Connie Kaldor
Connie Kaldor is a Juno award winning artist who has sung for royalty (Joni Mitchell and Queen Elizabeth) and is a member of the Order of Canada. Her touring has taken her across North America and around the world. She has fourteen albums to her credit; three award winning children’s books/cd’s, a musical and much more.
Her original songs and riveting performances evoke the powerful and unique presence of the Canadian prairies. Witty and serious, down-home and metropolitan, her versatility and talent ensure that she is an artist whose fan base expands with every show.
For more visit:
http://www.conniekaldor.com/
Fred Eaglesmith
Award-winning and acclaimed performer, Fred Eaglesmith’s tales and observations are as keen and compelling as his songs, and frequently as hilarious as the best stand-up comedians. Fred’s 18th album is soon to be released; his previous albums over the last three decades have consistently evoked critical raves. His fellow songwriters regularly record his songs and sing his praises. He hosts a number of music festivals across North America, where he plays hundreds of dates a year in addition to touring Europe and Australia. His youthful travels hopping freight trains inspired the Roots on the Rails rolling music festivals, for which he currently hosts two annual rail trips that ride everywhere from scenic and historic narrow gauge lines in the American West to, this last year, into the Canadian arctic.
Through it all, Fred remains modest and resolutely hard working. He also gives generously of his time and talents to such causes as his own fundraising initiative to equip migrant farm workers with bicycles, reflectors and safety devices, Reflections, as well as being a spokesman, along with Bono and Alanis Morisette, for Oxfam’s Make Trade Fair campaign. He also does charity work for The Schizophrenia Society of Canada, The Fur and Feather Wildlife Center, The Equestrian Association for the Disabled, World Vision International and conservation efforts near where he lives in Southern Ontario. “I have the weirdest career in the world, a little tiny career that works so well,” Fred concludes of the artistic niche he has carved out for himself. “I’m just so lucky and so fortunate, I try not to take it for granted.”
For more visit:
http://www.fredeaglesmith.com/
Pacific Curls
This year we are happy to be welcoming Pacific Curls, a group from New Zealand that features the unprecedented combination of Fiddle, Ukulele, Maori traditional instruments, Cajons, Guitar, Stomp Peddles, Percussion and Vocals with lyrics in Maori, Rotuman and English. Kim Halliday a former guitarist and session musician now known for her virtuosic ukulele performances and multi-instrumental expertise as well as her song writing, Scottish-born and classically trained fiddle player Sarah Beattie, and instrumentalist and singer songwriter Ora Barlow with the musical skills of percussion, ukulele and Taonga Puoro – traditional Maori instruments, are artists who best embody the notion of music and culture transcending boundaries till the seams are invisible. They describe their musical collaboration for this unconventional threesome, “We feel a reverence for each others cultures and explore the places where we crossover”, says Halliday. Barlow adds “people are looking for culture, for belonging, we hope we create that place that embraces us all.”
For more visit:
http://www.pacificcurls.com/
http://www.myspace.com/pacificcurls
Jayme Stone
Jayme Stone will be back with us to bring his new “Dances of the World” project to Deep Roots 2010. It’s something completely different from the wonderful Stone / Sissoko Africa to Appalachia project, but probably another Juno winner! It explores traditional music based on folk dances from around the world: hornpipes, mazurkas, straphspeys and sambas from Sweden, Scotland, Brazil, North America and more. The album is set for recording right around now with an album release in fall 2010 (Canada) and spring 2011 (US and Europe). It will feature great virtuosity from an all-star band including David Grisman’s gravity-defying guitar player Grant Gordy, fiddle pioneer Casey Driessen, Gaelic songbird Julie Fowlis, trumpet great Kevin Turcotte and others. Jayme was also a real gentleman, someone who’s a great fit with our community.
For more visit:
http://www.jaymestone.com/
Kevin Fox
Halifax-born, pop/classical singer-songwriter, arranger & multi-instrumentalist Kevin Fox has musical associations that run deep & wide. Perhaps best known for his cello work, he has recorded & toured with a variety of musicians as diverse as folkster Sarah Harmer & opera singer Sarah Brightman, or Phantom crooner Colm Wilkinson & rocker Tom Cochrane, or divas Alannah Myles & Céline Dion. The soft fragility of his voice runs lightly atop his strong cello lines in his second album, Songs For Cello & Voice. His lyrics are compelling observations of love, life & wisdom, crisply presented like a seasoned poet, over a lush & vibrant musical landscape.
For more visit:
http://www.kevinfox.ca/
Ryan McGrath
Unconventional is a word that often gets used to describe Ryan MacGrath’s music. Likened to the theatrical pop melodies of Rufus Wainwright & Hawksley Workman, he applies magic in broad strokes into his songs, with lilting melody lines carrying his strong voice aloft. Also a visual artist, Ryan uses his music to paint landscapes, weave dreams, and sculpt tales from his experiences. Antigonish-born MacGrath recently collaborated with Gypsophilia on his debut full-length album.
For more visit:
http://www.sonicbids.com/epk/epk.aspx?epk_id=173209
http://www.ryanmacgrath.com/
