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. ...
The Small World Music Festival – Day 1 (Friday)
The 17th edition of the Small World Music Festival, an essentially free event expressing the variety and caliber of global music artists, was held this past weekend over three days at Toronto’s Harbourfront Center. In the beginning, there was no ...
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 ...
Dispatches from Summerfolk – Day 2 (Saturday)
On opening night, I felt like I had a purpose, and that taking in as many concerts as possible was the best idea. But we overdid it. Today, Owen Sound was muggy, and the weather matched our mood. We hadn’t ...
Dispatches from Summerfolk – Day 1 (Friday)
“Wake me up when Fred Penner is on,” my seven-year-old said to me. Seated at the Down by the Bay stage at the 43rd annual Summerfolk music festival in Owen Sound, Ont., the night opened with Youth Discoveries (Part I). ...
The Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival recapped by the guy that ...
Troy Greencorn is the artistic director of the Stan Rogers Folk Festival in Canso, N.S. He offered to recap the Lunenburg festival for us here at Roots Music Canada. Thanks, Troy! The best folk festivals happen in storied communities with ...
Dispatches from the Trout Forest Music Festival (Sunday)
Photographer Veronica Kovacs and I woke up Sunday morning in our tent at the side of Highway 105, watching the odd car whiz by through the fly screen. It wasn’t yet 8 a.m., so there was lots of time to ...
Dispatches from the Trout Forest Music Festival (Saturday)
It’s a good thing Ear Falls, Ont., is a long way from anywhere. If it wasn’t, the Trout Forest Music Festival would either be overrun with tourists, its magical vibe destroyed, or it would have to resort to a lottery-style ...
Dispatches from the Live from the Rock Folk Festival (Friday)
“Well this is different,” I thought to myself, as photographer Veronica Kovacs and I parked our car on the side of the road, 50 feet or so from the entrance to the Live from the Rock Folk Festival in Red ...