Get to know artists you can see perform at the Brandon Folk, Music & Art Festival:
- Martin Sexton (USA)
A native of Syracuse, N.Y., and the tenth of 12 children, Martin Sexton grew up in the ’80s. Uninterested in the music of the day, he fuelled his dreams with the timeless sounds of classic rock ’n’ roll. As he discovered the dusty old vinyl left in the basement by one of his big brothers, his musical fire was lit. Sexton eventually migrated to Boston, where he began to build a following singing on the streets of Harvard Square. His 1992 collection of self-produced demo recordings, “In the Journey”, was recorded on an old 8-track in a friend’s attic. He managed to sell 20,000 copies out of his guitar case.
Since then, Martin Sexton has become a household name, with ten recordings under his belt, and songs gracing many feature films and television including NBC’s Scrubs, Parenthood and Showtime’s hit series Brotherhood.
In 2010 the album “Sugarcoating” found this one-of-a-kind-troubadour doing what he does best: locating larger truths. The New York Times noted that Sexton “jumps beyond standard fare on the strength of his voice, a blue-eyed soul man’s supple instrument,” adding, “his unpretentious heartiness helps him focus on every soul singer’s goal: to amplify the sound of the ordinary heart.”
Billboard called Sexton “The real thing, people, a star with potential to permanently affect the musical landscape and keep us entertained for years to come.”
- Cold Specks (ONT/UK)
Cold Specks, the 26 year-old Canadian singer under the sobriquet Al Spx, has been a byword for rare talent and depth of feeling since her arrival in late 2011. Already making critical waves in the U.K., with television performances on Jools Holland and British media such as The Guardian, The Times, NME and more weighing in on the recent U.K. release of “Holland”, Cold Specks is now ready to release her music here at home.
Describing her sound as ‘Doom Soul’, Cold Specks’ music is steeped in the musical traditions of the Deep South. No wonder then that Al cites the Lomax Field Recordings and James Carr as influences along with Bill Callahan and Tom Waits. With a voice that evokes the ‘spirit feel’ of Mahalia Jackson and the visceral tones of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Cold Specks’ sparse arrangements and chain gang rhythms stop you dead in your tracks.
http://music.cbc.ca/#/play/Brad-Frenette/playlist/Cold-Specks-Live-in-Vancouver
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN0M0EcH-FI
- Ben Caplan & the Casual Smokers (NOVA SCOTIA)
Rugged, raspy, and roaring with charisma, Halifax’s Ben Caplan is to folklore what
smoke is to bourbon. Perfectly coupled. Ben’s songwriting is as bold in range as it is in ferocity. Fuelled by a quality of melodrama and powerful lyricism, it’s the romance and the manhood crashing with his voice that gives Caplan a truly innovative and experimental artistry. A sound that bridges the gap between controlled composition and unruly passion.
Striding in pace with gypsy-inspired strings amid the sultry tones of clarinet and saxophone, Caplan has marked his place in the Canadian music landscape with a growling spirit similar to that of Tom Waits. Caplan’s tours have extended throughout the Commonwealth, the rhapsodic energy in his live show an elegant cacophony gaining attention around the world.
http://music.cbc.ca/#/search/?q=ben caplan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-2Rn3vZV8U
- isKwé (MB)
Winnipeg born singer-songwriter Iskwé (pronounced iss-kway, meaning “Woman” in her native language) is the embodiment of smooth salaciousness. She gently but powerfully wraps her voice around deep, meaningful lyrics that convey messages of love and empowerment.
Iskwé draws upon her Cree/Dene (Aboriginal) and Irish roots to produce a sound that is completely unique. Booming bass lines and heavy beats, combined with her spine- tingling vocals and classical piano influences define her distinctive offering of Alternative RnB/TripHop.
Iskwé’s warm and personable vibe has endeared her to audiences across North America, and allowed her to immerse herself in the culture of music, working with award-winning producers and crafting her unique sound. Her debut self-titled album features collaborations with industry heavyweights such as M1 from Dead Prez and guitar phenomenon Donna Grantis, and has recently been listed by the CBC “Top 10 Canadian Musicians You Need to Know” and twice by Toronto’s very own The Grid as “One to Watch”.
http://music.cbc.ca/#/search/?q=isKwé
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYSSlbKUY0o
Mariachi Ghost (MB)
Combining traditional Mexican song, the powerful sounds of progressive rock, and a flair for the dramatic, The Mariachi Ghost creates a spectacle as unique as it is compelling. Through driving rhythms and soaring melodies, brooding synths and dreamy vocal breaks, the world of their namesake’s tenuous existence is explored.
http://www.themariachighost.com/
http://music.cbc.ca/#/search/?q=Mariachi Ghost
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0wYsveo2o8
- Chez Willi (MB)
Chez Willi playfully invite you on a journey to a land of cobble stone streets and candle-lit cafes. With lyrics rooted in the raw beauty of experience, trilingual-multi-instrumentalist Anne-Marie Williot crafts her songs on guitar and accordion, in French, English, and Spanish, while double-bassist Patrick Boggs keeps the groove.
