2009 Line Up
click on the
performers/groups name to read their bio
- updated
Monday December 14, 2009
* subject to
change without notice
MAIN STAGE Concerts
* subject to
change without notice
|
Friday Main Stage
5:30 - Midnight |
Saturday Main Stage
5:30 - Midnight |
Sunday Main Stage
2:00 – 5:30 |
|
Bill Houston |
Holmes Hooke |
Cosmic Granola |
|
Jacob & Lily |
|
Haines & Leighton |
|
Anne Lindsay |
Canto |
Wendell & Wheat |
|
Matt Anderson |
John Wort Hannam |
The Hudsons |
|
The Abrams Brothers |
Jenny Whiteley |
|
|
Pierre Schryer |
Harry Manx |
|
|
Rodney Brown |
Compadres |
|
|
The Good Brothers |
The Wild Turkeys |
|
Download the schedules here:
Friday
Workshops |
Saturday Workshops |
Sunday Workshops |
Main Stage
Abrams Brothers
The
Abrams Brothers are
fourth-generation musicians and have
musical roots reaching back to their
great-grandparents. Musical
collaborations; be it at hometown
performances, in the recording studio, or
on tour, are practically family tradition.
John, 18 (guitar, mandolin and
violin), James, 15 (violin and viola), and
cousin Elijah, 18 (upright bass)
successfully capture the homegrown,
down to earth essence of Dylan and
Guthrie, injecting their own
personalities, a bluegrass gospel twist
and the poise of well-rounded,
fully developed veteran musicians.
Anne Lindsay
Anne Lindsay's
singular voice as a violinist and composer
has garnered her kudos in many musical
genres. With her excellent training,
technique and experience Anne is in a very
fortunate position to stretch musical
boundaries and mix new approaches with
old. Her fluency is evident in her
wide-ranging repertoire, encompassing
jazz, rock, classical, country, old-time
fiddle, Celtic, Cajun, and Klezmer.
Currently composing, performing and
recording with her own band, Anne is also
a much sought after side person, composer,
arranger and vocalist.
http://www.anne-lindsay.com/
Bill Houston
www.billhouston.ca
Caleb Joel
Hawkins
Caleb Joel Hawkins was born and raised in
Thunder Bay, and his talent was obvious at
an early age. Caleb’s unique voice and
inspiring lyrics touch listeners' hearts.
With praise from the media and a growing
fanbase, Caleb continues to deliver his
talents in live performances, writing, and
filmmaking. The 22 year old cites
influences from Neil Young, Ben Harper,
Bob Dylan, James Blunt, and Jack Johnson.
His sound is a blend of all these artists
but with his own definite originality and
uniqueness added to the mix.
http://www.myspace.com/calebjoelhawkins
Canto
The
acoustic trio Canto performs
finely-crafted original music that blends
the styles of world, folk, jazz, and
cabaret music. Canto is three distinctive
composer/writers: Damon Dowbak (mandolin,
mandocello, guitar), Kim Erickson (voice,
piano) and Sage
Reynolds (double-bass, voice.)
Their music has been likened to “an
acoustic sunrise scouring the landscape
with beautiful, blinding light.” Bringing
a world of differences into musical focus
demands a virtuosity and imagination that
is immediately obvious in this brilliant
ensemble.
www.myspace.com/cantomusic
Compadres
Compadres
is an example of the kind of Canadian
world fusion that has taken off in recent
years. “Celtino,” as James Keelaghan and
Oscar Lopez half-jokingly dub their
hybrid, fuses the sometimes rollicking,
sometimes melancholy Celtic influences
behind Keelaghan’s folk material with
Lopez’s fiery guitar vibe . Lopez’s
playing injects energy and edginess into
Keelaghan’s smooth baritone, while
Keelaghan’s skillful song-crafting creates
a superb structure for Lopez. Oscar and
James first began performing as Compadres
in the early 90s. Today, their friendship
represents an unlikely yet
fabulous-sounding fusion of two unique
Canadian musical giants.
http://www.myspace.com/theamazingcompadres
Cosmic Granola
Cosmic
Granola was a concept started in 2001 in a
college laundry room. Over the years as
many as 7 musicians comprised CG but in
today three remain as The Cosmic Granola
Elite. With great diversity in musical
backgrounds, Cosmic Granola has come
together to create a new form of rock and
roll (yet to be named). Be prepared to
groove to the granolas original blues,
folk, funk, reggae, bluegrass, and of
course rock and roll. The boys of funky
town released their second project ’an
Onion Layers' in 2008. Ten is Three, Three
is Five, Five is Four, and FOUR is COSMIC!
http://www.cosmicgranola.com/
Doug Gorrie
Doug
Gorrie's music has changed over the years
but has always had one quality -- Honesty.
