Archives

Performers: June 2003 Festival

Mose Scarlett
Mose Scarlett is, unarguably, one of the a kind. While he draws on a wide range of musical sources from the early 1900's through the 40's, his lifestyle defies categorization or comparison - the blend is unique. Over top of the resplendent guitar backing rides a big bass-baritone voice, warm and rich, with enormous emotional range. Though Mose is a fixture on the Canadian scene, performing throughout the country at festivals, clubs and theatres, he has also toured widely through the United States, as well as England, Scotland, Germany and Australia.

Jaylene Johnson
http://www.jaylenejohnson.com
For Canadian singer/songwriter Jaylene Johnson, music is a calling – one she has answered with a clear, unbothered tone and lyrics that resonate at a “heart” level. Music and the sharing of songs has always been an area where Jaylene has seen the blessing of God and His work through her. Johnson has independently released two recordings of her own material, Not Forgotten (November 2000) and shortcut (May 2002). Her influences are from a broad musical spectrum, and one is as likely to hear jazz and soul elements in her song writing as they are to hear folk and classical.

House of Doc
Winnipeg's newest group pays homage to the gospel tradition with a new sound. Sweet hamonies mized with a blend of instrumentals is sure to please.

Nathan
http://www.nathanmusic.ca
Laid-back folky/country pop. Keri McTighe and Shelly Bilewitch have the most bewitching vocal styles. High and some kind of old 30's country, but with a pop cadence, some circus melodies, and the pretty-beyond-sweetness of a Bjork. Nathan is completely compelling. Despite the vocals being so high and dreamlike, the rest of the band isn't lost in a washy pop sound. The drums are crisp and the accordion doesn't compete with the piano for attention. The music is dense, but not cluttered, and sometimes it's breathtakingly appropriate. There are beautiful songs and moving stories here that deserve to be heard, and with one listen you'll be bewitched.

Das Macht Show
http://www.dasmachtshow.ca
"...das macht SHOW! a rollicking quintet, performs an infectious groove of the wry and rootsy variety...Asleep at the Wheel meets Dan Kicks meets Carmen Miranda with a punchy delivery and fruit salad for all!!! Their new CD "...one night in Berlin" has been dubbed a hot collection of "pre-unification, post-industrial acoustic hick-hop", full of lush harmonies and schwinging musicianship. Recorded "live off the floor", this is a collection of smart originals and catchy covers in the urban folk tradition. "...one night in Berlin" finds the band in fine form as they prance through 10 tunes in a drunken city surrounded by high walls.

Alex Kidd
http://alexkidd.cjb.net
The bad news is that Gavin Gardiner couldn't make the festival this year, he is off in Monteal with another band. The Good news is that Jared
Hildebrand (Drums), Duane Hiebert (Keyboards, Guitars, Vocals), Derek
Helps (Lead Guitars), Ryan Frost (Vocals, Bass, Guitars), and Karl Redding (Vocals, Guitars, Bass) will make it. Together they combined parts of their two previous bands, "alex kidd" and "cowboy" to form the band you see here today. The band (yet unnamed) cover a diverse selection of cover songs. This band is still in the process of writing new original material, which as promised will soon be surfacing within the area. This band is promising and will not disappoint.

Cate Friesen
Cate grew up in Rosenfeld, a Mennonite farming community in southern Manitoba. Since moving to Toronto 12 years ago she's supported her music habit by being a janitor, a secretary, a waitress, working in an inner-city drop-in and leading sing-a-longs for seniors. Currently Cate balances composing and performing with work as a freelance radio broadcaster including a weekly show, Absolutely Folk (CJRT-FM, heard across Ontario) and contributions to various CBC radio shows (This Morning, Fresh Air, Global Village). Cate has toured across Canada, appeared on the mainstages of Winnipeg, Stan Rogers (N.S.) and Kerville (Texas) folk festivals, and has been heard and seen nationally on radio and T.V. She has also taught at Victoria’s summer writing school and appeared as a vocalist at the Open Ears Festival (New Music) in Kitchener Upcoming: Winnipeg Folk Music Festival; Winnipeg International Literary Festival; touring western provinces in October; touring Eastern provinces in November. Discography: Joy’s Disorder (1999) Wayward (1996) Tightrope Waltz (1993) Self-titled E.P. (1991)

