brazen slide licks and uncompromising vocals, Alfie is endorsed by several luthiers including Goodman Guitars (who have recently named a guitar model after him) and Goldtone Banjos. He has been nominated for a dozen Hamilton music awards including Best Male Vocalist and Best Guitarist, and has represented Toronto in the Memphis International Blues Challenge. He performs constantly, and has been a featured performer at Mariposa, Festival of Friends, Home County, Eaglewood, Mill Race, Red Rock, Orangeville Blues & Jazz festival, to name a few.

Click for Alfie Smith Website

Nicole Christian
Nicole Christian is a little roots, a little country and a whole lot bottle-neck blues. A multi-instrumentalist who specializes in flute, piano and resophonic guitar, Nicole released two solo albums before heading to the studio to record her most recent, Run Rabbit Run, which was voted The Best Debut Roots and Blues Album of 2010. In 2011 Nicole was selected as a finalist for the Toronto Blues Society’s Talent Search and was nominated for two Hamilton Music Awards, Best Female Vocalist and Best Blues Album. She appeared on an episode of Toronto Talent and won a Hamilton Arts Award for Performance in 2012. Nicole performs regularly throughout Southern Ontario, and whether solo or as a duo with Alfie Smith she’s sure to get your feet tapping.

Click for Nicole Christian Website

Click for Alfie and Nicole Website

Gathering Sparks

GATHERING SPARKS is the graceful collision of Eve Goldberg and Jane Lewis—musical friends who bonded over finely tuned harmonies and the craft of songwriting. Their inclusive approach embraces folk, pop, blues and gospel influences tastefully played on acoustic guitar, piano, accordion, ukulele, and banjo.

With their love of participatory group singing and infectious mix of styles, Gathering Sparks has been making some big waves. Their debut 6-song CD was nominated for a 2014 Canadian Folk Music Award for Vocal Group of the Year, and they have quickly become an audience favourite. Whether they are belting it out a capella style, tugging on your heartstrings with a folky original, crooning a jazzy swing tune, or getting into the spirit with a gospel-inflected singalong, Gathering Sparks performances make fans out of listeners with their stellar harmonies and fine musicianship.

“Phenomenal songs binding the individual skills of its members together as one with rich, honeyed harmonies.”
— Eric G. Thom, Penguin Eggs Magazine

EVE GOLDBERG has lifted audiences across North America with her heartfelt and insightful songs and solid instrumental work. Her fluid vocals embrace all the styles she loves—folk, blues, country, bluegrass, old time, and jazz—with equal affection and mastery.

JANE LEWIS has followed her love of words from the printing press to the spotlight with soul-bending lyrics, transcendent compositions, and crystal clear vocals. Her thoughtful piano and accordion playing, mastery of harmony, and upbeat presence add a sparkle to any stage.

As solo performers, Eve, Jane, and original member Sam Turton had each carved out their own niche in the folk/roots scene. But when they came together for a one-time triple bill in 2012, there was a certain “spark” that couldn’t be denied. The three loved the magic that came from the gathering of their songs, voices, instruments and styles, and a performing group was born. When Sam retired from the group to focus on other pursuits, Eve and Jane committed themselves to continuing to share their music and harmony as a dynamic duo. Gathering Sparks is now booked through 2015 and into 2016, with appearances and workshops at summer music camps, concert series and house concerts.

“What a delight! Great songs, great singing and lovely harmonies. I’m singing along as if I’ve known these songs forever.”
— Sharon Hampson of Sharon, Lois & Bram

Gathering Sparks Website
Gathering Sparks Facebook
Gathering Sparks Twitter

Opening: Leah Mathies

Desboro Music Hall Concert Series

All Ages

Doors Open: 7pm, Music Starts: 7:30pm

Tickets: $25

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Biography

Trent Severn is an acclaimed Ontario folk trio who sing original, contemporary songs easily described as “Canadian history in harmony”. Topically modern with a humorous twist, Trent Severn have inspired audiences all over Canada to share a patriotic laugh and let their glowing hearts melt away. Comprised of talented multi-instrumentalists, singers and songwriters Dayna Manning, Emm Gryner and Lindsay Schindler, Trent Severn is a truly DIY band that showcases beautifully-crafted, evocative songs that continue the deeply poetic legacy of true ‘red and white’ pioneering troubadours.

