2011 Performers
“A blast of energy and fearless confidence, Ariana Gillis sings and strums and stomps and leaves ripples behind her wherever she goes. With an impressive vocal range and a firm grasp on the craft of songwriting, Ariana is unstoppable. In 2009, she won the Canadian Folk Music Award for Young Performer of the Year and she has received multiple Niagara Music Awards. There is an intense, driving force behind her folk/pop sound, and a deeper story behind every song.”
– Andy Frank, Roots Music Canada
Workshops:
Saturday 12:00 – 1:30
Saturday 3:00 – 4:30
Sunday 12:00 – 1:30
Sunday 4:30 – 6:00
“Since the age of three, Basia has been sitting on piano stools and trying to hammer things out. It started with her piano-teacher mum, but along the way Basia’s picked up guitar, autoharp, banjo, ukelele, sax and flute. In high-school her instrument was the upright bass – a lone girl among “eight-foot-tall guys, goofing off with the tubas”. There’s a sense of play that still suffuses her music, jostling under the songs of regret and love, want and joy.”
Workshops:
Saturday 12:00 – 1:30
Saturday 4:30 – 6:00
“Bernie Gilmore has a unique voice in Canadian music that should be heard by all. The characters and stories that come alive in his songs reflect our heritage and culture in an entertaining way. With his rich baritone voice and his strong guitar work his shows are not to be missed”.
Workshops:
Sunday 3:00 – 4:30
Sunday 4:30 – 6:00
“Dan’s songs brim with subtle images and irreverent wit. He has a knack for making what is quaint seem universal and what is universal quaint, so that even his most layered lyrics feel strangely familiar. His uniquely gravelled voice conveys a rare type of honesty, a gift that seems to transcend demographics. On stage, his presence is easy and open. It could work against him, but there’s no façade; here’s a talented, hard-working and unpretentious musician with a poet’s way of seeing through absurdity”.
Workshops:
Sunday 1:30 – 3:00
Sunday 4:30 – 6:00
“Steeped in the rich musical traditions of Cape Breton and Newfoundland Dwayne Côté and Duane Andrews twist their inimitable blend of East Coast Celtic and Roots music with strands of Gypsy and Jazz sounds. …. Heavily influenced by the brilliance of Gypsy Jazz legend Django Reinhardt, multi ECMA award winning guitarist Duane Andrews has literally brought his music around the world from his home in Newfoundland to Tasmania, Australia with stops in between at the Newport Folk and Montreal Jazz festivals to name a few and the late great John Allan Cameron simply said it all about fiddler Dwayne Côté whom he called “the best kept secret in Celtic music”.
Visit Dwayne and Duane’s website
Workshops:
Saturday 12:00 – 1:30
Saturday 3:00 – 4:30
“Eddie Jeanveau is a Northern raised musician with a unique sound and a passionate stage presence. Raised in the beautiful bushy forests of Ontario’s North, it’s hard to be “genre specific” however his heart and authentic emotion come through in everything he sings and plays. Eddie has a unique acoustic style that draws on his percussion background. It is this rhythmic approach combined with his use of different open tunings, that defines his music, giving him a distinctive sound.”
Visit Eddie Jeanveau’s website
Workshops:
Saturday 1:30 – 3:00
Saturday 4:30 – 6:00
“A genuine success story of the under-the-radar variety, prolific Ontario singer/songwriter Gryner has straddled both sides of the great music-industry divide forever, it seems. Back in the late 1990s, she parlayed hard-headed, hard-fought indie notoriety in Toronto into an eager, international major-label coronation that fell apart by the turn of the millennium. Yet that teed up a decade’s worth of ferocious self-sufficiency recognized and rewarded by a broad spectrum of fellow musicians from David Bowie to Bono.”
