Veteran folk DJ Steve Fruitman recently hosted the last episode of his long-running Back to the Sugar Camp show on CIUT in Toronto, and is moving on to a new show in a new time slot. Sugar Camp Music will air Thursdays at 3 pm on CIUT, starting on February 16. We asked Steve to [...]
{ 4 comments }
Fiddle people get it. Most of them know who she is because of the voice she’s attempting to establish. And, given the success of American counterparts like Alison Krauss, you’d think Ottawa native April Verch – some 8 years Krauss’ junior – would be perfectly poised for her share of all the attention. She certainly appears [...]
{ 2 comments }
Upon hearing the sad news of Etta James’ death earlier today, Steve Tennant sent along this recollection of seeing the legendary R&B singer perform live at the Ottawa Bluesfest back in 2006. I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you about seeing one of my long-time favourite female singers, Etta James, at Bluesfest. Before [...]
{ 3 comments }
David Amram responsed to our article about him earlier this week [One for David Amram] with this account of a recent march through Manhattan with his good friend Pete Seeger and musical colleagues including Tom Chapin, Guy Davis, and Arlo Guthrie among others. YouTube video by Schlockumentaries Two years ago, I played for the 90th [...]
{ 0 comments }
The Canadian music scene has its share of champions, and Edmonton’s Holger Petersen ranks highly on that list. He is a co-founder of the Edmonton Folk Festival (1980), a veteran radio host (CKUA Natch’l Blues since 1969, CBC Saturday Night Blues since 1986), and the co-founder/owner of Stony Plain Records (1975). If anyone has the [...]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Peanut butter sandwich made with jam One for me, one for David Amram -Raffi The opening couplet from one of Raffi’s most popular kids’ anthems contains a couple of neat little nuggets. One is the reference to jam rather than jelly, a Canadianism that made its way around the world with the song. The other [...]
{ 9 comments }
Emily Mitchell is the mother of promising young folk singer Taylor Mitchell, who died tragically in October 2009. Emily initiated the OCFF’s Taylor Mitchell Bursary, which each year sponsors one participant in the conference’s Youth Performer mentorship program. In 2010 the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals’ Taylor Mitchell Bursary was created. It was done with [...]
{ 3 comments }
For some time now, I have adored Joan Baez. It never mattered that she was my grandmother’s age. Joan Baez was ripe for idolatry: beautiful, passionate, intelligent and talented. I bought up all her albums. So many, in fact, that I ventured into that phase of collecting when you start to look at it in [...]
{ 7 comments }
The Roots Music Canada team is sending warm thoughts out tonight to our dear friend and mentor, Shelagh Rogers. Shelagh’s beloved dog, Poppy, went to her rest today, and we all know how the heart aches to bid a beloved pet goodbye. (There’s a Schnauzer on our team too, Andy’s pal Cinder J. Dog). Poppy’s [...]
{ 1 comment }
Each year, the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals (OCFF) honours the work of an individual or group that has made significant contributions to Ontario’s folk music community. The award is named after the late Estelle Klein, a long-time advocate of Canadian folk music and one of the early founders of the folk festival scene in [...]
{ 2 comments }