His influences are as eclectic as his
style, From the Clash, Face to Face,
Social Distortion to Kathleen Edwards,
Ryan Adams, Kate Maki, and his all time
hero JOHNNY CASH. The songs are as rugged
as the landscape of his hometown of
Thunder Bay Ontario, nestled in beautiful
Northwestern Ontario.
http://www.myspace.com/douggorrie
Haines &
Leighton
Mark and Tom
perform an original and traditional
repertoire influenced by their Celtic and
North American folk roots. Their engaging
humour and personality has made them
popular performers in theatres, festivals,
concerts, and clubs. Mark's voice is one
of a kind, and when Tom's superb harmony
and arranging skills are added, the
stories and images come vividly to life.
These multi-instrumentalists combine the
traditional "tug at your heart strings"
sounds of the fiddle, accordion, guitar,
bouzouki, and bodhran, with the "turn on
your ears" new technology of synthesisers,
tone generators and processors.
http://www.haines-leighton.com/
Harry Manx
Harry Manx
has been dubbed an “essential link”
between the music of East and West,
creating musical short stories that weld
the tradition of the Blues with the depth
of classical Indian ragas. Manx spent
his childhood in Canada and left in his
teens to live in Europe, Japan, India and
Brazil. He honed his hypnotic live show on
street corners, in cafes, bars and at
festivals. Playing the Mohan Veena, lap
steel, harmonica, stomp box, and banjo,
Manx quickly envelops the audience into
what has been dubbed “the Harry Zone”. His
unique sound is bewitching and deliciously
addictive.
http://www.harrymanx.com/
Holmes Hooke
Holmes possesses a keen wit, a brutally
honest turn of phrase, and a capacity for
capturing the simple beauty of his subject
matter. With talents such as these, small
wonder he continues to be sought out as a
performer and host by festivals and clubs
the world over.
Many of Holmes’ word compositions have
been set to music, and performed by over
40 artists, including John McDermott,
Tanglefoot, Bobby Watt, Rick Fielding,
Jeff Wiseman, Katherine Wheatley, Wendell
Ferguson, and Brendan Nolan. Holmes has
been called “a national treasure; one of
Ireland’s greatest gifts to Canada", but
you can decide for yourself.
Jackson Kohne
From
Thunder Bay's city stages to public
theatres, Jackson has fulfilled
performance requests as a solo act like a
consummate singer-songwriter - belying his
youth. His indie pop sound reflects his
folk, alt-rock and jazz-blues influences
like John Mayer, Amos Lee, and Lenny Breau.
At age five he started classical guitar
studies at the "Manitoba Conservatory of
Music and Arts" in Winnipeg. Moving to
Thunder Bay in 2004, Jackson was fortunate
to study with the late great jazz
guitarist Ken Moore. He trained with vocal
coach Denise Krawczuk, BOUNCE Productions
and with his mom, performer Tracy K.
Jackson has appeared in local musical
theatre productions and captured the title
of High School Idol 2008, where he gave an
emotionally charged acoustic performance
of the Keb' Mo song "City Boy". He employs
unique musical gems such as this in his
repertoire, while putting his influences
to practice in his own songwriting. A real
natural on stage, Jackson's popularity
grows with each public performance, as
does his fan base.
Jacob &
Lily
With their unique and
organic sound, Jacob and Lily is the
freshest act to emerge from Winnipeg’s
rich music community. In only a few
moments, the duo will take you from tears
to laughter – all the while gently weaving
a tapestry of thoughtful, nearly spiritual
moments which will linger long after the
final note is played. Complex fusion-style
rhythms and spontaneous songs create an
electric atmosphere that captivates
audiences. Caleb Friesen’s percussion is
the perfect complement to Karla Adolphe’s
soaring vocals.
www.myspace.com/jacobandlily
Jean-Paul de
Roover 
With an innovative
approach to music, Jean-Paul De Roover is
much more than a one man band: he plays
everything, and right before your very
eyes and ears. From silence, his
performance could lead anywhere; to full a
capella harmonies; to rhythmic tribal
beats; to orgiastic sonic explosions; to a
noise layered world of ambient rock, or
anything in between. With lyrical content
that can be brutally honest or lovingly
truthful, one thing is certain: the
originality and creativity of the
performance shines through to every single
member of the audience.
http://www.myspace.com/jeanpaulderoover
Jenny Whiteley
Since the beginning with
Heartbreak Hill, in the late nineties,
Jenny has been singing, writing songs, and
playing music for a living. “Nothing makes
me happier. I have had the chance to
perform all over North America at many
venues and festivals, and have shared the
stage with countless wonderful musicians
and some of my heroes. I also get the
chance to make music with my family all
the time! I am a lucky girl!”
www.jennywhiteley.com
John
Wort Hannam
Bringing his ‘blue collar
roots” from the Canadian prairies,
John has emerged as one of Canada's
most promising new songwriters.