– Ben Rayner, Toronto Star
Workshops:
Saturday 12:00 – 1:30
Saturday 3:00 – 4:30
Hailed by the Boston Globe as a “charismatic performer and singer”, Garnet is a man with a powerful physical presence – close to six and a half feet tall – with a voice to match. With his “smooth, dark baritone” (Washington Post) his incredible range, and thoughtful, dramatic phrasing, Garnet is widely considered by fans and critics alike to be one of the finest singers anywhere. His music, like the man himself, is literate, passionate, highly sensitive, and deeply purposeful. Cinematic in detail, his songs “give expression to the unspoken vocabulary of the heart” (Kitchener Waterloo Record). An optimist at heart, Garnet sings extraordinary songs about people who are not obvious heroes and of the small victories of the everyday. As memorable as his songs, his over-the-top humour and lightning-quick wit moves his audience from tears to laughter and back again.
Workshops:
Saturday 12:00 – 1:30
Saturday 3:00 – 4:30
Sunday 3:00 – 4:30
“After just a few songs, you forget how odd it is to see such young musicians successfully channel 60s and 70s folk rock sounds. Once over the initial shock, though, it’s obvious that they’ve got the chops to pull it off better than many bands who’ve spent decades trying for the same vibe.”
– Now Magazine
“These young men write and play like old souls. There are roots in traditional country, the Grateful Dead, and the great folk rock and alt-country bands of the past like the Flying Burrito Brothers, the Band, and Buffalo Springfield.”
– Bob Segarini (FYI Music Weekly)
Workshops:
Saturday 1:30 – 3:00
Saturday 4:30 – 6:00
Hawksley workman is a prolific songwriter, producer, singer, multi instrumentalist, actor, and published author. His 12 year career has produced as many records, all ambitiously creative and defying category. The 6 times nominated 2 time juno award winner has enjoyed radio success in Europe and Canada and has written songs for celebrated artists the world over. Workman’s production work (18 albums) has been attached to many successful artists including Tegan and Sara, Serena Ryder, Great Big Sea, Sarah Slean, and Jeremy Fisher. Hawksley’s touring career has seen him play nearly a thousand shows in over 15 countries. He’s headlined prestigious venues like Massey Hall in Toronto and The Olympia in Paris, as well as opening for heroes Morrissey, David Bowie, and The Cure.
Visit Hawksley Workmans website
Workshops:
Saturday 3:00 – 4:30
“James Keelaghan is a voice in contemporary Canadian songwriting that has helped us define who we are as a people. He writes with great humanity and honesty, with an eye to the past and a vision of the future. He has chronicled his times with powerful and abiding songs, with heart and eyes wide open.”
– David Francey
“James has become the complete artist. A brilliant tunesmith who has become one of the most engaging performers of our time. You always know the journey with James is going to be great, you just never know what all the destinations are. That is why the curve on his career continues to rise.”
– Terry Wickham, producer of the Edmonton Folk Music Festival
Visit James Keelaghan’s website
Workshops:
Saturday 3:00 – 4:30
Sunday 12:00 – 1:30
Sunday 4:30 – 6:00
“As a Canadian living and performing in the hotels of Asia, Marty Kolls stumbled upon a unique love affair with the ukulele. Since returning home she’s become a force on the Canadian music scene. Her sound is unique, and ranges from soft sing-able melodies to more edgy off beat rhythms. Originally trained as a classical pianist and armed with a music degree from the University of Western Ontario, new songs were borne from a unique, rootsy marriage of keyboards and ukulele. An internationally touring singer-dancer in her teens and an accomplished pianist by a young age, Marty Kolls brings a worldly, street-smart modernity to poignant and personal songs.”
Visit Marty Koll’s myspace page
Workshops:
Saturday 1:30 – 3:00
Sunday 4:30 – 6:00
The Métis Fiddler Quartet is a performing arts group that specializes in performing and interpreting Canadian Métis and Native old-style fiddle music. This bilingual French/English group continues to discover and present the old-style fiddle tunes passed down by elders from across Canada. The Métis Fiddler Quartet recognizes the importance of sharing and collaborating with this unique style of fiddle music in order to pass the traditions on to future generations.
Visit the Métis Fiddler Quartet’s website
Workshops:
Saturday 12:00-1:30
Saturday 3:00 – 4:30
New Cumberland is a dynamic bluegrass band with a wide repertoire of both traditional and newer music. Formed in 2006, the band’s members bring a combined total of over 100 years of professional experience to this new and exciting acoustic project.