Weaving memorable melodies with relatable lyrics, their songs have induced laughter, released tears, and provoked sing-a-longs. Chez Willi like their arrangements simple and sweet.
http://chezwilli.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syy_fCgeiX0
- Kaylee Jay (MB)
https://www.facebook.com/kaylee.jay.90/about
- The DoneFors (ONT)
The DoneFors formed in 2006 and are comprised of acclaimed singer-songwriter Janine Stoll, electric guitar player/songwriter Paul MacDougall, electric bass player/songwriter Liam Smith, and drummer Brian Lahaie. Intrinsically multi-phonic yet cohesive, The DoneFors prove to be nomadic in their musical influences. Elements of rock, contemporary pop, progressive folk, jazz, world music and country merge to bolster The DoneFors’ signature sound which they’ve coined Canadiana Vanguard — a musical expression that spans genres, stretches boundaries, and stays rooted in an instrument’s organic sound. The DoneFors make a valiant attempt to defy what is hip in order to make music for musicians, music for pets, and music for music lovers to discover and appreciate when The DoneFors have died; literally.
http://music.cbc.ca/#/search/?q=The DoneFors (ONT)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i63mLQCicV8&list=PLFDEF8863DDBAFE73
- Son Latino Band (MB)
Son Latino Band is the result of cooperation between Brandon University music students and Latin-American immigrants. It comes from the desire of the Latin-American community to have its own live music in the city and from the interest and cooperation of the locals in Brandon, Manitoba.
If you want to dance all night, Son Latino is the band to see. Salsa, Merengue, Cumbia, Raspa, Mambo, Bolero, and the cheer and hotness of Canadian Multicultural Music.
http://music.cbc.ca/#/search/?q=son latino band
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iiLcF2ENoE
- Ben Sures (ALBERTA)
Ben Sures is a Folk, Roots and Blues singer-songwriter from Winnipeg, who’s live show is captivating, charming, and fuelled by his gifted guitar playing. He performs with a seldom duplicated sense of intimacy that draws the listener inextricably into the folds of his melodic story telling. His most recent release, ‘Son of Trouble’, is a new adventure making forays into African Blues with songs in French and Spanish in addition to English, and a focus on his very old fashioned approach to the electric guitar.
Ben has been nominated for Edmonton’s 2014 Music Awards in four categories, including Album of the Year, Blues Recording of the Year, Male Artist of the Year and the People’s Choice Award. He has both won, and been a finalist in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition, the International Songwriting Competition and The US Songwriting Competition.
http://music.cbc.ca/#/search/?q=ben sures
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urI8mn8viEA
- Wax Mannequin (ONT)
Strange-folk phenomenon Wax Mannequin is well-travelled, crossing a wide range of terrain — both sonic and physical — this decade past. Chris Adeney adopted the moniker Wax Mannequin in 2001 when he released a strange, circuit bent bedroom recording and began a series of intense, confrontational shows around his province. His legend has grown through word-of-mouth as his music has been passed from hand-to-hand .
Wax Mannequin has recently released his sixth record ‘No Safe Home’. In this hauntingly spacious, sparsely produced acoustic record, Wax uses his raspy and road-broken guitar to provide a thoughtful glimpse into the psyche of our age, or at least into his own paranoid yet endearingly self-aware interpretation of our place and time.
While his personal idiosyncrasies, lyrical depth and other-worldly melodic sensibilities have kept Wax Mannequin safely out of mass-appeal, they also make him impossible to dismiss or forget. With a name that is whispered with bewilderment and reverence in art galleries, garages and rock pubs throughout Canada and Europe, Wax Mannequin continues indefinitely to bring his timeless brand of strange folk and absurdist pop music to the far reaches of the western world.
http://music.cbc.ca/#/search/?q=Wax Mannequin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJZaBpmqMQA#t=99
- shayne avec i grec (BC)
shayne avec i grec has a restless tongue and itchy feet. He is a poet, an arts organizer, a facilitator, a hug ambassador and a Dope Boy. The Poet Laureate of the Brandon Folk, Music and Art Festival in Brandon, Manitoba, shayne was a member of the inaugural Victoria Poetry Slam Team in 2005 and coach of their 2007 team. He mostly calls Victoria home.