Known for his unique take on the
simple day-to-day dramas of the common man
through songs that map the landscapes of
both the human heart and this vast country
, he’s a born story- teller with a keen
eye for the quirky, and a humble and
engaging performer. The Calgary Sun
compared John to Gordon Lightfoot;
“ penning songs with easy harmonies and
melodies baked from the midday prairie
sun, which are then - in his warm ,
earnest voice - seasoned with the salt of
the
earth.”
http://www.johnworthannam.com/
Lead Pipe Cinch 
If you take
one part Jives: a voice that spans a wide
range of tone and feel, alternatively pure
& wistful, dark & soulful, edgy, sweet and
smokey, and add Ken Allen’s
groove oriented style and
love
for the driving beat, you come up with a
harmonious and energetic blend of blues,
roots, celtic, and country inspired songs
that
cut through the craft to the bone. Live
on stage, the duo’s enthusiasm is obvious
and contagious.
www.liveatjives.com
Matt Andersen
New
Brunswick's Matt Andersen has a larger
than life showmanship that has been
earning him a fervent and steadfast
audience wherever he graces the stage.
Matt's sprawling blues, roots and rock
musical hybrid
delivered with his
sorrowing and soulful voice has sparked a
phenomenal buzz on Canada’s East Coast and
that grass roots word of mouth has, at
last, made its way west!
After seven
years of almost daily live shows, Matt has
found the time to record his first cd
Something
In Between.
www.stubbyfingers.ca/
Pierre Schreyer
Pierre is part of the vibrant
Franco-Ontarian culture of Canada and from
an early age was immersed in the music and
traditions of his heritage. As a solo
fiddler he has received
titles and awards too
numerous to mention. Pierre's
seductive smile and twinkling eyes invite
you to share his joy
and he has captivated audiences
around the world with his energy,
genuine warmth, and flawless ability in
any style.
http://www.pierreschryer.com/
Rodney Brown
With seven albums and over thirty years of
performing experience, Rodney Brown
remains committed to his Northwestern
Ontario Roots. Rodney continues to tell
the stories in song; stories of the unique
places and people who populate the back of
Ontario's road map. Rodney's music
conjures up images of whitecaps pounding
rocky shores, roads carved through the
Canadian Shield; sun drenched summers and
untamed expanses of bush.
http://www.rodneybrown.ca/
Southern
Comfort
Blues,
R&B, Gospel, Bluegrass, Rock and Roll….and
that’s just the first set.
Dave’s real passion is for
southern Delta Blues where old songs tell
tales of what life was like many years
ago.
Roots musician Dave
Jonasson has been a veteran of touring,
recording and performing for many years as
a solo, or fronting the popular local band
The Blue Pretenders. Dave spent a couple
of years recording and touring around the
world with Canadian blues artist and
songwriter Rita Chiarelli.
Most recently Dave has
teamed up with San Diego keyboardist
Smedley B.
“Smed” has toured around
the world with American blues artist
Candye Kane. A brand new baby brings his
wife and himself to a permanent residence
in Thunder Bay.
Last year they tagged
themselves Southern Comfort. They look
forward to seeing all the music fans at
this years Red Rock Folk Festival.
Wendell &
Wheat
Katherine Wheatley
and Wendell Ferguson are the best of
musical pals - her heartfelt lyrical
vision and poignant voice, and his honest
yet irreverent humour make for both a
moving and hilarious show. Wendell
Ferguson is recognized by his peers as one
of the top pickers in the country and
known best as having one of the quickest
wits in the game. Katherine's offhand wit,
vibrant lyrics and an infectious passion
for performing has been captivating
audiences everywhere she
performs. Together...“... an absolutely
transcendent concert...she didn't leave a
dry eye in the house and he didn't leave a
dry seat".
The Wild
Turkeys
From the icy shores of
Northern Ontario, comes this new sizzling
hot band of pickin’ and grinnin’ cowboys.
The Wild Turkeys entertaining stage
presence and energetic sound has been
recently coined as "Swamp-Stomp Country".
Armed with fiddles, mandolin,
guitar, bass, harmonica, a tin can
percussive suitcase contraption, and
melodic four part harmonies, these boys
have no trouble winning over the hearts
and ears of audiences everywhere.
Brothers Vaughn & Devin Alexander
and Byron& Marshall Jaaskelainen blend
masterful classical techniques with a
youthful and theatrical approach to old
time country.
http://www.thewildturkeyoutfit.com/
more bios to come
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