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 2021

Years from now, when we consider the best roots albums of 2021, we will have great memories. The second year of COVID allowed artists to release music recorded either prior to the pandemic or that which was created in trying circumstances. It was a year of breakthroughs for many wonderful artists, and even a breakthrough…

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Maria Dunn- Joyful Banner Blazing review

My review of Maria Dunn’s seventh album of impeccable folk music has been published at Exclaim! magazine. I’m pleased that Exclaim! allows me to grace their website with the occasional review, and while I am unaware of any of my reviews making the print edition of this venerable publication, I live in hope. The review…

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Fervor Coulee’s Favourite Roots Albums of the Decade, 2010-2019 (#11-#20, pt. 4/5)

When considering inclusion on this list, I weighed the album’s positioning on my annual lists, how frequently I continue to listen to the recording, its impact on me—has it influenced me down a path of listening— and how enjoyable I continue to find the music. The final element is most important: can I listen to…

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Fervor Coulee’s Top Ten Canadian Albums 2010-2019

As with any list of this type, albums could move up and down the list with second and third thought. I considered a lot of music to come up with this list for the Exclaim! editor who solicited it. Unfortunately, none of my albums made their list of 50 Best of the Decade. I had…

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The Albums That Shaped Me, August 2018

Over at Fervor Coulee Twitter  I am spending August exploring my music roots with Thirty-Two Albums That Shaped Me/Thirty-One Days Inspired by a summer of sorting (not that you would notice) and tidying (again, obvious only if you knew what it looked like before) I am going to try to explain my music journey in…

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Fervor Coulee’s Favourite Roots & Bluegrass Albums since 2000

I’ve been writing about music since 2000. Naturally, I’ve heard a lot of great music, have written about much of it, and have often put together a list of favourite roots and bluegrass albums of the year. And, I will do the same again this year. For perspective and to sprinkle some flavourful anticipation, here…

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Fervor Coulee’s Favourite Roots Albums of 2016

At the end of each year, writers and broadcasters get to indulge themselves and—one hopes—their readers and listeners with their judgements on the year past. I’ve spent substantial time reviewing the roots/Americana/whatever you want to call them, if they are on the No Depression list I might have considered them, and even if they aren’t…

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Maria Dunn- Gathering review

Maria Dunn Gathering Distant Whisper Music One of Alberta’s foremost folk musicians—I believe only John Wort Hannam is her equal—returns with her sixth collection of lyrically-rich gems. An artist who places her convictions and heart on display in complementary proportions, Dunn has found balance between sharing the inspirational and compelling within songs that are insightful,…

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Maria Dunn’s Piece By Piece- an analysis

This past winter I took a writing course, and for one of my final projects I wrote an analysis of Maria Dunn’s Piece By Piece. I was to write about a piece of art that had impacted me, and certainly Piece By Piece fit the bill. I submitted an initial draft to Dunn for consideration,…

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