Events by this organizer

Sparring Songwriters – Vancouver’s own Chris Ronald VS. John Wort Hannam based in Lethbridge, Alberta with John Ellis! Think dueling pianos – but featuring all original material. Songs will be traded (and some gentle barbs!) while John Ellis “referees” and accompanies both Chris and John – let the battle of the songs begin! All in good fun.

Live & streamed. Doors 7pm/ show 8pm.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHRIS RONALD

Since emigrating from his native England in 2002, Chris Ronald has earned a place as one of Canada’s finest singer-songwriters creating and performing contemporary folk music. Ronald’s stand-out signature sound is steeped in his British background, poetic lyrics, and a buttery fusion of Roots and Americana music.

Chris Ronald is an international touring artist giving concerts ranging from solo to full band, though he often appears as a duo with John Ellis. Whatever the format, Chris always draws on his abilities as a highly skilled singer, storyteller and musician (guitar, harmonica, ukulele) to deliver a show that is captivating and unique.

https://chrisronald.com/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JOHN WORT HANNAM

In 2001 John Wort Hannam quit his teaching job and spent 10 months depleting his savings while sitting at his kitchen table, wearing a lucky hat, writing his first ten songs. Those songs would become his first recording Pocket Full Of Holes, released in 2003.

Twenty years later, the Alberta musician released eight full-length recordings and has a few feathers in that lucky hat. His latest release ‘Long Haul’ garnered him two Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2023 for Solo Artist of the Year and Contemporary Album of the Year.

https://www.johnworthannam.com/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JOHN MACARTHUR ELLIS

John MacArthur Ellis is a Canadian award-winning producer and multi-Instrumentalist who’s known for capturing the hottest sounds in the Americana, Alt Country, Folk, Singer/Songwriter and Roots Rock genres.

With a career spanning decades in the music industry, John has access to a massive network of the top session players in Canada, and has made a name for himself among them. Whether on stage or in the studio, when you engage John MacArthur Ellis, you’re sure to be surrounded by the greatest musicians the country has to offer.

https://macparkpro.com/

Alberta based Métis artist Kyle McKearney was born and raised in small-town northern BC, growing up immersed in country and bluegrass music. 

He has chased his musical dream to Nashville, through Kentucky and back to Vancouver in a variety of genres and acts. In 2020, McKearney was restless and ready to start something new. He began posting YouTube videos of himself performing cover songs. It was the start of a creative reinvention, and two years later Kyle’s debut solo album Down-Home received the Canadian Folk Music Award for Contemporary Signer of the Year and a Canadian Country Music Association award nomination for Alternative Country Album of the Year. 

McKearney also earned two Western Canadian Music Award nominations, was named a SiriusXM Top of the Country semi-finalist, placed second in Alberta Music’s Project Wild (for which he was awarded $75,000), shared stages with The Black Crowes, Kip Moore, Our Lady Peace and Dean Brody, all while racking up over one million global streams.

His follow up sophomore album “A Traveler’s Lament” explores country-rock territory, for which he received the Canadian Country Music Award for Alternative Country Album of the Year, is shortlisted for a 2024 Grammy for Best Regional Roots Music Album and nominated for two 2024 Canadian Folk Music Awards.

Concert is live and steamed.

Van Django’s Christmas has become a holiday standard, now in its 11th year! And yes, the Ugly Christmas Sweater contest will return!

Renowned for the quality of their musicianship and as great entertainers, Van Django’s variety show is a festive Christmas mix of jazz standards, nostalgic favourites, classical elements and pop tunes, plus a few surprises – all delivered in swinging gypsy jazz style. 

Folks of all ages can celebrate the season at this fun and festive Yuletime show. Joining Van Django’s violinist Cameron Wilson, guitarist/cellist Finn Manniche and bassist Brent Gubbels are guitarist/vocalist Andy Hillhouse and stellar vocalist L.J. Mounteney.

Van Django’s music is punchy, driving and rhythmically inventive, combining a wealth of musical influences while maintaining strong roots in the gypsy jazz made famous by Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grappelli and the 1930’s Quintet of the Hot Club of France. 

https://www.vandjango.com/

Mi’kmaq fiddler and singer Morgan Toney brings together the fiery fiddling of Cape Breton Island with the old songs of the Mi’kmaq, with brilliance and heart.

Toney’s debut album “First Flight” was nominated for 3 ECMAs and reissued by Indigenous record label Ishkode Records. He’s now become one of the most in-demand young fiddlers and signers in Atlantic Canada.

