Thursday Evening, August 14
Vieux Farka Touré
Son of a world-music giant, Vieux has bounded onto the global stage as a guitar virtuoso in his own right. Traditional Malian desert blues meets rock and reggae as his touring West African groove band mixes it up with energy and charisma. Sales of his 2007 debut CD are helping to buy bed nets for his malaria-stricken hometown.
Carolina Chocolate Drops
The high-energy Chocolate Drops lit up last year’s festival. The trio play fiddle, banjo, jug and bones as they put their own spin on the old-time music of the Carolinas’ Piedmont. They found a mentor in 89-year-old Joe Thompson, one of the last traditional black fiddlers left, as they breathe new life into the African-American string band.
Don Ross & Andy McKee
Canadian acoustic guitar maestro Don Ross, the only two-time U.S. national fingerstyle champion, joined forces recently with percussive guitar sensation Andy McKee on a splendid CD. Andy calls himself "just this guy from Topeka, Kansas, who kind of blew up on the Internet," where his guitar-tapping Youtube videos have gone viral (14 million views for Drifting).
Finest Kind
Finest Kind is an acclaimed Ottawa trio whose arrangements of traditional and original song are a creative tour de force, delivered in close spine-tingling harmony. Ian Robb (Britain), Shelley Posen (Canada) and Ann Downey (U.S.) serve up their rich and varied repertoire a cappella or with concertina, guitar, banjo and bass, plus panache and humour. On Victoria Island in 1994, Finest Kind’s electrifying mainstage performance of Stan Rogers’ "Mary Ellen Carter" heralded the rebirth of the Ottawa Folk Festival.
Friday Evening, August 15
Broken Social Scene
The star-studded Toronto alt-rock collective has expanded and contracted around founders Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning since 1999 . The boisterous gang of friends contains parts of other groups and various solo artists, including Juno-sweeping songstress Leslie Feist and Stars star Amy Millan. When Broken Social Scene takes the stage, expect a gaggle of guitars and brash indie-band verve.
Jerry Douglas
World-class dobro player Jerry Douglas hauls his band from Nashville to show us why he has racked up a dozen Grammies for his eloquence on the resophonic guitar. Named Musician of the Year (for the third time) by the Country Music Association in 2007, the picker and slider extraordinaire has played on a staggering 2,000 albums.
Donna the Buffalo
Folk-rock, country-folk, zydeco, reggae, bluegrass – Donna is one versatile buffalo. A hot live act with a fervent and socially conscious fan base called The Herd, the five-member jam band from upstate New York roams around an eclectic musical range. The result: uplifting grooves and much dancing in the aisles.
Dala
High-school chums Sheila Carabine and Amanda Walther, now twentysomething, united their guitar, piano and wide vocal ranges in 2002. The engaging acoustic duo from Toronto frolic cheerfully through a folk-pop repertoire showcasing the sweet harmonies that grace three CDs and granted them entrée to Toronto’s Massey Hall and CBC’s Vinyl Café.
Bryan Bowers
Bryan Bowers, who honed his chops in the early 1970s as a street musician playing for coins, was inducted into the Autoharp Hall of Fame in 1993. Widely regarded as the Earl Scruggs of the autoharp, the Virginia native lives in California and combines virtuosity with a warm and commanding stage presence.
Saturday Evening, August 16
Sarah Harmer
With glowing voice and homespun charm, Sarah Harmer has blended country, folk and bluegrass to critical acclaim since her breakthrough album You Were Here (2000). The Ontario singer-songwriter and passionate environmentalist has carved a niche in the Canadian musical and natural landscape, winning two Junos while rocking the plans of gravel companies on the Niagara Escarpment.
The Sadies
The Toronto twangsters led by Dallas and Travis Good have awakened fans’ inner hillbilly for a decade or so. The Sadies bend and blend genres in a whirlwind of punk energy and instrumental skill, and do acoustic ditties or rowdy rockabilly with equal conviction. The trippy quartet, one of Canada’s hottest live bands, has made urban country cool.
Country Joe McDonald
Country Joe’s unscheduled solo performance at Woodstock of his Sixties antiwar anthem I Feel Like I’m Fixing to Die Rag (and famous Fish Cheer) became an iconic moment of the 1969 festival. Country Joe and the Fish soon dissolved, but the Berkeley-based legend has kept the spirit of radical cheek alive in a prolific songwriting and recording career.
Colin Linden
Toronto-born, Nashville-based Colin Linden lays down country-blues guitar licks with authority. His fretwork is fluent, voice compelling and trophy case crammed with awards. Howlin’ Wolf was an early and enduring inspiration, but his rapport with all kinds of roots music makes Colin a sought-after producer (for Bruce Cockburn and fast-rising Roxanne Potvin, among others).