Trent Severn Website
Trent Severn Facebook
Trent Severn Twitter

Leah Mathies

If you only know Leah Mathies as a young singer songwriter, you’re missing out on so much more. Granted it is fair to say she is a prolific writer. Having penned over 60 original songs, including ‘Mesmerized’ from her 2013 debut EP which garnered her radio play across Canada and festival appearances (SummerFolk). But her evolving sound, which refuses to be pinned down to one genre, along with the addition of her new band, takes her music to another level. Forget what you think you know about Leah Mathies.
Leah Mathies Facebook
Leah Mathies Twitter
Leah Mathies YouTube

Opening Act: Zakary Miller

Desboro Music Hall Concert Series

All Ages

Doors Open: 7pm, Music Starts: 7:30pm

Tickets: $25

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Biography

Acoustic guitars , mandolin, fiddle and banjo are the virtuosic template for an overlay of vocal harmonies detailing vignettes of life, love and community, then and now, in Norfolk County, Ontario. For The Schotts, life is music is life. This is no project, “The Schotts”, are who they are!

These music educators have performed, both individually and together, all over the world with artists such as Susan Aglukark, The Good Brothers, Jason McCoy and John Landry.  Bluegrass, Roots, Traditional at its best. The Schotts: no pickups, no effects, no artifice.

The Schotts Website
The Schotts Facebook
The Schotts YouTube

Zakary Miller

Zakary Miller was born in the heart of the city, with a foot on the farm. His roots spread across the great white north and his songs reflect on a deeply Canadian identity. Self loathing and loving at the same time, his ‘Canadiana Swing’ is born.

Zakary Miller Facebook
Zakary Miller Bandcamp

Opening Act: Jayden Grahlman

Desboro Music Hall Concert Series

All Ages

Doors Open: 7pm, Music Starts: 7:30pm

Tickets: $25

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Biography

Mark is one of those artists who’s been around, building steam, making records and touring in support of some of the world’s best-known roots artists.

The past two decades have seen Mark stream through a journey from busker to seasoned performer with masterful chops and the kind of mesmerizing stage presence that most artists never achieve in a lifetime. Turning heads because of youthful talent, he won a scholarship to Boston’s Berklee College of Music at 19, paid his dues in the blues clubs, made a record with Los Lobos producer Keith Keller’s at Keller’s mansion in New Orleans, won a sackful of awards, and warmed up stages for everyone from Robert Cray and Blue Rodeo to Colin James and Jesse Winchester.

It’s been said that if Bonnie Raitt and Lyle Lovett had a love child, Mark Reeves would be it. Fans of Lovett and Martin Sexton will eat up Reeves’ hard-earned positive vibe, rock solid rhythmic groove and kick-ass Motown horn section which adds a pleasant double-espresso kick to the mix.

Anybody who loves R&B will immediately be inspired by Mark’s infectious, dance-all-night grove thang, but there are profoundly beautiful moments here, and unpretentious lyrical wisdom that makes you sit back while you catch your breath.

Mark Reeves Website
Mark Reeves Facebook
Mark Reeves YouTube

Main Act: My Sweet Patootie

Opening Act: Alicia Toner

Desboro Music Hall 2017 Concert Series

All Ages
Doors Open: 7pm, Music Starts: 7:30pm

Buy Tickets

Tickets: Advance: $20 ($17.70 +HST), Regular: $25 ($22.12 +HST)

*Advance tickets are only available up to the Box Office hours the weekend before the show or we run out (Note: there is a limit of 25 advance tickets)

My Sweet Patootie is contemporary roots and ragtime at its best; bringing tight harmonies, monstrous guitar, sizzling fiddle and percussion together in one perfect package. Founded in 2007 by Canadian Folk Music Award winners Sandra Swannell and Terry Young, the trio has a growing international reputation. From original swing to funky fiddle-tune arrangements to exquisite ballads, they deliver a must-see show that Driftwood Magazine describes as “two parts exemplary musicianship, one part vaudeville comedy”.

Their vintage-style song writing is rooted in folk, americana and jazz; heavily influenced by the likes of Chet Atkins, Lenny Breau, Les Paul & Mary Ford and the Andrews Sisters. Throw in a penchant for light-hearted satire and their love of artists like Patsy Cline and Hank Williams and you get a sound that Young likes to call “Green Acres for the New Millennium”.