Visit New Cumberland’s website
Workshops:
Sunday 1:30 – 3:00
Sunday 3:00 – 4:30
“A force to be reckoned with – his unique style of the blues, encompassing the soul of the genre and a set of pipes that will have you sitting back with your jaw on the floor.”
– Carrie Humphries, Echo Magazine
Visit Rick Taylor’s website
Workshops:
Sunday 3:00 – 4:30
Sunday 4:30 – 6:00
Robbie is from the Oneida Nation. A man of many musical influences including; country, classic rock, hard rock, and more recently classical, jazz and of course, the blues. Robbie has played with some of the industry’s finest players, including, Bryan Lee, Billy Branch, Derek Miller, Pappy John’s Band, Murray Porter, Jeff Healey, Jack Dekyzer, Mel Brown, Dutch Mason and many others. A highlight for Robbie, was during the 2003 London International Blues Festival, when he performed an opening harmonica solo for one of his hero’s, Buddy Guy. When asked about the album title he
simply said, “It is time!”
Workshops:
Sunday 1:30 – 3:30 PM
“Wood is on his way to establishing himself alongside the Canadian royalty of artists such as Sexsmith and Wainwright.” – EXCLAIM MAGAZINE
“Royal Wood’s career trajectory is building one fan at a time through word of mouth, critical acclaim and impressive musical achievements. He was named iTunes’ Songwriter of the Year, supported national tours with David Gray, Serena Ryder and Sarah Slean and landed song placements in TV shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice.”
Workshops:
Saturday 3:00 – 4:30
Photo by Dave Bastedo
In the years after touring her last studio release, the Polaris Prize-nominated I’m a Mountain, Sarah set music aside to focus on environmental campaigns, helping to shepherd PERL (Protecting Escarpment Rural Land)…In the past few years Sarah has recorded with artists such as Neko Case, Howie Beck, and Great Lake Swimmers.
“After a brief stint with the country-rockers the Saddletramps, Sarah formed Weeping Tile, with her sister Mary on bass, and released two promising albums. During a hiatus from the band, Harmer recorded a collection of country and jazz favourites to give to her father for Christmas. The resulting Songs for Clem kick-started her solo career, and led to You Were Here, which has established Harmer as a formidable young songwriter, with Joni Mitchell’s confessional gifts and Gordon Lightfoot’s unerring sense of place.”
– Nicholas Jennings, “Harmer’s Charms”
Workshops:
Sunday 4:30 – 6:00
Shane Cook “rates at the top of the short list of the finest fiddlers in the world today,” says the Canadian Fiddlers’ Hall of Fame.
Shane has distinguished himself as a master of the Canadian old-time fiddle tradition and excels at an array of fiddle styles ranging from Irish and Scottish to French-Canadian, Texan, and Bluegrass.
Workshops:
Saturday 12:00 – 1:30
Saturday 3:00 – 4:30
Sunday 3:00 – 4:30
“There is something about The Acorn that just induces bliss. Perhaps it’s frontman Rolf Klausener’s comforting vocals and moving lyricism. Or perhaps it’s the intricate guitar work, courtesy of Klausener and Jordan Howard. Or perhaps it’s the loud, boisterous percussion from Patrick Johnson and Jeffrey Malecki.
Combined, their sound is shimmering folk rock that has the capacity to silence a crowd or have them singing along.”
– Catherine Lacbay, “Dazzling Folk Rock with The Acorn…”
Workshops:
Saturday 1:30 – 3:00
Saturday 4:30 – 6:00
Sunday 3:00 – 4:30
“Among the slow influx of real-life-couple duos in country music, the Canada-based duo The Laws easily distinguishes itself, borrowing more from folk and Americana styles than from modern country. Comprised of John Law and wife Michele, the couple revels in a spirited and at times bluegrass-influenced sound…Together their voices evoke a silk-and-sandpaper quality and their superb harmonies at times elicits those of The Everly Brothers throughout the disc they maintain a sunny outlook on the subject of love on songs including “Love Again,” “I Believe in You” and “With My Heart.”
