The 31st Annual Brandon Folk, Music & Art Festival is pleased to announce this years line up!
More artists are being announced all the time, so keep your peepers peeled here!
A Tribe Called Red (Ottawa)
Bursting forth from Canada’s capital, native Producer/DJ and JUNO winning crew A Tribe Called Red is producing a truly unique sound that’s impacting the global electronic scene and urban club culture. Since 2010 the group – currently made up of DJ NDN, Bear Witness and 2oolman – has been mixing traditional pow wow vocals and drumming with cutting-edge electronic music. Their popularity arose from creating Electric Pow Wow events that showcase native talent and Aboriginal culture, alongside an open, wild party. Within a couple of years they’ve become the face of an urban Native youth renaissance, championing their heritage and speaking out on aboriginal issues, while being on top of popular music, fashion and art. The video and visual aspects of their show aim to challenge stereotypes while still having one of the best times you could have on a dance floor! Their albums were long listed for Canada’s prestigious Polaris Music Prize in 2012 and 2014, and included in the Washington Post’s top 10 albums of the year. But nothing can outdo their live show, which can make even the most stilled foot stomp and dance. For this concert length set, the band will be joined by hoop dancer James Jones.
FRIDAY Night Closing Concert!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-mkhCeGH_M
http://music.cbc.ca/#!/artists/A-Tribe-Called-Red
Tanya Tagaq (Brandon)
2014 Polaris Prize Winner, and JUNO award Winner Tanya Tagaq returns to Brandon Folk, Music & Art Festival, and we couldn’t be more please to welcome her back! Tagaq is an Inuk throat singer, acappella artist, songwriter, and visual artists, originally from Cambridge Bay (Ikaluktuutiak), Nunavut, Canada. Her music has been called ‘Indescribable’, ‘Ethereal’ and ‘Visceral’ by press and fans across North America. She is genuinely one of those rare artists whose sounds and styles are truly groundbreaking. ‘Inuit throat singer’ is one part of her sonic quotient. So are descriptions like ‘orchestral’ ‘hip-hop-infused’ and ‘primal’. Tagaq will be joined on stage by two guest musicians, for a concert length set to close out the festival Sunday evening.
“Tanya is directly musically in touch with something that is almost a ghost. To me, it is something that is so special and so much a part of the earth and the land and the environment” – David Harrington, Kronos Quartet
SUNDAY Night Closing Concert
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcOYx4_72Zo
http://music.cbc.ca/#!/artists/Tanya-Tagaq-Gillis
Digging Roots (Toronto)
JUNO award winning indie roots innovators Digging Roots reflect a maturin
g sense of storytelling through their music. Firmly inhabiting roots and blues yet with a nomadic wanderlust to explore other musical terrain, Digging Roots weave an eclectic tapestry of lightand dark sound. Kanetakta is originally from Winneway, Quebec, while Kish is from the Batchewana First Nation in Northern Ontario. The talented husband and wife team trade lead vocals, fluidly complimenting each other’s strengths while going from whispery intimacies, to smokey wails. With sweet harmonies and melodic accompaniments of ukulele, banjo, mellotron and of course Raven’s bombastic resonator guitar, the Toronto duo offers something special, a sound that is both vintage and fresh all at once.
SATURDAY Night Closing Concert!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIiSGu_sFNE
The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer (Vancouver)
The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer deliver blues smothered in greasy, gritty soul and imbued 
with funk. The Vancouver duo of Shawn Hall and Matthew Rogers have had an exceptional a year, their new album was nominated for two Maple Blues Award nominations for New Artist/Group of the Year and Producer of the Year, a JUNO nomination, and a number of Western Canadian Music Awards (WCMAs). But don’t let the acronyms fool you, these gents play blues the way it’s meant to be played: rousing, rugged, and unapologetic!
