Listen to The McDades

Winners of the 2006 Canadian Folk Music Awards for Best World Group & Best Instrumental Group and 2007 Independent Music Award for Best World Album Traditional. The McDades' celtic rooted music fuses the spontaneity of jazz improvisation with infectious global rhythms. Their cutting edge sound is the perfect complement to their fiery performances. "It's hot stuff and very entertaining." (Tom Knapp, Dirty Linen). Their groundbreaking compositions and innovative arrangements are characterized by stunning virtuosity and a near-telepathic interaction on stage. Shannon's lyrical fiddle, Jeremiah's searing winds and Solon's smooth bass create the rich foundation for this adventurous band. The siblings are joined by Andy Hillhouse, a multi-faceted guitarist whose influences range from mariachi to funk to choral music, and Francois Taillefer, a magnetic hand-drumming nomad who has traveled the world studying ethnic rhythms on percussion. The musical diversity of this tight-five piece celebrates the very idea of what it means to be a Canadian musician. With vocal harmonies that can only come from a family, and an obvious love for each other and their music, The McDades' sound is immersed in the spirit of improvisation. Featuring both energetic instrumentals and sensitive vocals performed in English and French, this compelling and dynamic group "find their groove somewhere between a down-home kitchen party, a jazzy after hours club, and a folk festival." (London Free Press)

The Kennedys

On Songs of the Open Road, The Kennedys forego their self-composed songs of transcendent twang to present new versions of their favorite traveling music written by others that fit their own musical and personal outlook. The California folk-rock-country sound is heard frequently on Songs of the Open Road as The Kennedys play their way through the pantheon of great West Coast-based writers. Three former Byrds are represented by the cautionary "Sin City" (co-written by Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman while in the Flying Burrito Brothers) and Gene Clark's elegantly mournful "Gypsy Rider," a lonely highway classic. The sweet bossa nova lilt of Stephen Stills' "Pretty Girl Why" (from the final Buffalo Springfield album) soothes the apocalyptic anguish of Bob Dylan's "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall," which precedes it. "Galveston," Glenn Campbell's 1969 hit written by Jimmy Webb, is a more oblique anti-war commentary, sung from the viewpoint of an overseas soldier yearning for his home and the girl he left behind. Americana pioneer and California native John Stewart, provides the newest song on the album, the wistful "Jasmine" (from his 2006 Appleseed CD, The Day the River Sang), an alluring siren's call to tour, while the legendarily enigmatic Bob Neuwirth's "Eye on the Road" spells out the dangers of answering that sweet summons.

Listen to Theessink

Like others of his generation, in the early 1960's a love of the Blues took hold of the man whom Bo Diddly described as "one helluva guitar player", and it has not let go since. Above all, the country blues with its earthy and heartfelt sound impressed Hans Theessink and played a major role in his development as a musician. His roots are unmistakenly in the blues, but has also been influenced by countless other aspects of roots music. This musical variety has become a trademark of Hans Theessink, who as a songwriter has succeeded in building bridges to the present in addressing issues which reflect the reality of the here and now. Hans is probably Europe's blues export Nr.1 - one of the top blues and roots musicians worldwide who has entertained audiences around the globe during a musical career that spans over more than 35 years. The world's leading bluespaper - US magazine Blues Revue wrote: "Hans Theessink is an international blues treasure. He is one of the world's pre-eminent country pickers and his warm baritone expresses blues".