– Country Weekly
Workshops:
Sunday 12:00 – 1:30
Sunday 1:30 – 3:00
New Cumberland is a dynamic bluegrass band with a wide repertoire of both traditional and newer music. Formed in 2006, the band’s members bring a combined total of over 100 years of professional experience to this new and exciting acoustic project.
6:45 PM – Metis Fiddler Quartet
The Métis Fiddler Quartet is a performing arts group that specializes in performing and interpreting Canadian Métis and Native old-style fiddle music. This bilingual French/English group continues to discover and present the old-style fiddle tunes passed down by elders from across Canada. The Métis Fiddler Quartet recognizes the importance of sharing and collaborating with this unique style of fiddle music in order to pass the traditions on to future generations.
“A force to be reckoned with – his unique style of the blues, encompassing the soul of the genre and a set of pipes that will have you sitting back with your jaw on the floor.”
– Carrie Humphries, Echo Magazine
Visit Rick Taylor’s website
“Since the age of three, Basia has been sitting on piano stools and trying to hammer things out. It started with her piano-teacher mum, but along the way Basia’s picked up guitar, autoharp, banjo, ukelele, sax and flute. In high-school her instrument was the upright bass – a lone girl among “eight-foot-tall guys, goofing off with the tubas”. There’s a sense of play that still suffuses her music, jostling under the songs of regret and love, want and joy.”
Photo by Dave Bastedo
In the years after touring her last studio release, the Polaris Prize-nominated I’m a Mountain, Sarah set music aside to focus on environmental campaigns, helping to shepherd PERL (Protecting Escarpment Rural Land)…In the past few years Sarah has recorded with artists such as Neko Case, Howie Beck, and Great Lake Swimmers.
“After a brief stint with the country-rockers the Saddletramps, Sarah formed Weeping Tile, with her sister Mary on bass, and released two promising albums. During a hiatus from the band, Harmer recorded a collection of country and jazz favourites to give to her father for Christmas. The resulting Songs for Clem kick-started her solo career, and led to You Were Here, which has established Harmer as a formidable young songwriter, with Joni Mitchell’s confessional gifts and Gordon Lightfoot’s unerring sense of place.”
– Nicholas Jennings, “Harmer’s Charms”
6:00 PM – Duane Andrews & Dwayne Côté
“Steeped in the rich musical traditions of Cape Breton and Newfoundland Dwayne Côté and Duane Andrews twist their inimitable blend of East Coast Celtic and Roots music with strands of Gypsy and Jazz sounds. …. Heavily influenced by the brilliance of Gypsy Jazz legend Django Reinhardt, multi ECMA award winning guitarist Duane Andrews has literally brought his music around the world from his home in Newfoundland to Tasmania, Australia with stops in between at the Newport Folk and Montreal Jazz festivals to name a few and the late great John Allan Cameron simply said it all about fiddler Dwayne Côté whom he called “the best kept secret in Celtic music”.
“A blast of energy and fearless confidence, Ariana Gillis sings and strums and stomps and leaves ripples behind her wherever she goes. With an impressive vocal range and a firm grasp on the craft of songwriting, Ariana is unstoppable. In 2009, she won the Canadian Folk Music Award for Young Performer of the Year and she has received multiple Niagara Music Awards. There is an intense, driving force behind her folk/pop sound, and a deeper story behind every song.”
– Andy Frank, Roots Music Canada
“James Keelaghan is a voice in contemporary Canadian songwriting that has helped us define who we are as a people. He writes with great humanity and honesty, with an eye to the past and a vision of the future. He has chronicled his times with powerful and abiding songs, with heart and eyes wide open.”
– David Francey
“James has become the complete artist. A brilliant tunesmith who has become one of the most engaging performers of our time. You always know the journey with James is going to be great, you just never know what all the destinations are. That is why the curve on his career continues to rise.”
