Folk Alliance International 2020

It’s folk music that’s brimming with the kind of chemistry that could only come from a husband and wife. Plains-Cree guitarist, Jason Burnstick, and Francophone-Métis singer-songwriter, Nadia Burnstick are award-winning duo: Burnstick. Two performers whose voices and languages blend together with ease, Burnstick pushes the boundaries of contemporary folk music, weaving together the unique sounds of vintage Weissenborns with intriguing vocal harmonies, while allowing the simplicity of beautiful melodies to shine through

Desiree Dorion grew up a mile and a half from the grounds of Dauphin Country Fest, one of the biggest outdoor music festivals in Canada. As a little girl she would ride her bike there when the festival wasn’t on, climb up on the stage, and pretend to play to the thousands of fans that come to watch big country music acts. In 2014 her dream of playing the mainstage came true. She has shared the stage with The Band Perry, Paul Brandt, Susan Aglukark, to name a few.

JC Campbell is a singer and a Songwriter since writing his first song in 1989. Even as a child JC could be found listening to records, radio and soaking up sound. To date he has received many music nominations. (the latest being a 2019 nomination at the Manitoba Country Music Awards). With three albums under his belt and a new single currently on the Indigenous Music Countdown, JC is set to make big waves in music around the world. Teamed with acclaimed music producer MurrayPulver in a writing/recording partnership, the stage is set for two more singles to be released in the coming months and more to come from the pairing.

Kelly Bado has an amazing and striking voice. Her music is a unique blend of soul, world and pop, inspired by her African roots, la chanson française and gospel. Her music crosses cultural barriers to bring people together in joy and hope. In 2013, Kelly finished in the Top 5 of the Granby International Song Festival. The first black singer-songwriter to lead Manitoba this far after several years. Afterwards she released her first EP "Entre deux", that received several awards including that of World Music Artist of the Year 2018 at BreakOut West! After more than 200 shows over the past four years, Kelly has performed in several shows at the national and international level, with artists like Alecia Cara, Serena Rider and Walk Off the Earth. Today, Kelly is composing new songs with renowned songwriters and musicians such as Jaylene Johnson, Murray Pulver and Chris Burke-Gaffney for a new album.

Madeleine Roger is a folk singer-songwriter and producer from Winnipeg, Canada. While skillfully accompanying herself on acoustic guitar, it is her artistry as a songwriter and storyteller that can silence a room, uniting her magnetic voice with mature lyricism beyond her years. A former thespian and a lifelong traveler, she is prone to absorbing stories and questioning the way that things are, creating stunning songs with an honesty that bares truths about being alive. She is currently nominated for the "Producer Of The Year" award at the WCMAs.

Sierra Noble is a well-known singer-songwriter, fiddle player, and philanthropist from Winnipeg, Canada. She released her first album - a traditional Metis fiddle album - at the age of 13, followed by a well received EP "Possibilities" which debuted her talent as a young songwriter. She has performed around the world including as an opening act for Paul McCartney, Kid Rock, and Bon Jovi, and was also a featured performer in the 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony. Her original music has been featured in TV shows such as One Tree Hill, Switched at Birth, and Parenthood, and in films such as CBC's Humboldt: The New Season, 40 Weeks, and Fostering Hope. Sierra's seamless ability to transition from high energy to intimate, Canadiana songwriter to traditional fiddle, leaves everyone in attendance having witnessed something unique and unforgettable. "Be careful now...Sierra Noble's voice and melodies will blissfully enter through your ears, then head right down and steal your heart." -Mike Norman, CCMA Award Winner

Hardly afraid of the “F Word”, The New Customs are proud to call themselves FOLK! With two strong voices, guitar and fiddle in hand, this Indie-Folk duo takes a bold and evocative approach to songwriting. With an anthemic heart and an Americana backbone, they resonate a bombastic electrifying sound.

The Jerry Cans create music inspired by their hometown of Iqaluit, Nunavut, and life in the Canadian Arctic. With a unique mix of traditional Inuit throat singing and roots-rock sung in the Indigenous language of Inuktitut, The Jerry Cans are a distinctly Northern sound. The band is passionate about helping to preserve the Inuktitut language and are committed to challenging common misconceptions about life in the North. Their high energy performances have thrilled audiences in countries all across the globe including Australia, Scotland, Greenland, Cuba and Norway. 

Audiences love Ryan McNally. No matter if it’s a festival main stage, local bar or
house concert, Ryan possesses the musicality and sound that makes an immediate connection with his audience. This connection is visible within the first notes, beats and vocals; it is the same whether he is solo or accompanied by his band.

Hope and redemption. Philosophy and folklore. The music of Gunner & Smith has always been a collection of fiery elements, blending searing guitars, brawny rhythms and distinct folk-family vocals to produce tightly-knit rock anthems. But on Byzantium, the group’s second full-length album, the songs simmer and seethe with a newfound brooding energy that looks at the darker sides of love, loss and humanity

His soft, melodic delivery is born from a keen perception of the human condition. This understated authenticity is why you’ll find Poor Nameless Boy on the fringes of something deeper than modern indie-folk. In his quest to retain a humbled anonymity, Regina-based Joel Henderson has, actually made himself more noticeable.

The North Sound is cold like a Saskatchewan winter. It's humid as a summer day in the streets of Montreal. As unpredictable as the weather in a singular Calgary day. The North Sound is ever-changing with the world around us, encompassing each and every pivotal moment, from road trips as a kid to finding your way as an adult. It's feeling lost but knowing you're loved. The North Sound was formed in 2014 by Forrest Eagle speaker to share his stories in an attempt at trying to close the gap reflected in the vast space of the open Canadian landscape.

Valerie Raye is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, drummer, piano player, producer, and audio engineer from Regina, Saskatchewan. She has been writing songs since she was 5 years old, and touring Canada, the U.S., and Europe for the last 12 years. She has been described as “Sheryl Crow meets Joan Jett”, or “Courtney Love meets the Allman Brothers”. Valerie Raye has recently founded Prairie Sound Records - a label promoting music and culture from the prairies of Canada and the Indigenous Nations of the western plains. She will be releasing her newest effort “Gravel Roads” in 2020

Amelie Patterson is the kind of songwriter who knows her strengths and bridges the gaps of her own knowledge and skill to transform her confident alt-folk songwriting into transfixing musical mechanica. The inaugural Poet-Laureate of Banff directs her collaborators (bandmates Barry Mason and Kyle Tenove) instead of dictating or arranging letting them play to their strengths around her articulate musical aspirations. The result is The Playlist, a series of diverse rolling singles, each centred on a thematic through-line. Patterson plays with genre and mood throughout, experimenting in writing and pushing herself to darken the corners of her moody sound-space. The Playlist will be released song-by-song, defined by, and reacting to, the social and musical moments to which each single breathes, in concert with playful and unique merch items from independent Albertan artisans. The Playlist is at once present and omnipresent, a reactive and reflexive musical index of the development of an artist, and her techniques.

Alt-folk songwriter and producer Ben Spencer fills the quiet, comedic moments between breakdowns with brave poetry and extraordinary melody.Featuring Bramwell Park on percussion and Steve Badach on upright bass, Ben Spencer’s Funeral is the vehicle of Bungalows, a 10-song collection about the ways we contain ourselves. It explores the anomie of suburban life, the existential quirk of love and the silence of the north.

Celeigh Cardinal is a Métis musician from the Peace Country of Alberta. Her contralto voice harkens back to earlier days of blues and the golden era of jazz. Her heartfelt, biographical inspired songs blend soul and emotion.  While performing live, she connects to her audience through themes of sorrow, spirit, and humor.