Terry Young is described by Penguin Eggs as an “acoustic guitar god”.  BBC critic James Harrox calls his playing “virtuosic”, while FATEA magazine describes it as “jaw dropping”. He has taught advanced finger-style guitar clinics and has written about his technique for Chicago’s Plank Road Folk Music Society Magazine. He is a talented multi-instrumentalist who toured from 1999 – 2009 with the group Tanglefoot; performing on guitar, mandolin, banjo and pennywhistle. Terry is a classically trained singer and holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Western Ontario.

Sandra Swannell is a classically trained violinist/ violist, but her style owes much more to the influences of Joe Venuti and Stephane Grappelli. Her diverse musical background ranges from recording with Canada’s legendary Stompin’ Tom Connors to writing a series of musical sketches for string orchestra. She was the principal violist of the Georgian Bay Symphony and fronted the Celtic art-rock band The Shards before joining the group Tanglefoot in 2005. Sandra has taught violin/ viola clinics for festivals, schools, community orchestras for many years as well as her own private studio.

With the departure of group’s original drummer Bradford Nowak in 2015, My Sweet Patootie became a truly international band with Welsh percussionist Anthony Thickett joining for UK tours, and Canadian Paul Clifford for North American tours.

Paul Clifford is a drummer, percussionist, songwriter and producer now based in Ontario. Musically growing up on the west coast of Canada, Paul played in various jazz/ blues bands, theatre productions, reggae bands, and toured/ recorded with the Vancouver folk-roots ensemble The Be Good Tanyas. Music education includes the many pilgrimages to New Orleans, Cuba, jazz studies on Vancouver Island, busking the streets of Europe with his tiny drum kit, and years of touring/ recording with the north american roots trio Groanbox. Based in the English countryside of Kent for ten years, Paul worked as a record producer for Smugglers Records, was the musical director for the vaudevillian theatre collective The Private Widdle Social Club, and kept active in the local and London blues scenes. His education continues.

The band’s name “My Sweet Patootie” is a slang term of endearment which became popular in the 1920s meaning a “hot dame” or a “sassy sweetheart”. Several ragtime titles from the jazz-age reference the expression, as do the lyrics of “Everybody Loves My Baby” (1924) by Spencer Williams and Jack Palmer. More significantly for Young and Swannell is “Sweet Patootie Blues” (1928) by Arthur “Blind” Blake, who was well known for his complex and intricate finger picking. The name was chosen to capture the vintage flavour of their music as well as the satirical edge in much of their song writing.

MSP released their third album “Good Day” in May of 2013, their first full length album as a trio. Peter Cowley’s review in FATEA magazine describes it as “infectious good humour and superb playing and singing, a delightful combination of jazzy guitar, Hot Club violin, luscious strings and horns and harmony vocals”. The CD was produced, arranged, engineered and mastered by Young & Swannell at their own Nowheresville Studio located in an historic one-room school house near Meaford, Ontario. “Good Day” is their most ambitious project to date and features each member’s skills as multi-instrumentalists, yet still remains true to their live sound as a trio. Other recordings are Patootified!”(2010, self produced) and “Nowheresville” (2008, produced by Canadian gospel-blues legend Ken Whiteley).

The trio has performed thousands of shows including theatres, festivals and clubs in Canada (Ontario, Manitoba and British Colombia), the United States from the eastern Seaboard to the Midwest, and the United Kingdom. My Sweet Patootie is played regularly on CBC, NPR, and BBC Radio. They have performed live-to-air concerts on; the nationally-syndicated WFMT “Folkstage” in Chicago, IL; WVBR’s “Bound for Glory” in Ithaca, NY; and BBC’s “The Drift” in Blackburn, Lancashire.

In 2014 My Sweet Patootie performed at the Mariposa Folk Festival and were guest artists with the Georgian Bay Symphony, performing orchestrated versions of their original songs. In 2015 they launched their fifth 2 month-long tour of England and Scotland and their eighth North American tour.

My Sweet Patootie Website
My Sweet Patootie Facebook
My Sweet Patootie Twitter

My Sweet Patootie Photos by Wayne Simpson

A critically acclaimed singer, fiddler, actor, musician, Alicia Toner has been wowing audiences with her diverse skill set for years. Classically trained in violin and voice with a diploma in Music Theatre-Performance, this unique performerʼs journey has taken her all over Canada and to several European countries.