– Terry Wickham, producer of the Edmonton Folk Music Festival
“A genuine success story of the under-the-radar variety, prolific Ontario singer/songwriter Gryner has straddled both sides of the great music-industry divide forever, it seems. Back in the late 1990s, she parlayed hard-headed, hard-fought indie notoriety in Toronto into an eager, international major-label coronation that fell apart by the turn of the millennium. Yet that teed up a decade’s worth of ferocious self-sufficiency recognized and rewarded by a broad spectrum of fellow musicians from David Bowie to Bono.”
– Ben Rayner, Toronto Star
Hawksley workman is a prolific songwriter, producer, singer, multi instrumentalist, actor, and published author. His 12 year career has produced as many records, all ambitiously creative and defying category. The 6 times nominated 2 time juno award winner has enjoyed radio success in Europe and Canada and has written songs for celebrated artists the world over. Workman’s production work (18 albums) has been attached to many successful artists including Tegan and Sara, Serena Ryder, Great Big Sea, Sarah Slean, and Jeremy Fisher. Hawksley’s touring career has seen him play nearly a thousand shows in over 15 countries. He’s headlined prestigious venues like Massey Hall in Toronto and The Olympia in Paris, as well as opening for heroes Morrissey, David Bowie, and The Cure.
“Among the slow influx of real-life-couple duos in country music, the Canada-based duo The Laws easily distinguishes itself, borrowing more from folk and Americana styles than from modern country. Comprised of John Law and wife Michele, the couple revels in a spirited and at times bluegrass-influenced sound…Together their voices evoke a silk-and-sandpaper quality and their superb harmonies at times elicits those of The Everly Brothers throughout the disc they maintain a sunny outlook on the subject of love on songs including “Love Again,” “I Believe in You” and “With My Heart.”
– Country Weekly
Shane Cook “rates at the top of the short list of the finest fiddlers in the world today,” says the Canadian Fiddlers’ Hall of Fame.
Shane has distinguished himself as a master of the Canadian old-time fiddle tradition and excels at an array of fiddle styles ranging from Irish and Scottish to French-Canadian, Texan, and Bluegrass.
Hailed by the Boston Globe as a “charismatic performer and singer”, Garnet is a man with a powerful physical presence – close to six and a half feet tall – with a voice to match. With his “smooth, dark baritone” (Washington Post) his incredible range, and thoughtful, dramatic phrasing, Garnet is widely considered by fans and critics alike to be one of the finest singers anywhere. His music, like the man himself, is literate, passionate, highly sensitive, and deeply purposeful. Cinematic in detail, his songs “give expression to the unspoken vocabulary of the heart” (Kitchener Waterloo Record). An optimist at heart, Garnet sings extraordinary songs about people who are not obvious heroes and of the small victories of the everyday. As memorable as his songs, his over-the-top humour and lightning-quick wit moves his audience from tears to laughter and back again.
Community Performers
Acoustic Spotlight
Acoustic Spotlight is a series of house concerts on Wednesday nights, September to June. There’s a different feature performer or group every week, with an emphasis on London artists. All kinds of music is featured, from classical to folk to jazz, etc. It’s ‘pay what you can’ and the suggested donation is $5. A few refreshments are provided, including a ginger tea concoction that’s become the signature event beverage. For more info contact Jake Levesque at jakelevesque@gmail.com.
Naahii
“Naahii” means ‘down river’ in the Delaware language. Home County is honoured to have Naahii return after their crowd gathering Pow-Wows at our 2010 festival. The family-based performing group originated in 2004 and features Dennis Whiteye with his father, brothers and cousins. Naahii recently performed at the National Aboriginal Day and Canada Day celebrations in London. They are are proud to share their music and way of life with all.
Fanshawe Music Industry Arts Showcases
Come and discover some great emerging talent from Fanshawe College’s Music Industry Arts program. The Fanshawe showcases are another way that Home County supports local performers. These eight performers were selected by audition: Sam Taylor, Jesse Slack, Evan Miles, Tam Duong, Dan Bossenberry, Jack Analogue, Mark Kulmala and Patrick Lefler.
- Follow us:
