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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Mike Tod- Mike Tod review

Mike Tod Mike Tod LP MikeTod.com I initially ignored the PR email touting Mike Tod’s album. The information was so sparse I had little reason to explore the barebones download-only files—no notes, no credits, and as minimal a bio as I’ve seen. Nudged by a follow-up, a bit of internet sleuthing led me to learn…

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Steve Dawson- Eyes Closed, Dreaming review

Steve Dawson Eyes Closed, Dreaming Black Hen Music Multi-instrumentalist Steve Dawson’s third release within a year, Eyes Closed, Dreaming may just be the strongest album of the British Columbia-Nashville artist’s lengthy career, and I don’t say that lightly. While the majority of Dawson’s many albums have seen him feature original compositions more frequently than covers,…

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Kate Weekes- Better Days Ahead review

Kate Weekes Better Days Ahead KateWeekes.com An old-timey/folk album built around clawhammer banjo and fiddle? Yes, please. Rendered during and inspired by the pandemic challenges of the past few years, Kate Weekes’ fourth album finds the Quebec folk artist stretching herself in unexpected directions. Having learned the clawhammer banjo during the time of COVID safeguards…

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Favourite Roots Albums of Quarter 1, 2023

I’ve encountered some really great roots music these first three months of 2023, and thought I would feature some of the finest as my Favourites of the First Quarter. They are not necessarily in position order from 1 to 12, but they could be… Iris DeMent- Workin’ On A World It has been too many…

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Buddy Mondlock- Filament review

Buddy Mondlock Filament BuddyMondlock.com Until this week, I hadn’t listened to a Buddy Mondlock album since Poetic Justice, an album that is as fresh heard today as when first encountered. Something drew me to that discarded copy of Poetic Justice in the used disc store many years ago, likely shortly after its 1998 release. Darrell…

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Maggie Fraser- The Way That I Wish It Was review

Maggie Fraser The Way That I Wish It Was MaggieFraserMusic.com Before one can express their own words, they need to listen. I suspect Toronto’s Maggie Fraser is a very acute listener. The songs on her debut album The Way That I Wish It Was display keen details, the type one acquires through a life of…

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Laura Zucker- Lifeline review

Laura Zucker Lifeline LauraZucker.com While it is exciting to encounter singer-songwriters early in their run, as their voices, ideas, and approaches undergo gestation, it is as wonderful to come to a new-to-you artist well-on their journey. Such is the case with Laura Zucker, a northern California-based songwriter whose sixth long player Lifeline is the first…

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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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Fervor Coulee’s Favourite Roots Albums of 2022

I have no idea how many roots albums I bought, received for review, actually wrote about, listened to through a brief flirtation with a streaming service, and sampled via Polaris Music Prize jury membership, as well as other industry-provided downloads during 2022. But when I review other lists, I see a lot I am familiar…

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