A decade of performing under his belt, much of shayne’s work views the world through lenses of surrealism and absurdity, making playful even the most serious topics. He leaves audiences entertained and amused while still facing a view of social and environmental degradation of the modern world. In 2012 he was nominated for an M Award as Victoria’s favourite spoken word performer.
http://shayneavecigrec.wordpress.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JGU91nyXhI#t=20
- Slow Spirit (MB)
From Brandon, Manitoba, Slow Spirit is a musical marriage between technology and the ethereal that strives to engage body and soul of the emerging digital generation. Meditative drums and bass set the canvas for raw, bright vocals, wiggly keyboard synths, gritty acoustic guitar, exploratory electronic timbres and ample space for reflection
http://slowspirit.bandcamp.com/
http://music.cbc.ca/#/search/?q=Slow Spirit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys9E0_nfiHo
- Matt Epp (MB)
Manitoba native Matt Epp is irrefutably one of the most extraordinary artists to come out of Canada in the past decade. His particular character of soulful folk, infectious pop sensibilities and whimsical humour has won the admiration of an audience which spans the globe. He is a self-taught musician with a crystal voice, dynamic in its range, and music that feels as natural as the earth that shakes, spins, and cradles us.
Charismatic and commanding, Epp is a consummate showman, who’s songs, stories, warmth, honesty, and unbridled passion have a deep capacity to engage the humanity in his audience.
His latest album Learning to Lose Control produced by Jamie Candiloro (R.E.M, Ryan Adams) and was released June 4, 2013.
http://music.cbc.ca/#/search/?q=matt epp
http://www.mattepp.com/page/video
- Carly Dow (MB)
Carly Dow melds lyric and melody with her striking, smoky vocals, backed by an impressive array of instruments including guitar, clawhammer banjo and harmonicas. Her songwriting reflects a deep appreciation of beauty and darkness balanced throughout personal, physical and natural histories, allowing for a gritty realness that makes her music come alive. Dow is thus influenced to create songs that are grounded, and unabashedly human and emotive.
Dow has co-produced and recorded 3 albums with several projects, including Lost in the Woods (Bog River, 2010), Hands in the Ground (Bog River, 2011), and the Winter’s Edge EP (2013).
http://music.cbc.ca/#/search/?q=matt epp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5gR0L0SdIE
- Amber Suchy (AB)
Amber Suchy is one of Edmonton’s best kept secrets. Most well known as the lead singer of beloved Ska band King Muskafa, Suchy will be performing her personal brand of ballads and pop songs featuring her unique smoke infused voice.
https://myspace.com/ambersuchy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5xS0ORIFXQ
- Zachary Lancaster (MB)
Zachary Lancaster is a Singer/Songwriter from Brandon, Manitoba. At twenty years old (2014) he recorded The Weaker Man, produced and recorded by the amazingly talented Dustin Smith. His songs strive to express his mature view of the world, and the juxtaposition between nature and the concrete realm of man.
http://music.cbc.ca/#/artists/Zachary-Lancaster
- Federal Lights (MB)
In 2011, out of the ashes of Winnipeg buzz band The Morning after, singer/songwriter Jean-Guy Roy quietly rose from the depths of his basement’s cold storage room to record a new collection of songs with award winning engineer/producer, Cam Loeppky (Weakerthans, Imaginary Cities, Cannon Bros), that The Toronto Star called”quietly electric, emotionally unguarded, and so thick with regret, you’d need a hoe to cut through it.”
In 2013, the band signed with Toronto’s Aporia Records for the August release of the full length We Were Found In The Fog (engineered by Loeppky and produced by Rusty Matyas, Imaginary Cities). From the propulsive, handclap pop of “I See Love” to the rolling, Wilco-approved Americana of “Skyline,” We Were Found In The Fog has a comforting warmth about it. It’s fireflies on a sticky August night. It’s a well-worn, paint-peeling porch swing. It’s stolen kisses under an endless starry skies. It’s streaked with campfire soot and soaked in beer.
http://music.cbc.ca/#/search/?q=federal lights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbrwyKGtZ-o#t=13
- Animal Teeth (MB)
Animal Teeth is Stefan Hodges on vocals and guitar, Hudson Fedun on Guitar, Ian Ellis on Drums, and Adam Nikkel on Bass.
http://animalteeth.bandcamp.com/