Listen to The Dukes

Our traditional annual steamy blues/dance with John and the crew down from Philadelphia... "They mix up a wide variety of music from Louis Jordan styled swing on up to soul, but their forte is Chicago blues. Veteran musicians all, this band knows rock n' roll, or getting lowdown with mean Chicago blues, The Dukes of Destiny are hard to beat for a good time... Ultimately, the ensemble work is what makes the Dukes of Destiny a good band - the consistent subtle interplay between all the musicians." - Peter Brown, East Coast Rocker

Listen to The Wiyos

A trio comprised of three vocals, washboard/harmonica/kazoo, guitar, and upright bass, The WIYOS transport listeners back to a time before TV and mass-media were the main sources of entertainment, to the days when music could be heard on live radio and at community dances, juke joints and house parties. The WIYOS perform acoustic whenever possible, or in front of two condenser stage microphones to preserve a performance style that is visually stimulating. Incorporating elements of physical comedy and theatricality, The WIYOS create an interactive show in the tradition of vaudevillian performers like Fats Waller, Spike Jones and Uncle Dave Macon. The band is passionate about infusing old-time American music with new blood; carrying this rich musical heritage into the 21st century and having a darn good time doing it. Since forming in New York City in 2002, The WIYOS have toured Canada, the southeast, New England and the midwest playing theaters, clubs, coffee houses, pig roasts, street corners and parks. They have been selected to participate in the Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concert Series,and have played at notable festivals throughout the country including The 2004 Newport Folk Festival, The Piccolo Spoletto Festival (Charleston, SC) The Annual American Music Festival (Chicago) and the Rhythm and Roots Festival (Bristol, TN/VA).

Listen to John Gorka

A singer/songwriter famed for his rich, expressive baritone, New Jersey native John Gorka was one of the leading lights of the new folk movement. Gorka began his career while attending college in Pennsylvania in the early '80s, appearing at open mic nights at a local coffeehouse before eventually forming his own group, the Razzy Dazzy Spasm Band. Soon he hit the road, performing up and down the Eastern Seaboard before finally settling in Texas and winning the Kerrville Folk Festival's prestigious New Folk Award in 1984. In 1987, Gorka cut his debut album, I Know, for the Red House label, winning acclaim for his songs' subtle wit and acute character observations. After a move to Windham Hill, he issued 1990's Land of the Bottom Line, followed two years later by Jack's Crows. With 1993's Temporary Road, Gorka garnered significant airplay from country outlets with the single and video "When She Kisses Me," resulting in tours supporting Mary Chapin Carpenter and Nanci Griffith. For 1994's Out of the Valley, Gorka traveled to Nashville to team with producer John Jennings, who recruited guests including Carpenter, Kathy Mattea, guitarist Leo Kottke, and Fairport Convention drummer Dave Mattacks; Between Five and Seven followed in 1996, and two years later he returned with After Yesterday. Company You Keep, which followed in early 2001, featured guest spots from Carpenter, Patty Larkin, and Lucy Kaplansky. 2003 saw the release of the typically introspective Old Futures Gone. It was followed in 2006 by Writing in the Margins. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide

Listen to Dana & Susan Robinson

In a Dana and Susan Robinson concert you'll hear two rich, intimate voices, intricate and powerful guitar and banjo playing with a handful of fiddle and mandolin thrown in. Dana writes songs and tells stories about America, the land and its people. They bring to their performances an understanding of America's musical heritage and convey its significance to our culture. "Many songwriters have been heralded as modern day Woody Guthries or keepers of the American rural spirit, but that mantle might be better entrusted to musicians like Dana Robinson who embody both the heart and the soul of folk music." - Dirty Linen

Listen to David Francey

A lot of musicians wax rhapsodic about the vagabond life; David Francey knows better. A Scottish native and Canadian immigrant, Francey has buttered his bread as a rail worker, a carpenter, an ore carrier shipmate, and a Yukon bush wrangler. He's also won Juno Awards and has written some of the best songs you'll ever hear. "Ballad of Bowser McCrae" and "Promised Land" are spirited sea song/Celtic hybrids; whereas "Their Wedding Day" and "Under the Portland Weather" are deeply personal observations wrapped in intimate folk melodies. "New Jerusalem" stops you in your tracks by cutting through the faux piety of murder in the name of Yahweh or Allah. Every song on the Right of Passage album tells you that David Francey is a plebeian poet who can make the prosaic sublime. - Rob Weir, The Valley Advocate