James Hill & Anne Davison
The Langley, B.C., ukulele-in-the-schools program produced the virtuoso James Hill, "the Wayne Gretzky of the ukulele." Also known as one of the world’s top composers for the uke, he brings classical and folk elements to the repertoire. Now Nova Scotia-based, James and classically trained cellist Anne Davison do enchanting things on their respective four strings.
Genticorum
Traditional Québécois music has worthy ambassadors in this high-spirited Montreal trio. With abundant skill and sense of fun, Alexandre, Yann and Pascal weave sprightly fiddle, flute, guitar, feet, mouth harp and more into complex instrumentals, then delight with gorgeous three-part vocals. Little wonder they were "best Canadian ensemble" at the 2005 Canadian Folk Music Awards. Their fine new album is entitled "La Bibournoise".
Sunday Evening, August 17
Rufus Wainwright
By 13, he was touring with mother Kate McGarrigle and aunt Anna. Now in his 30s, he has established himself as a leading singer-songwriter of his generation, with half a dozen albums showcasing his edgy vocals and way with lyrics. He mines musical history and channels others (Judy Garland of late), but Rufus Wainwright is an original.
Odetta
Born in Alabama in 1930, Odetta marched on Washington with Martin Luther King. Her voice formed the soundtrack for the civil rights movement and inspired legions of folkies, including Dylan and Baez. She received a rare Living Legend Award from the Library of Congress, but remains a contemporary artist, with 2005’s Gonna Let It Shine winning a Grammy nomination.
The Duhks
The exuberant Prairie roots group has reaped praise and plaudits since bursting on the scene in 2001 with fiddle, guitar and banjo blazing. The five-member ensemble from Winnipeg has added a Canadian Folk Music Award to the collection for Migrations. Diverse acoustic traditions dovetail beautifully in a singular sound only Duhks can make.
Roxanne Potvin
Serious buzz surrounds electric-blues phenomenon Roxanne Potvin. The Gatineau-raised chanteuse attracted top-flight backup – the likes of Bruce Cockburn, Daniel Lanois and John Hiatt – for her Colin Linden-produced second CD The Way It Feels. The 25-year-old Maple Blues and Juno nominee pours a soulful, sultry voice into fresh and energetic covers and originals.
Dirk Powell & Riley Baugus
Acclaimed standard bearers of Appalachian tradition, mountain men Dirk Powell and Riley Baugus dig a Southern U.S. acoustic groove with dexterous fiddling, banjo-plucking and hollering. A romping cadence runs through their affecting modern celebration of deeply felt roots. Dirk has backed up three Grammy-winning albums, and his frequent get-togethers with Riley include the Cold Mountain soundtrack.
Also Appearing at the 2008 Ottawa Folk Festival
Ana Miura (Ottawa) - Award-winning singer-songwriter, part of Japan-Canada celebration
Andy Rush (Kingston) - Director of the Terry Penner Participatory Festival Choir
Arthur II (Ottawa) - Gifted visual artist orchestrating a large participatory mural as a tribute to the late Willie P. Bennett
Ball & Chain (Ottawa) - Cajun and classic country music
Benoit Bourque (Québec) - Accordion player, foot percussionist, dancer, dance caller, former member of Matapat and Le Vent du Nord
Catherine MacLellan (PEI) - Gene MacLellan's daughter, a rising star
Claire Jenkins Avec Band (Toronto) - Young, intriguing, theatrical singer-songwriter, arranger and band leader
Colores Andinos (South America/Ottawa) - Soulful music of the Andes
D.Rangers (Winnipeg) - Intense alt-country band
Doug Cox (BC) - Canada's premier dobro player
James Farr (Chelsea) - 18-year-old guitar wizard, 2008 Galaxie Rising Stars Award winner
Jowi Taylor and The Six String Nation Guitar (Toronto) - Canada's famous "citizenship guitar"
Margaret Feuerstack & David Johnstone (Ottawa/Gatineau) - Classy, tasteful "fazz" (folk-jazz), winners of the 2008 "One Fret Less" award sponsored by Harvey and Louise Glatt
Mélisande (Montreal) - Emerging singer-songwriter working in both French and English
Petr Cancura (New York/Ottawa) - Sax and mandolin, jazz and folk, structure and improvisation
Radoslav Lorkovic (Nashville) - Versatile, joyful accordion and piano player
Shara Weaver (Ottawa) - Marvellously inventive dancer drawing on many traditions
Spiral Beach (Toronto) - Indie rock offspring of famous folkies
The Healing Divas (Toronto) - 4-woman vocal group channeling pure, positive energy
Timothy Mason (Boston) - Spoken word artist once voted "most standardly deviated"
Village Harmony (New York) - 24-voice touring teen choir performing world music repertoire
Wil (Calgary) - Strong, compelling indie rock duo - voice, acoustic guitar and drums
Woody Johnson (Ottawa) - Intrepid explorer of early acoustic blues
|
