Final Audition Winners Clarksdale Moan and The Musettes to Play Ottawa Folk Festival
The 2010 Ottawa Folk Festival Final Auditions took place on Thursday, June 10th at the Library and Archives of Canada, awarding two exceptionally talented acts Clarksdale Moan, and the Musettes with performance slots at this year’s festival.
Judges Louise and Harvey Glatt, donators of the One Fret Less Award, Kay Kanbayashi, artistic programming coordinator at the NCC, and Dean Verger, long-time proprietor of legendary folk café Rasputin’s, had the difficult task of selecting the top act in each category.
The admittedly nervous performers each put on strong, crowd-pleasing performances, making the judges’ decisions tricky to say the least. In the end two acts stood out above the rest. To Bob LeDrew, OFF board member and MC of the Final Auditions, the judges panel was not an envious place to be.
“I was really impressed with all six performances. I would not want to be a judge. There was a great diversity present in the acts in the style of music being performed from more traditional delta-blues to singer-songwriter” said LeDrew.
Winner of the youth category (aged 16-25), The Musettes won not only the coveted festival performance slot but also the Galaxie Rising Star award and a cash prize of $1000. The three charming young women that form The Musettes met at Canterbury High School, where they graduated from the vocal program. The Musettes music is a cheerful blend of harmonized vocals, ukulele, acoustic guitar and the fiddle that has been compared to The Wailin’ Jennies and The Good Lovelies. The Musettes members Laura Inostroza and Rachel Harrison beat out the other two acts in their category despite being short a member, as fiddler and vocalist Meaghan LaGrandeur was overseas doing charity work. They will use their prize money to invest in new equipment to further improve their sound. To The Musettes the big payoff is the chance to play in this year’s festival.
“It means a ton to be performing in the Ottawa Folk Festival. It’s such an opportunity to be playing with such well known performers,” said Laura Inostroza.
Open category winners (aged 26+), Clarksdale Moan took home the One Fret Less award as well as their time slot and $1000 cash prize. From Chateauguay, Quebec, Clarksdale moan is comprised of vocalist Kevin Harvey and guitarist Kenny Pauze, who together play definitive blues, complete with heart-felt vocals, slide guitar, harmonica and pounding foot stomping. A true blues act, Clarksdale Moan took their stage name from 1930’s blues band Son House’s elusive recording “Clarksdale Moan”. The duo’s emotional performance was what set them apart from the competition.
The 2010 Ottawa Folk Festival will take place August 13-15 at Britannia Park. For tickets go to www.ticketbreak.com.
Ottawa Folk Festival Announces 2010 Line-Up, Early Bird Passes Now On Sale
OTTAWA – Just two weeks remain to purchase early bird passes to what is shaping up to be one of the most exciting events in Ottawa’s busy summer festival season. Last week, the Ottawa Folk Festival unveiled this year’s initial line-up, announcing an eclectic and dynamic mix of acts that stretch and redefine the term “folk music”.
“Folk music means different thing to different people, and I think it’s part of our job to explore the parameters and push the boundaries of what’s presented within the context of folk music” says Festival Director Dylan Griffith. “I’m interested in the connections between traditions and generations, and often these are found in very unexpected places.”
One unexpected act at the festival this year will no doubt be Arrested Development, the Atlanta-based hip-hop collective that rose to prominence in the early ‘90s and has been enjoying a critical and popular resurgence of late. Fusing together elements of hip hop, gospel, jazz, blues and soul, their music offers a deep human connection through sonic celebration, while the political and social themes explored in their lyrics will resonate with a broad spectrum of festival goers.
A more traditional but no less exciting choice for the OFF is folk legend Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, who will be making his long-overdue first appearance at the festival this year. A friend of Woody Guthrie, an inspiration to Bob Dylan and a five-time Grammy winner honoured just last year for Best Traditional Blues Album of the year, Ramblin’ Jack is a true pioneer who has managed to stay relevant to successive generations over the course of his over 40+ year career.
Acclaimed American roots-rockers Calexico are set to add to the ever-growing legion of fans of their compelling hybrid of South-western musical styles and influences, a sonic jamboree that fuses elements of folk, jazz, Tejano, mariachi, Morricone, surf-rock and
country to create a truly unique sound distinguished by equal parts cinematic grandeur and stunning quiet beauty. A dynamic group not to be missed.
Closing out the festival this year will be a home-grown legend in the making – founding member of iconic Canadian alt-country group Blue Rodeo and celebrated solo artist Jim Cuddy. Having appeared at the festival in 2005, Cuddy’s reputation as one of the country’s finest song-writers and most compelling live performers has only grown in the intervening years, making his return to Britannia Park a much anticipated highlight of this year’s event.
The 17th edition of the OFF will also feature a stellar contingent of Ottawa artists, including indie-folk outfit The Acorn, hometown favourite Jim Bryson backed by Winnipeg’s The Weakerthans, and festival favourite The Mighty Popo.
International highlights at this year’s festival include the award-winning traditional Scottish folk act LAU, British punk-folk troubadour Frank Turner, Welsh guitar virtuoso Gareth Pearson and the superbly original Namgar, whose unique fusion of traditional Buryat folk music with ‘70s rock elements has led to their being dubbed “the Mongolian Jethro Tull.”
Other boundary-pushing artists sure to electrify audiences this year include other-worldly Inuit throat-singer Tanya Tagaq, taboo-busting queer folk-pop collective The Hidden Cameras and global fusion ensemble Delhi 2 Dublin.
More traditional folk festival fare will include Toronto bluegrass outfit The Foggy Hogtown Boys, politically minded singer-songwriter Jon Brooks, and Yukon “sweet dark” old time country crooner Kim Beggs.
The 17th annual Ottawa Folk Festival will take place from August 13 – 15 in Britannia Park. A three-day celebration of music, dance, visual arts and community, the OFF will feature an eclectic mix of musical performances on two evening and five daytime stages, plus participatory music workshops, wellness activities, beer gardens, artisan and craft vendors, special children’s and family performances and much, much more.
Early bird passes are available until May 31st at the Ottawa Folklore Centre, Ten Thousand Villages in Westboro, all three CD Warehouse locations, on-line at ticketbreak.com or by phone at 1-866-9-GET-TIX. Adult weekend passes are $69; youth (16-15) and seniors $39. 15 and younger get in free.
Full line-up, ticket and other information available at ottawafolk.org.
2010 Ottawa Folk Festival Line-Up:
The Acorn
Aidan Knight
Arrested Development
Bahamas
Bruce Peninsula
Calexico
Carolyn Mark and the New Best Friends
Chris MacLean
Coco Love Alcorn
Delhi 2 Dublin
The Foggy Hogtown Boys
Frank Turner
Gareth Pearson
The Hidden Cameras
Horse Feathers
Hoots & Hellmouth
Jill Zmud
Jim Bryson and the Weakerthans Band
The Jim Cuddy Band
Jon Brooks
Kim Beggs
Ladies of the Canyon
LAU
The Mighty Popo
Namgar
Ramblin’ Jack Elliott
Rock Plaza Central
Tanya Tagaq
Further artists to be announced soon!
Shaking up the folk festival
Lineup runs from hip hop to traditional
By Lynn Saxberg, The Ottawa Citizen
Read more: Shaking up the folk festival
Award-winning Folk Rocker Timber Timbre Takes the Stage in Ottawa, April 30
The Ottawa Folk Festival is thrilled to present critically-acclaimed folk rock act Timber Timbre with opening act ferriswheel live on stage at the First Baptist Church April 30, 2010.
Timber Timbre, project of core member Taylor Kirk, has garnered praise from fans and critics alike. The power and distinctiveness of Kirk’s voice is the driving force of Timber Timbre and it is this power that stops people in their tracks upon hearing his music.
“His spare arrangements left notes and words lingering in the shadows, openly exposed to the listener, but he was able to add bursts of horns and execute tempo changes that hid the fragility of the songs at just the right moments. Basically he was the type of artist that could be playing alone in a bar and stop you dead in your tracks.” Herohill.com
The self-titled third album is suggested to be “the perfect soundtrack for burying someone alive” Adrian Pratt, Exclaim.ca. A combination of Kirk’s dusty voice, haunting lyrics, and understated guitar provides a bold, authentic experience that lingers with the listener. The sophistication of the latest album marks a natural progression for the act.
The album was released on Toronto-based Out of This Spark label in January 2009 and was awarded Eye Weekly’s “Album of the Year”. They have since signed on with Canadian label Arts & Crafts and released the album internationally.
With a rapidly growing fan base and the recognition of his raw, unique talent things are heating up for Timber Timbre. The Ottawa show is a one-night stop and a recent addition to the already hectic touring schedule which takes them overseas, performing their first European dates.
Opening for Timber Timbre will be ferriswheel, the instrumental project by pianist Mathieu Charbonneau (Torngat, The Luyas) and Timber Timbre guitarist Simon Trottier. Their sound, a rare blend of folk, indie rock and classical piano, will be a unique treat for those who come out to see the Timber Timbre show Friday night.
Timber Timbre will be performing at the First Baptist Church on Friday, April 30, 2010 at 8pm. Tickets are $17 in advance or $20 at the door and are available through the Ottawa Folk Festival Office, Ottawa Folklore Centre, CD Warehouse and Vertigo Records.
Singer Ana Miura reconciles with her musical muse: Folk festival’s new go-to woman content with her life
Lynn Saxberg, The Ottawa Citizen
Overall, Miura says it’s a happier album than her previous one. It will be released Sunday during a concert in the Acoustic Waves series at Irving Greenberg Theatre Centre. The series, in collaboration with the Great Canadian Theatre Company, is a fundraiser for the folk festival.
