Edmonton Folk Music Festival- Bluegrass, Old-time, ‘Grassicana, 2023

The Edmonton Folk Music Festival lineup always delivers, and while their definition of folk music is a bit more liberal than mine, I’ve never come away from this meticulously organized festival disappointed. Yes, sometimes the crowd ‘gets’ to me, but almost always the diverse music presented more than makes up for my failures as a…

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Western Canada’s Bluegrass Summer, 2023

Western Canada’s Summer Bluegrass Festivals are releasing their artist lineups and I’ve summarized things over at Fervor Coulee Bluegrass. Give it a read if you are interested in exploring the offerings. Link here.

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Chris and Sally Jones, Dead Ends Live, Edmonton March 18, 2023

A rare opportunity to see and hear members of the bluegrass family playing an intimate duo gig this evening. DeadEnds Live, a two-day fest of Grateful Dead-related music in downtown Edmonton, made its second appearance this weekend, and all reports from those in attendance were that it was incredible. I managed to convince myself to…

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Dead Ends Live, Edmonton, Alberta- March 17-18, 2023

From the press release: The weekend of March 17 and 18, 2023, marks the return of Edmonton’s newest winter music festival, Dead Ends Live. Born out of a love for the Grateful Dead songbook and the jam band culture, the inaugural Dead Ends Live thrilled fans of this broad musical canvas last spring, just as things were shifting to some…

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John Reischman & the Jaybirds and River City Playboys- Bluegrass @ SilverSkateFestival, 2023.02.19

It was late on Sunday afternoon, as I watched the local team blow another three-goal lead, that a tweet caught my eye- John Reischman & the Jaybirds were playing two sets a half-hour away from my trusty recliner. And the River City Playboys were also appearing! It takes a lot for me to change plans…

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Maria Dunn- Live at Festival Place, Sherwood Park, AB 2023 January 28

My horrible snapshots notwithstanding, it was a beautiful evening of folk music in Sherwood Park last evening as Maria Dunn (finally, after two-years of pandemic delays) celebrated the release of her now Juno Award-winning album, Joyful Banner Blazing (my review of the album is here.) Dunn and her large band complete with horn section and…

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The Gift coming to Leduc

Coming to Leduc October 13 is The Gift. We moved north from Red Deer just over eleven years ago, and the first concert we attended in Leduc was a great performance from one of my favourites, John Wort Hannam. I was so excited to be near the city and able to attend concerts whenever I…

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Blueberry Bluegrass Festival, 2022

Thank you to all the volunteers who made this weekend’s Blueberry Bluegrass a complete success. And even bigger thanks to all the patrons who purchased tickets, camped, bought raffle tickets and merchandise, and supported our vendors, food trucks, musicians, and the businesses of Stony Plain this weekend: the festival cannot exist without your commitment and…

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Blueberry Bluegrass 20 Workshops in 20 Weeks- 20 in 20!

With COVID-19 restrictions limiting gatherings and, for much of the world, preventing in-person festivals, what does an internationally recognized bluegrass festival do while awaiting return to musical normalcy? Invite the world-wide community to come together in a series of free workshops instructed by some of the biggest names in bluegrass and acoustic music! 20 workshops…

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Maple Blues Awards Features Best Blues Artists from Winnipeg, Orillia, Kitchener, Kingston, Montreal and Toronto- Feb. 3 2020, Toronto

I don’t typically cut ‘n’ paste news releases, but Sarah French does me right so only fair I spread the word. Gala Hosted by Toronto’s Persian HeritageMulti-Instrumentalist Raha Javanfar aka Bad Luck Woman! The Maple Blues Awards will be the blues party of the year as the performers for the gala event are some of…

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