http://www.harpoonistaxemurderer.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nu7tAElL_aI
http://music.cbc.ca/#!/artists/The-Harpoonist-the-Axe-Murderer
Zrada (Winnipeg)
Formed in Winnipeg in 2005, Zrada has taken their Ukrainian roots into the modern. Inspired by 
Balkan and Slavic melodies, sultry gypsy dances, So-Cal punk rock, reggae and ska, Zrada’s sound is a tight maelstrom of intricate melodies, unyielding grooves, and emotional beauty. Zrada’s members were brought together by their heritage, love of good music, a passion for their ancestral homeland and debauchery. This paradox leads to Zrada’s distinct sound.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEJXJFTFk_s
Rachael Cardiello and the Warm Electric Winter (Toronto)
Rachael Cardiello was born in Tornado Alley, raised between mountains in Montana, and now calls Toronto home. Breaking away from her 
folk music roots, the newly developed neon electric soul band Warm Electric Winter weaves genres so unbelievably easy, you’ll find yourself grooving to blues drenched melodies, swaying to soul, and shimmying through the pop plains. With a voice compared to both Beth Gibbons (Portishead) and Kate Bush, Cardiello is destined to be a Canadian legend.
http://www.rachaelcardiello.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=53&v=AOPrPUxYK8c
http://music.cbc.ca/#!/artists/Rachael-Cardiello
Red Moon Road (Winnipeg)
Born in a storm on a wild Canadian lake, Red Moon Road has come to be known as one of 
Canada’s most energetic and endearing folk trios. All credit goes to the chemistry and magic created by the Winnipeg band’s two Daniels – jazz-trained Daniel Jordan and bilingual prog-rock vet Daniel Peloquin-Hopfner – when they strum up the strings to support twilight-voiced singer Sheena Rattai. A lush and lively take on modern roots.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=10&v=M7Dr-D9IapY
http://music.cbc.ca/#!/artists/Red-Moon-Road
Rory Mcleod (London, UK)
One-man soul band, poet and storyteller, Rory Mcleod can be found singing his own unique upbeat dance stories. A modern travelling troubadour, he uses tap shoes, the harmonica, guitar, trombone, spoons, finger cymbals, bandorea, djembe and various percussion instruments to create his sound! Mcleod’s music will bring you along for the ride of stories recounting his travels from the Middle East to Cuba, Asia to Australia.
http://www.rorymcleod.com/index.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLya5_1g900
Geoff Berner (Vancouver)
“I want to drag klezmer music kicking and screaming back into the bars!” This is the self
proclaimed goal of Vancouver based songwriter-accordion player Geoff Berner who has garnered critical acclaim and a cult following for his insightful humour, politically inflammatory compositions and showmanship. Known for a Cabaret Style performance, Berner more recently transited to klezmer informed with the energy and passion of punk. “I want to make original klezmer music that’s drunk, dirty, political and passion- ate.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW-etI1Meyg or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzoRWplOw6U
http://music.cbc.ca/#!/artists/Geoff-Berner
Ingrid and the Kaleidoscope (Winnipeg)
Winnipeg’s own Ingrid Gatin makes eclectic beautiful, and is gearing up to take Canada by
storm. Joined by Ryan Dutchak, the pair is working under a new name: Ingrid and the Kaleidescope. Together they play with looped violin, guitar, beats, Ingrid’s vocals, accordion, and keyboard, crafting their own beautiful sound in the indie roots music genre. Eastern European, blues, and soul nuances run throughout Ingrid’s music, creating a sound that is timeless and universal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKu1ztMafCo or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsr6EVzm2Fs
http://music.cbc.ca/#!/artists/ingrid-gatin
The Osmond Davis Band (Winnipeg)
These five Manitoba pickers have a common passion for bluegrass and honky-tonk music that has ensured mountain music thrives in the prairies by keeping the Appalachian connection 
alive. Guitar flatpicker Simon Davis and 5-string banjo player Tim Osmond sing a repertoire of music from the likes of the Stanley Brothers, Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs alongside many other traditional and contemporary bluegrass and country standards, joined by fiddle, bass, and mandolin.
https://www.facebook.com/OsmondDavisBand
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muB2lAkB2N4
Kev Corbett (Halifax)
Hailing from Halifax, Kev Corbett is one of the best of Eastern Canada’s bumper crop of fine 
young songwriters. He likes one fan’s description of his musical style: “Like Leonard Cohen, but with a sense of humour.” His lyrics are warm, earnest and hopeful, encompassing a beautiful snap shot of the Canadian landscape. A serious guitar picker, he knows how to rock, and delivers without fail skillfully written songs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty1jo7vxzWE
http://music.cbc.ca/#!/bands/kev-corbett
Riel Gentlemen’s Choir (Winnipeg)
In the face of listless conformity; where connections with others are marked by fear, suspicion 
and superficiality; and where fraternity expresses itself through rigidity and exclusion, The Riel Gentlemen’s Choir practices full throated dissent, unabashed camaraderie, and joy at the gift of difference. Directed by Jesse Krause, the choir sings for Nature’s sake. Among other stated socio-political goals, they intend to be fluent in French by the year 2020.
