October

From the website:

Legendary Ottawa-based artist Sneezy Waters grew up in a musical family. As a child Sneezy sang in St. Luke's Church choir, and then later performed folk music in coffee houses . . . . He performed solo, and in various groups . . . . Later Sneezy became Ottawa's first busker, after which he formed The Great Sneezy Waters and His Excellent Band. The band toured for many years across Canada, in all provinces and territories and they were featured on many network radio and television programs.

From 1977 until 1990, under the direction of Peter Froelich, Sneezy starred in the play "Hank Williams; The Show He Never Gave" which garnered excellent reviews. In a subsequent film version of the play, Sneezy won the Best Actor award in the 3e Festival International du Film Musical in Grenoble, France. The film was nominated for the Best Country Motion Picture in the 19th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards in Los Angeles, losing out only to Tender Mercies.

Sneezy’s 4th CD entitled "SNEEZY WATERS" is now available.

more . . .

November

From the website:

Tim Williams is a blues-based singer / songwriter / multi - instrumentalist. He is a 40 year veteran of the 'Roots' music scene in North America, roots which stretch back to the coffee-house scene of his native California in the mid 60's.

Settling in Canada in 1970, Tim is a studio musician, producer, and a performer in constant demand. He has played Folk / Blues / Jazz festivals and concert halls and clubs from Halifax, to Vancouver Island, to the Yukon.

Inspired by the Hillbilly and Western Swing music he heard as a child, Tim absorbed late Fifties Rhythm & Blues and Rock & Roll, Hawaiian and Mexican music, early Sixties Folk, and Bluegrass “like a sponge” before discovering a passion for traditional blues styles which was fueled by seeing many first generation blues musicians live during the “Blues Boom” of the mid and late Sixties.”

From the website:

Her voice has been called a cross between Mary Chapin Carpenter and Bonnie Raitt with the sass of Lucinda Williams. As well as being a personable, engaging performer, she too is a musician and songwriter with 8 original CD's to her credit and can be heard playing guitar, dulcimer, harmonica and bass.

Well known for her antecdotes and stories accompanying her Nova Scotian upbringing, she recounts her Muse and the roads it has taken her world wide with ascerbic wit and great heart. One moment she will have you laughing out loud and the next breaking your heart with a ballad sung in her own unique way.

She has shared the stage with many famous and infamous people from Jeff Healey to Serena Ryder and Rita McNiel, and worn many musical hats, finally making herself at home with a sound married in roots blues, folk and a hint of alternative country. When you ask her what kind of music she plays, she simply says, "Kim Doolittle Music", thus leading to the formation of Doo-A-Little Music a decade ago.

December

From the website:

don’s been touring the world long enough now to have become an influence on a generation of guitarists and other musicians.

(Brooke) counts ricki lee jones, the police, bruce cockburn, tom waits and lenny breau as influences on her style, which is characterized by smoky vocals and impeccable fingerstyle guitar work. winner of the 2007 colleen peterson songwriting award (conferred by the ontario council of folk festivals), brooke is destined for recognition as one of canada’s strongest new crop of writers of acoustic music.

more . . .

January

Cris Cuddy Acoustic Unit, and

Maple Leaf Champions

A triple feature starting with Joe Hall (The Continental Drift) with J.P.Hovercraft, then The Cris Cuddy Acoustic Unit which includes Cris Cuddy vocals & acoustic guitar, Andrew Heathcote on double bass, and Pierre (Mon Ami) Bordeleau on acoustic lead guitar and, finally, The Maple Leaf Champions jugband, who are: Jim Yates, Ian McKeon, Jim Bowskill, Ted Staunton and Will Staunton.

It should be a lot of fun for everyone . . . . except for the sound guy!

February

From the website:

David is highly respected as a thoughtful and intelligent songwriter, with Canadian folk standards like "Albert's Cove" and "High Ground" to his credit. His work moves from pieces as contemporary as today's news, to songs that sound as if they were rediscovered from old country blues 78's. These are songs that tell stories that will start you laughing and leave you crying.

Equally renowned as an instrumentalist and traditional performer, David is a master of the blues and slide guitar. Whether on the lap-style Weissenborn or the electric slide guitar, his spontaneous style crosses all the borders between country, blues and the avant-garde. With his 5/8" socket and a sound that could peel the petunias off your mother's porcelain, he is considered one of Canada's finest slide guitarists.

From the website:

Nonie is a musical and storytelling force to be reckoned with. From heady blues, Irish balladry, to Cajun and French Canadian hues, Nonie seamlessly traverses genre with an execution only matched by her uncanny ability to explore equally diverse lyrical themes. Whether upbeat, sorrowful, poignant or whimsical, Nonie's songs reach into the landscape of the heart - family, community, memory, discovery, love and loss - woven together by her stunningly beautiful voice.

March

From the website:

Russel deCarle is a founding member, lead vocalist, bassist and contributing songwriter to the multi-platinum, Juno award winning country-roots group Prairie Oyster. Russell's solo project, Under the Big, Big Sky, is a distinct departure from the sound of the band, and features jazz and torch-blues influenced vocals on nine of eleven self-penned originals. The deep groove of the unique live trio instrumentation (rhythm acoustic guitar, lead acoustic guitar, and accordion) brings to life material from the record, timeless classics of the 50's and 60's, and selected covers of musical friends and influences.

The sound is a celebration and culmination of a lifetime of music, including a time when Buck Owens, The Beatles, and Frank Sinatra could all be heard played back to back on the radio.

more . . .

April

From the website:

Corin’s band The Sundowners contains at least eight Juno nominations (Treasa Levasseur for Best Blues Album for her 2008 release Low Fidelity; Brian Kobayakawa, for Instrumental Album of the Year and Roots and Traditional Group with his band The Creaking Tree String Quartet (twice in both categories); and David Baxter, producer of three Juno-nominated albums by Justin Rutledge, Bob Snider, and Treasa Levasseur).

Corin was prevented from being arrested in England in 2007 because the Immigration Officer, it miraculously turned out, was a huge Tom Waits fan. The Officer who served Corin a ten-year ban from England in 2008 had never heard of Tom Waits.

More

May

From the website:

“Catherine MacLellan's voice strikes you immediately, insinuating itself into your heart, and just won't let go.Her deeply confessional, folksy-country blues songs are where Gillian Welch meets Emmylou Harris.

MacLellan is a lyricist wise beyond her years and with a voice like honey dusted in gold, she shares the gentle darkness of her lyrics, which are sometimes countryfied, sometimes lamentful, and sometimes tinged with joy.” Boston Herald