A vagabond turned mailman, Jay Gilday has searched for himself in the depths of Folk, blues, traditional, rock and most recently soul music. The quest continues as Jay takes his experiences as a half Dene, half Canadian Irish youth travelling the roads of Canada, the daily roller-coaster of work, family, and performance and weaves them into song. Jay’s live performance is executed with a trained voice and a passion to drive it backed up by a heavy hitting guitar, finger-style or flat-picked, your choice!

Singer and songwriter Jessica Heine (Hi-na) charms audiences with her songwriting and dynamic voice. A fine arts graduate with a BMus in vocal performance, she revels in singing classical music, but her real passion is folk music and storytelling through song. This last year saw the release of her first new album in almost 10 years, Goodbye Party; a record that explores farewells, some of them incredibly hard, others providing new opportunities and beginnings. In this new music is an optimism that showcases a hopeful strength of spirit that Heine breathes not only into her music, but her life as well.

In 2001 John Wort Hannam quit his teaching job and spent 10 months depleting his savings while sat 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. Seventeen years later, the Alberta musician is releasing his seventh full length recording Acres of Elbow Room  and has a few feathers in that lucky hat for his first six offerings.

Buckley is currently writing for her highly-anticipated third record: a cinematic presentation on tried and tested country ballads, her signature angst-ridden Americana pleas, and dazzling new-wave folk/indie hooks. A mesmerizing performer and studious songwriter, Mariel Buckley proves that with each new endeavour, she is bound to vulnerability, truth and passion. This signature candour and dedication is what captivates audiences and listeners alike, and has planted her flag firmly as a singer-songwriter who’s in it for the long haul.

Blue Moon Marquee is a Gypsy Blues band born of the wild rose foothills of Alberta. They currently make their home in an island shack on the coast of the Salish Sea, British Columbia. A.W. Cardinal (vocals/guitar) and Jasmine Colette a.k.a. Badlands Jass (vocals/bass/drums) write and perform original compositions influenced by anything that swings, jumps or grooves.

With his brother Brian, Bob Sumner has written and played finely tuned songs erected at the borders of country and rock and roll for nearly 15 years, making the Sumner family name synonymous with the alternative folk and country music scenes throughout the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada. Bob Sumner's 2019 solo release, Wasted Love Songs, is a rare debut from a songwriting veteran that expresses the timeless quality found in the melancholy of Townes Van Zandt, the atmospheric momentum of Tom Petty, and the prophetic restlessness of Bruce Springsteen. Dubbed "First Class Americana" by No Depression, Bob Sumner's solo work has seen him sharing the stage with Colter Wall, Hayes Carll, Willie Watson, Leslie Stevens and Willy Tea Taylor over the past year.

Over his decade long career, Jordan Klassen has toured throughout Europe, Australia, Canada and the United States, becoming widely known for his well-crafted arrangements and nuanced songwriting. To date, he has garnered almost 10 million streams worldwide. Jordan Klassen is currently completing his newest record, scheduled for an early 2020 release.

You may know Naomi Shore as one half of the award winning folk/roots duo Twin Peaks. Hailing from Northern British Columbia and having toured Canada and Australia relentlessly over the last seven years, Naomi is branching out with her first solo recording "Piece by Piece". With a backing band made up of Jodie Ponto and Noah Walker (a.k.a. Kitty & the Rooster) and captured in their delicate glory by Corwin Fox, this album is bold in its fearless vulnerability. Naomi's trademark sass is still clear and present along with her silky voice, but there is an honesty and depth to the way these songs are written and sung that puts the album into the realm of classic.

On a farm in central Germany, with a small backpack and a dead cell phone, Sam Lynch found herself in a damp cellar, sitting in front of an out-of-tune piano. It was the beginning of a story shared by many: in the wake of a major life shift, Lynch followed the impulse to throw everything familiar out the window, and lean into the free-fall of uncertainty. She quit her jobs, gave away most of her belongings, and set out to travel solo. Yet, in the midst of this relatively unextraordinary story, a quiet, extraordinary shift occurred; upon returning from a five month independent journey through Europe in 2016, Lynch finally surrendered to the magnetic musical pull that she had been resisting for so many years.