Emma Cloney (Winnipeg)
Blues, bluegrass, Celtic and country influences are undeniable in this Winnipegger’s 
instrumentation and melodies, but there is also just enough pop rhythm to remind listeners of Emma Cloney’s youthful and playful side. With tremendous vocal range, Cloney’s voice is sultry and haunting, allowing listeners to intimately experience her vulnerabilities, while championing her triumphs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs75e48yjnI
http://music.cbc.ca/#!/artists/Emma-Cloney
Son Latino Band (Brandon)
Son Latino Band is the perfect multicultural combination of Manitoban and Latin musicians to 
make crowds dance, with original Salsa, Merengue, Cumbia, Raspa, Mambo, and Bolero, all seasoned with elements of jazz. Son Latino Band combines an Afro Cuban and South American Rhythm section, with powerful horns and energetic singers, performing both original music, and Latin American standards in a big band style.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3yMc_Bj2EU
Two Dope Boys In A Cadillac (East Vancouver)
More likely to be found trekking thru the woods than cruising the streets rockin’ fly rims, 2 Dope Boys in a Cadillac are individually known as Johnny MacRae & shayne avec i grec. This East Van 
duo have collectively represented three slam teams, hiked the rockiest mountaintops, participated in The Banff Centre’s Spoken Word Program, rocked the hottest microphones (it explains the burns on their lips), and look forward to tag-teaming you in an orgy of titillating spoken word and sounds. shayne avec i grec returns to Brandon Folk, Music & Art Festival as poet laureate.
https://www.facebook.com/2dopeboysinacadillac
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isPbJIKJH38
Lucky Ned with Bill Turner (Brandon)
Lucky Ned is known across Western Manitoba for delivering their unique brand of eclectic acoustic music. A little bit Bluegrass, a little bit Blues, Folk, and a touch of Pop, the band is made up of Brian Giesbrecht, Brent White, and Kerry Skinner, and currently features Bill Turner on percussion and accordion.
Katie MacDonald (Brandon)
From the heart of the prairies comes a singer/songwriter passionate about making music. After 
picking up guitar several years ago, MacDonald’s ideas were transformed into melodies. Her soulful voice and unique style have entertained a variety of audiences. After returning home from three months of exploration in South Africa, MacDonald has gained new insight, ideas and perspectives. This all blends together to create a style some have described as folk/pop.
www.soundcloud.com/katiemacdonald123
www.facebook.com/katiemacdonaldmusic
Darleen Tuft’s Husband (Brandon)
Brandon singer-song writer Darlene Tuft’s Husband (aka Bruce Dunlop) writes music that runs the full gamut from silly to serious. On the one hand there are songs inspired by his musical heroes Stan Rogers and Pete Seeger and driven by the proud legacy folk music has of fighting injustice and war. On the other there are songs with an odd sense of seeing the world in his own unique (some might say weird) way. He spent 20 years in Winnipeg Celtic band Ard-ri and is a member of local bands Prince Eddy House Band and Shameless Folk. Welcome to the groovy world of Darlene Tufts Husband!
Alicia and Billie (Brandon)
These young traditional fancy shawl dancers perform a new piece honouring the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women called a Star Dance. Their regalia is designed to reflect the light and shimmer as they dance, to represent the stars. As they move, they swoop and touch the ground representing the act of catching the spirits of these women and entering them back to Mother Earth. They dance for the spirits that will not be forgotten. Indigenous women face higher risks than any other ethnic group in Canada to become missing and murdered.
Melissa Wastasecoot (Brandon)
Melissa Wastasecoot most recently choreographed the Star Dance performed this year by Alicia and Nicole at the Brandon Music, Folk, and Art Festival. Her interests revolve around community and our cultural connections. Wastasecoot is Ininew from Peguis First Nation. She currently resides in Brandon, Manitoba, with her two children where she is pursuing her art practice and furthering her fine arts education at Brandon University. Her current focus is around Okeemahpo (alternately Sabe or Sasquatch), Spiderwoman and her granddaughters.
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