Coffieman
Originally from Ghana, now living in Winnipeg, Coffie performs a rocking African music and rhythm show followed by a full-on dance workshop. Coffieman's repertoire encompasses calypso, reggae and African hi-life music, particularly from Ghana where he participated with the National Dance Company for a number of years. A wonderful childs entertainer, Evans enjoys his music as much as the children do. He demostrates his collection of African or (talking drums), playing rhythms of Djembe, Congo, Woyo, Talamandi, Kinasona, Nagala, Highlife and more educating the people of the history behind them.

LuLu & the TomCat
http://www.tomandlori.com
From familiar sing-a-longs like "The Cat Came Back" to catchy originals like "Abyssinian Belly Rub", Lulu and the TomCat keep their audiences purring. An array of instruments at their beck and call, this multi-instrumental duo captures children with their lively songs and varied instumentation. With a solid background in education, they introduce various musical instruments and their sounds in a catty way.

Greg Wood
http://www.comedyillusions.com
Greg Wood is an award winning magician, speaker, and comedian who has performed his own brand of Comedy Magic across Canada, Mexico, several states and even in Hong Kong, England, and India. Over the last several years he has entertained thousands with his comedy and illusions at schools, corporate events, fairs and festivals, including the Winnipeg International Children's Festival and the Pan Am Games.

CG's
The CG's is made up of 5 local instrumentalists. They joke about their name being CG's because their songs are mostly played in the key of C or G. Together these retired folks combine over 300 years experience! Ed Lambrecht plays mandolin, his wife Kae plays the accordion, their son in law Jim Nickel is sitting in for John Dell who plays guitar. George Elias plays fiddle and John Dyck on violin. You're sure to enjoy these old time Gospel tunes.

Caleb Hamm
Born and raised in Papua New Guinea, Caleb Hamm and his family moved to southern Manitoba when he was nine. This multi-cultural upbringing has influenced his songwriting and music which began in 1998. Caleb writes folk / roots material alongside many visual components such as painting and photographs. He believe in the connection of the three mediums of spoken word, some and visual art since the creative process for him is all combined into one multi media composition. Acoustic guitar, hand drum, harmonica and mandolin are the instruments Caleb uses as he largely writes about local everyday life, some political situations and many past experiences with which an audience can relate with and appreciate. The strength of Caleb's style is his allegorical lyrics paired with a natural driving rhythm guitar, creating a melody of litanies. There is a raw passionate edge of what Caleb performs that connects the audience to his creative process in many elements. Caleb plans to remain true to the heart of this country and its people and to create music and art that will speak to his generation and the next about a hope for the future that's worth fighting for and about a love for the creative outlet he has been given.

3 Guys: 44 Strings
http://www.mts.net/~jadykman
Dave Stobbe, Jerry Dykman and Dennis Wood are local Mordenites that teamed up several year ago. They play a variety of instruments, including: Mandolins, fiddle and guitars hense the 44 Strings. Their folky electic style will get your toes tapping.

Aaron Burnett
Aaron Burnett is a classroom teacher with a wealth of experience in early years education. He works at Pacific Junction Elementary School in Winnipeg, Manitoba. When not education children, he is lead singer and guitarist with the Keystone Bluegrass Quartet, one of the top bluegrass bands in western Canada. Fronting this band, Aaron has a veriaty of experiences from playing the main stage of the prestigious Winnipeg Folk Ferstival, to entertaining an audience of nearly 5000 at the 2001 Blueberry Bluegrass Festival near Edmonton. The band has been featured with live performances on CBC radio Manitoba (Art's Encounters) and the national program (This Morning).

Chris Neufeld
Winnipeg's Chris Neufeld has only been writing songs for a short time, but has already honed his own song-craft style. His emotionally founded lyrics seem to fit effortlessly with his organic melody sensibilities. Chris has been featured twice on CBC Radio's "Culture Shock" program, and received glowing reviews from its host, Claudia Garcia de la Huerta. His recently assembled band - "the Redstarts" - have been playing out often, and are in the process of completing their debut recording.