“It shows the departure I feel from more melancholy songs to stuff that’s a little more happy, cheery,” Miura says of the new CD.
Full article: Singer Ana Miura reconciles with her musical muse
Ana Miura to Headline Acoustic Waves at GCTC
Ottawa Folk Festival, in partnership with the GCTC is pleased to present the fourth of five shows in the 2009-10 Acoustic Waves concert series on March 14th, 2010 featuring hometown darling Ana Miura, a mainstay of the Ottawa music scene.
Well-known on Ottawa’s festival stages, Miura was invited by Bruce Cockburn to share the stage with him, Joel Plaskett, & Steven Page as last summer’s Ottawa Folk Festival, and has also opened for Sarah Harmer and Jeremy Fisher.
Her new album, “The Kindness of Years” is her first full-length recording, a much-anticipated follow-up to her debut EP “Tenacious Heart” in 2005 and limited release “Mercury Rising” in 2007.
This time out, Miura was recorded and produced by Ross Murray (Mighty Popo, Lynn Miles, Lynne Hanson), whom she describes as a brilliant mindreader. “Ross created the sound I always heard in my head but never knew how to express,” says Miura. “He took my songs and shaped them into a sonic picture.”
Miura’s “folky style is reminiscent of artists such as Sarah McLachlan, Joni Mitchell and Jewel,” writes Lynn Saxberg, Ottawa Citizen music critic. “At each performance, [she] charms a few more people with the delicate power of her songs. She specializes in bittersweet love songs, singing them in a voice that shimmers with cool beauty and accompanying herself with a sure hand on acoustic guitar.”
Miura recently took on a new role as General Manager of the Ottawa Folk Festival, but continues as Chair of Babes for Breasts, an organization she founded that takes female singer-songwriters across Canada to raise money for breast cancer charities. To date, the “Babes” have raised more than $45,000 dollars.
The diminutive singer-songwriter with the big voice and even bigger heart will take to the stage of the Irving Greenberg Theatre Centre (1233 Wellington, at Holland) at 8 pm on Sunday, March 14th. Tickets are $22 and available at the GCTC box office. The fifth show in the series will be James Hill and Anne Davison on April 25th.
Dylan Griffith – a fresh face at Ottawa Folk Festival
New artistic director hails from Yukon
Lynn Saxberg, The Ottawa Citizen
A 38-year-old native of Vancouver who looks a bit like Lyle Lovett, Griffith is moving himself and his cat to Ottawa this month to take over the festival’s top job, a recently created position combining artistic direction and management. He is replacing Chris White, the festival’s longtime artistic director and co-founder, who resigned in the fall to pursue other opportunities.
“One of the big things is filling the shoes I’ve been left with,” Griffith said in an interview. “Chris did a great job for 16 years and is a hugely respected member of the Ottawa folk community, and here I am coming from the Yukon. I think that’s a challenge, but it’s also a real opportunity. People don’t have the preconceptions about me. I’m starting fresh.”
To read the full article, click here.
Canadian Folk Music Awards celebrate diversity
Mathew Klie-Cribb, Centretown News
The Canadian Folk Music Awards were held in Centretown on Saturday night, recognizing that Canada’s diverse folk community needs more than just a couple of award categories at the Junos.
“The music happening under the folk music umbrella is a very wide definition,” said Grit Laskin, who organizes the awards and founded them five years ago.
“It’s everything from contemporary singer-songwriters pushing the edge to traditional singers and fiddlers and everything in-between,” he said.
The award ceremony was held at the Dominion Chalmers Church, at the corner of Cooper and O’Connor streets.
Please read the full story at Centretown News Online: Canadian Folk Music Awards celebrate diversity
Local artists among folk honourees
TRACEY TONG | METRO OTTAWA
The awards recognize Canada’s outstanding writers, producers and performers of folk music.
Nominees from, or originally from the Ottawa area include Maggie G.’s Around The House With Maggie G. and Chris McKhool’s FiddleFire! for Children’s Album of the Year; William Hawkins’ Dancing Alone: Songs by William Hawkins for English Songwriter of the Year; Cantarra’s Beautiful Air for Vocal Group of the Year and Lynne Hanson’s Eleven Months for New/Emerging Artist of the Year.
Please view the full article on the Metro Ottawa website: Local artists among folk honourees
Canadian Folk Music Awards change venue due to labour dispute at museum
The Canadian Folk Music Awards are moving their Nov 21st awards ceremony to the Dominion-Chalmers United Church in Ottawa because of a labour dispute at the Museum of Civilization.
The awards ceremony will feature live music by April Verch, Old Man Luedecke, Les Charbonniers de l’Enfer, Yonder Hill, Valdy and Caterina Cardeal & Mike Siracusa, followed by a reception for all.
More information: Canadian Folk Music Awards, Nov 21st.