Toney calls his fusion of music from the Atlantic and Mi’kmaq communities Mi’kmaltic (Mi’kmaq Celtic), allowing him to celebrate his language and heritage. He both honors the elders who’ve taught him the songs and the language, and takes his place on the front lines of Eastern Canada’s cultural divide.

A chance encounter at a restaurant where Toney was working at the time introduced him to Cape Breton artist and producer Keith Mullins. The two bonded quickly over music and have been inseparable ever since, operating as musical partners and pushing each other to craft bigger arrangements and to try bigger ideas.

“There are two worlds of Mi’kmaq music,” Toney explains, “song and fiddle. They had never come together before. People knew of each, but never had I ever seen a collaboration between Celtic and Mi’kmaq culture before. It was either play Mi’kmaq songs with a drum or record a Cape Breton fiddle album.”

So Mullins and Toney decided to blend the two together and it’s been crazy! An explosion! So fresh, but also familiar, and people connect with it on a personal level. They’ve created a new sound that bridges two worlds, drawing a sense of pure love from both.

https://www.morgantoneymusic.com/

Concert is live & streamed. Doors 7pm/ Show 8pm.

Windborne will lead an afternoon public workshop in advance of their evening concert at the Rogue Folk Club. All are welcome!

Windborne have taught workshops in schools, arts centers, singing camps, and universities for the past decade. Experienced teachers and song-leaders, they delight groups young and old, large and small. With their enthusiastic, clear and nuanced instructions, they get groups singing in harmony in no time!

All songs can be taught by ear, no experience required – just enthusiasm and willingness to try new things!

~~~~~~~~
Time: 2:00-4:00pm
Where: Room 104, basement St. James Community Square

Workshop ticket: $50
Workshop Concert ticket: $70
(Your concert ticket must be purchased in advance online)

Please reserve your spot by contacting the Rogue Folk Club at concerts@roguefolk.bc.ca
Space is limited!
~~~~~~~~~

Payment at the door. Cash and card accepted. Please arrive in time to have your payment processed prior to the workshop start.

“The best musical discovery of the year…stunningly powerful Windborne sets a new bar for harmony singing today!” NPR

Windborne’s captivating show draws on the singers’ deep roots in traditions of vocal harmony, while the absolute uniqueness of their artistic approach brings old songs into the present. Known for the innovation of their arrangements, their harmonies are bold and anything but predictable.

With a 20-year background studying polyphonic music around the world, Lauren Breunig, Jeremy Carter-Gordon, Lynn Rowan and Will Rowan share a vibrant energy onstage with a blending of voices that can only come from decades of friendship alongside dedicated practice.

BBC Traveling Folk describes Windborne as “subverting expectations and redefining the genre [of vocal music]… just absolutely phenomenal!” Audiences and critics lavish praise upon the singers not only for their technical mastery, but for the passion, engagement, and connection with each other and the audience that imbues each performance with a rare power.

But there’s another, crucial dimension to Windborne that guides and roots their artistry. They adhere to folk music’s longtime alliance with social activism, labor and civil rights, and other movements that champion the oppressed, the poor, and the disenfranchised

Their latest project, Of Hard Times & Harmony, explores themes of social consciousness, singing in four languages and showcasing the depth of emotion their voices can evoke, as well as moments of true hilarity and wit.

The group is committed to bringing vocal traditions to a younger audience and over the past year has found surprisingly viral success on TikTok for such unlikely genres as Corsican polyphony or early 20th century labor anthems.

https://www.windbornesingers.com

Concert is live & streamed. Doors 7pm/ Show 8pm.

 “Mysticssippi” blues man Harry Manx has been called an “essential link” between the music of East and West, creating musical short stories that wed the tradition of the Blues with the depth of classical Indian ragas. He has created a unique sound that is hard to forget and deliciously addictive to listen to. 

Harry forged his distinctive style by studying at the feet of the masters, first as a sound man in the blues clubs of Toronto during his formative years and then under a rigorous tutelage with Vishwa Mohan Bhatt in India. Bhatt is the inventor of the 20-stringed Mohan Veena, which has become Harry’s signature instrument. 

Harry played slide guitar for many years before meeting Bhatt in Rajasthan. He learned Eastern scales and eventually ragas, deceptively complex and regimented musical patterns that form the basis of Indian composition.

Learning the voicings of Indian music is a subtle art that comes with time. Harry spent most of twelve years in India learning that. It was later on that Harry decided to explore the connection between Indian ragas and blues scales which eventually led to the Indo-blues hybrid that has become his style. 

https://harrymanx.com/

Live & streamed. Doors 7pm/ Show 8pm.