Whitehorse is a Canadian folk rock band, composed of husband-and-wife duo Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland. Based in Hamilton, Ontario, Doucet and McClelland were both established singer-songwriters before opting to put their solo careers on hold to work together as Whitehorse.
Matt Weidinger has established himself as a full time musician since the age of 16 having surpassed thousands of hours in the trade. During his formative years, Weidinger found a home within the thriving blues scene in Kitchener-Waterloo, playing regular club gigs with its leading practitioners while still in high school. Since then Matt has worked his way up to being one of the most sought after and well known entertainers in Ontario. He is a singer/songwriter and a multi instrumentalist. He has three original albums under his belt and although considers the Hammond Organ, his instrument of choice, is equally comfortable on piano, guitar, bass and mandolin. He joined forces with Lance Anderson in 12-piece band called “Matchedash Parish” whose debut album Saturday Night earned them a 2020 Maple Blues Awards nomination for New Artist of the Year.
Grievous Angels are a Canadian alternative country band, active since 1986. The band’s name is a reference to the Gram Parsons album Grievous Angel. Their primary leader is singer-songwriter Charlie Angus, who entered electoral politics in 2004 as the New Democratic Party Member of Parliament for Timmins-James Bay
Justin Shaw is a comedian and storyteller originally from Cardigan, Prince Edward Island (and if you’re also from Cardigan, his dad probably knows your dad.)
Fusing comedy and storytelling, Shaw has creatred solo theatre shows that have toured across Canada, having presented works with Theatre Aquarius, Blyth Festival, Charlottetown Festival, Here For Now, and Live @ The Centre.
Development of his solo work was documented on his TV series Tales From Island Boy on Bell FibeTV1.
As a standup comic, he has been featured on Hubcap Comedy Festival, JFL42, Departure Festival, CBC Laugh Out Loud, and has opened for Harland Williams, Fortune Feimster. He is a member of Yuk Yuks official comedy roster.
Shaw’s latest comedy album Mostly Clean showcases his down-home yet outrageous sense of humour, and can be heard on Sirius XM Comedy Club.
2017 & 2018 SPAH (U.S.A. Society for the Preservation & Advancement of the Harmonica) Bernie Bray Harmonica Player of The Year Award nomination
Harmonica Player of the Year – winner EIGHT times
Canadian Maple Blues Awards (& an additional eight times nominated)
2016 Maple Leaf Blues Nomination for Best Acoustic Duo (with Jimmy Bowskill for Blues Etc…)
2010 JUNO NOMINATION for STEADY MOVIN’ cd
(JUNO is Canada’s equivalent of a Grammy)
2005 “Best Blues” Award – NOW Magazine, Toronto, ON
1998 JUNO NOMINATION for BIG BOY cd
1996 Blues Musician of the Year Award – Jazz Report Magazine
1993 Hohner World Harmonica Championship, Trossingen, Germany –
Two Gold Medals in both diatonic blues and diatonic jazz
It’s probably a good thing Carlos wasn’t there when the harmonica appeared in North America in the 1860s. Neil Young and Bob Dylan can probably roll with it when he says they are very mediocre harmonica players. Aspiring harmonica players Wyatt Earp and Billy the Kid might have overreacted and pulled out their pistols…
To say that Carlos is just a harmonica player is like saying Jimi Hendrix was just a guitar player. He blows the blues harp through a prism — suddenly it seems he’s holding every color in the musical rainbow right there in his hands.
Simultaneously sophisticated and raw, his playing blurs the boundaries between blues and jazz (hence the name for his band “The Blues Mongrels”). The emphasis is on blues, but Carlos and his band are not afraid to merrily traipse off in other directions delivering a seamless fusion of New Orleans second line grooves, swing, Latin, ska melodies, to swampy roots rock.
Born in Havana, Cuba, del Junco (loosely translated “of the reeds”) immigrated with his family at the age of one. He bent his first note on a harmonica when he was fourteen, making his debut with his high school math teacher at a student talent night. In his early 20’s del Junco was immersed in a visual arts career; he graduated with honours from a four year programme, majoring in sculptureat the Ontario College of Art. Sculpture has definitely had an influence on his outlook on music: “Music is just a different way of creating textures and shapes.”
Playing a ten hole diatonic harmonica, Carlos has developed the unique ability to play chromatically by using a recently developed “overblow” technique taught to him by jazz virtuoso Howard Levy. Overall, this approach to the diatonic harmonica, although much more difficult to achieve, is in many ways more expressive and communicative than the mechanized tone produced by the chromatic harmonica . Carlos is one of the few pioneers of this overblow method, bringing musical credibility to what has still been considered by many in the music industry – a fringe folk instrument. The sophisticated sound produced by del Junco is both soulful and sensitive while never forgetting the rawness inherent in blues music.
Juno nominees and winners of the 2010 Canadian Folk Music Award for Vocal Group of the Year, Amanda Walther and Sheila Carabine of Dala write and sing in harmony best described as angelic. These two best friends met in their high school music class in 2002; they have since released five albums and toured extensively across North America. Darlings of the Canadian music scene, Dala are now poised to bring their fresh brand of acoustic pop music to the world.
Drawing upon influences like The Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Bob Dylan, Dala write songs that are both catchy and insightful. Amanda’s ethereal soprano voice blends seamlessly with Sheila’s velvety alto, creating the lush harmonies that have become their trademark.
“There’s nothing pretentious about Dala’s music; it’s stripped down and laid bare. That’s not to say it is without polish – far from it. Sheila Carabine and Amanda Walther have worked hard to exploit every facet of their extraordinary musical blend, and it would be just as at home in a 1960s coffeehouse as it is now on the contemporary concert stage”.
-Andrew Craig, Host of CBC “Canada Live”
The sheer joy with which they perform is infectious, turning first-time listeners into instant fans. Dala are equally entertaining between songs, telling funny and down to earth stories that make every show unique. Dala have opened for artists such as Tom Cochrane, Stuart McLean of the CBC’s Vinyl Café, Richie Havens and Arlo Guthrie. No strangers to the festival scene, they have also performed at The New Orleans Jazz Festival, The Edmonton Folk Festival, California’s Strawberry Festival and Mariposa. In 2009, they were the only Canadian act invited to play at the 50th Anniversary of the Newport Folk Festival.
Formed in Downtown Toronto, Sam Polley and the Old Tomorrows draws its sound from 50’s and 60’s rockabilly licks, old country twang, and Motown swing.