Born and raised in Fredericton, NB, she caught the performing bug early, touring with the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra, with whom she played Carnegie Hall, and singing/ playing fiddle in the Celtic/folk quartet HATband. Since moving to Toronto 10 years ago and studying Music Theatre, Alicia has appeared in over 30 productions across Canada and Europe including the Dora Award Winning production of Assassins(TIFT/Birdland) and the hit musical Once(Mirvish) that brought home many Doras and much critical acclaim. For the last four years, she has been a staple of the Charlottetown Festival, lending her incredibly versatile voice to roles such as Cinderella in Cinderella, as well as many featured vocalist roles. Most recently, she was seen in the wildly successful new Canadian Musical The Chasse Galerie.

An East Coaster at heart, Alicia felt the pull of the Maritimes and, in 2014, made Charlottetown her home. Since then, she has shifted her attention to her first love; music. In June of 2015, Alicia went into the studio with Stuart Cameron, Peter Fusco and Blake Manning to record her first four track EP. The following Spring, with the help of FACTOR Canada, she completed her full-length debut album “I Learned the Hard Way” to be released this June, 2017.
Alicia Toner Website
Alicia Toner Facebook
Alicia Toner Twitter

Opening Act: Brontae Hunter

Desboro Music Hall 2017 Concert Series

All Ages Doors Open: 7pm, Music Starts: 7:30pm

Buy Tickets

Tickets: Advance: $20 ($17.70 +HST), Regular: $25 ($22.12 +HST)

*Advance tickets are only available up to the Box Office hours the weekend before the show or we run out (Note: there is a limit of 25 advance price tickets)

James Hill & Anne Janelle

Four strings and a favourite chocolate bar: that’s all James Hill – “possibly the best ukulele player in the world” (Waikato Times) – and Anne Janelle – “a cellist of true beauty” (Ottawa Citizen) – had in common when they first met. It was more than enough. Today, they’re an award-winning, “utterly world-class” singer-songwriter-ukulele-cello duo (Paul Symes, The Blacksheep Inn). It’s true: opposites attract. James grew up playing folk, jazz and blues on his ukulele while Anne was exclusively a classical cellist. But the pair’s differences quickly became their biggest asset. The uke is high, the cello is low; the uke plays short notes, the cello long bow strokes; the uke is all about strumming while the cello radiates melody. Like shadows and light in an old photograph, these contrasts are complementary. “We’re like a pair of dancers who can’t step on each other’s feet,” jokes James. Flash back to 2008. Anne was working on her Master’s degree in cello performance at the University of Ottawa while James was wowing crowds with his ukulele wizardry at festivals across North America, on a mission “to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that in the right hands the uke can be a formidable axe” (Ann Arbor News). And then, one email changed the course of their musical lives. James and Anne were selected to record a track for a compilation album called Classical Ukulele for release in Japan. “If it weren’t for that recording project,” confides Anne, “I don’t think we ever would have started playing together. It just wouldn’t have occurred to us.” Often the most obvious thing is the thing that’s most easily overlooked. “We chose Schubert’s Ave Maria and arranged it for ukulele and cello. We recorded it in a tiny practise cubicle at the university!” The result? “Absolutely brilliant” (The Folk Diary). Naturally the next step was to release a duo album and, so, True Love Don’t Weep was born. The album garnered a Canadian Folk Music Award for Best Traditional Album of the Year in 2009. A mixture of traditional tunes with “fresh vitality” (Country Music People) and, for the first time, original songs, True Love Don’t Weep showcased the duo’s ability “to capture the soul of a song.” (Folk World). By this time, Anne had completed her degree and the pair were performing regularly, bringing their “instinctive musical interaction and contagious enthusiasm” (Ottawa Citizen) to audiences across five continents. Since True Love Don’t Weep, James and Anne have each released two solo albums each (James’ Man with a Love Song and The Old Silo; Anne’s Beauty Remains and So Long at the Fair) and toured in over 15 countries, making their mark not only as accomplished instrumentalists but also as some of the finest songwriters of their generation. 2016 marks the return of the duo in full force. “We walked our separate musical paths for a while, but I think we both came to realize, each in our own way, that the duo is our strongest musical offering. There is passion, there is diversity, there are many levels with which an audience can engage with our music when it’s not one or the other but both of us.” reveals Anne. Together, James and Anne craft a sound that is intricate, enchanting and engaging: “a crystal clear sound filled with warmth” (Bob Mersereau, CBC). In concert, James is “a dazzling performer with a genial, low-key sense of humour” (Edmonton Journal) and Anne brings her “gorgeous syrupy voice” (Acoustic Magazine) to songs that are “inventive, entertaining, beautifully written and brilliantly performed” (R2 Magazine). In short, a night out with James Hill & Anne Janelle is “the perfect evening of tunes, stories and musical virtuosity” (Wellington Dominion-Post).

James & Anne Website
James & Anne Facebook
James & Anne Twitter
James and Anne Photos by Ed Boulter Photography

Brontae Hunter

Brontae Hunter is a performing artist who currently lives in Stratford, Ontario. Although she concentrates on acting, she is passionate about the live arts and what they bring to our quickly evolving culture. Previous projects she is most proud of include directing Innocence Lost: a play about Steven Truscott, producing and performing in The Women of Broadway and Beyond in Stratford’s factory 163, playing at Summerfolk along with the youth discoveries, and curating the performance collective For Our Stolen Sisters to raise funds and awareness for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Woman crisis. In the fall, she plans to attend a conservatory style acting program. She looks forward to pursuing a career, in hopes of enriching the lives of others and starting important conversations through the medium of the performing arts. Check out her video and an original song on Facebook

Brontae Hunter Facebook

Box Office Hours 10am – 12pm

Opening Act: Rob Elder

Desboro Music Hall 2017 Concert Series
All Ages
Doors Open: 7pm, Music Starts: 7:30pm

Tickets: Advance: $20 ($17.70 +HST), Regular: $25 ($22.12 +HST)

*Advance tickets are only available up to the Box Office hours the weekend before the show or we run out (Note: there is a limit of 25 advance price tickets)

Ben Kunder

Part carpenter; Part actor; Canadian singer-songwriter Ben Kunder has spent years honing his craft to become a full time musician. On May 26, 2015, Ben ventured closer to making this a reality with the release of his DEBUT solo LP, Golden.With a voice that truly fills your heart and keeps you warm, Ben writes songs that everyone can relate to. His powerful voice is a driving force in his music, guiding his songs by creating impressive and tactful melodies and dynamics.

Exclaim! declared, “Kunder’s extra special voice, along with gorgeous production, lends the record an almost velvety quality.” While NewCanadianMusic said the album: “features strong and warm vocals, nicely-crafted folk-rock songs, and top-notch production and playing,” and the Toronto Star had this to say about Ben – “he’s got the kind of mellow sincerity in his voice to take it beyond generic country-pop.”

No stranger to the Canadian music community, Ben has been writing and producing his music independently for over 7 years. Through a chance meeting with John Dinsmore (NQ Arbuckle), the pair hunkered down at John’s, Lincoln County Social Club studio to co-produce Golden. The album features 9 stunning original songs by Ben, including the first single and title track, Golden. Ben (guitar, vox, and piano) is joined by a group of Canada’s finest musicians for the studio recording, featuring Brian Murphy (Alvvays) on guitar/piano/Wurlitzer, Rich Knox (Dustin Bentall, Danko Jones) on drums/vox, Anna Ruddick (Ladies of the Canyon, Randy Bachman) on bass/vox, and Aaron Goldstein (Cowboy Junkies, Daniel Romano) on pedal steel.  Also John Connolly lends his voice, along with Kirty, Maia Davies (Ladies of the Canyon) and Jasmine Bleile (Ladies of the Canyon) for select tracks.

Ben has lived all across the beautiful country of Canada, from his solar powered cabin on Salt Spring Island, BC, where he spent his days chopping wood and chasing deer from the garden, to Charlottetown, PEI, working at the Confederation Centre for the Arts. Now, Ben is back to where he started his journey in his hometown of Toronto. Golden is an album that pushed Ben to new levels, and will surely see him reach new heights in his career.

Sarah MacDougall

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 Sweden’s best singer/songwriters”.

Since the release of award-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 Canyon 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.

Ben Kunder Website
Ben Kunder Facebook
Ben Kunder Twitter
Sarah MacDougall Website
Sarah MacDougall Facebook

Ben and Sarah’s Photos by Scarlet O’Neill

Rob Elder

Rob’s music is real-life-inspired. His energy and stage presence draw people in and keep them like dinner guests at a Muskoka cottage, while his song writing has simmered and aged to a vintage that takes an audience on a vivid trip along his unique perspective of life and love. From smooth acoustic ballads about girls and things, to his ‘jump out of your seats and dance’ multi-layered, live-looping … the music keeps coming and you can’t turn away.

Rob Elder Website
Rob’s Photos by Amber Vee Photography

An Evening of Music from the Reformation Era

Featuring Mabel Williamson on harp

and various members of Faith Lutheran Church