De Temps Antan – Consolez-Vous
They’re back! And, they’re better than ever. Quebec power trio De Temps Antan had a recent shakeup with fiddler André Brunet moving on, only to be very ably replaced by David Boulanger, another fantastic master of the Québecois “violon.” Yes, ...
Alan Doyle at the Brockville Arts Centre
It was a lovely old soft seat theatre in eastern Ontario with a history stretching back to 1858 that was the venue for this superb concert by Newfoundland’s Alan Doyle. For 20 years, Alan was at the heart of the ...
Cotillion: Tinker’s Wagon
Need a fun listen while you put off going outside to sweep the autumn leaves? Check out the new toe-tapping recording by three venerable Newfoundland musicians: Hugh Scott, Gerry Strong and Dave Panting, who together comprise Cotillion. A series of ...
Jean-François Bélanger – Les Entrailles de la Montagne
Music is poetry and poetry is music. This much is entirely evident in the recent work of Montreal’s Jean-François Bélanger, the multi-instrumentalist author of this CD, Les Entrailles de la Montagne. Loosley translated, the title means the entrails of the ...
Alan Doyle and Friends Aboard the Ocean Endeavour
It was a life-changing experience to be aboard the Adventure Canada expedition ship Ocean Endeavour for almost two weeks in early October, circumnavigating our stunningly beautiful province of Newfoundland. We anchored daily into bights, coves and harbours adjacent to UNESCO ...
Emilyn Stam and Filippo Gambetta – Sept. 12 at Hugh’s ...
The highly accomplished pianist and fiddler Emilyn Stam has done it yet again, but this time, in partnership with Filippo Gambetta, the exceptionally talented diatonic accordionist from Genoa, Italy. Wednesday night, we had the absolute privilege of hearing these two ...
Big Branch Festival Kickoff – Sept. 6, the Tranzac, Toronto
Well, Toronto fiddler and pianist Emilyn Stam has done it again. Not only did she produce a completely sold-out weekend for the first Big Branch Bal Folk Festival, but she brought two simply wonderful bands from France for the event. ...
Joe Jencks – The Forgotten: Recovered Treasures from the Pen ...
Normally Roots Music Canada showcases just Canadian artists, but here we are making an exception. Joe Jencks, from Chicago, IL must be some kind of honorary Canadian since he engaged so many talented Canadians on this new album: The Forgotten, ...
The Sutton Fiddle Festival – A photo album
The festival site in Sutton, QC Anit Ghosh Véronique Plasse and Andrea Beaton Pete’s Posse. Pete Sutherland, Oliver Scanlon and Tristan Henderson Pascal Gemme and the fiddling children Alexis Chartrand and Nicolas Babineau ÉTÉ Jamming in the park Rhizome The ...
The Sutton Fiddle Festival: a recap by Elizabeth Szekeres
The fifth annual Sutton Fiddle Festival took place once more, Aug. 16-19, 2018, in the charming bilingual village of Sutton in the southern mountains of Québec, not far from the Vermont border. This small festival just keeps on getting better ...